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[♪♪♪]

[birds chirping]

♪ It's been such a long time ♪

♪ I think I should be goin' yeah ♪

♪ And time doesn't wait for me ♪

♪ It keeps on rollin' ♪

♪ It's been such a long time ♪

♪ I think I should be goin' yeah ♪

♪ And time doesn't wait for me ♪

♪ It keeps on rollin' ♪

[Bernie's assistant on phone] Wexler Literary Agency.

Bernie, is Bernie there?

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why am I firing Lucien?

That kid is spying on me.

He's been delivering your groceries.

Just finds this after Carmelita died.

Why, why am I firing him now?

Lucien, he's spying on me.

[Bernie] Listen, I need the first two chapters.

I told you, all my characters are dead.

I can't get past the first page.

Look, my god. Charlie, hiding in that house

is tipping you towards a psychotic spiral, all right?

I need you to pull yourself out of it.

I will fire Lucien.

Just get me pages, you understand?

They're all dead.

[Bernie] Keep the drama for the page, please.

You like to research, yes?

So, figure out something to research

and go research it.

Just get away from the house.

-Fuck. -[Bernie] Yow, uh, dude,

I got to go. I have lunch with the iron maiden.

[screams] Oh, god! All dead.

Charlie is in that crazy, creative phase

like he is moving into that wild place

that you and I love so much.

We cannot mess with his creative process.

Charlie's amazing process has cashed a check

for 1.2 million dollars

and hasn't delivered one single page in 18 months.

Look, genius takes time.

And you and I both know

this book is gonna be a blockbuster.

Liz, you are doing great.

I mean, you are the new Editor-in-Chief

of Rush and Howell.

And the question is why,

because we, you and I, discovered Charlie.

I am the Editor-in-Chief of Rush and Howell

because of the numerous,

note that word, "numerous",

acclaimed authors, I have shepherded over my career.

There's only one, one-trick pony

that is sitting at this table and that is you.

You have lived off being Charlie's high school buddy

for decades.

Unless there are some other star

the Wexler Literary Agency has discovered

-that I'm not aware of. -We are...

[waiter] Mr. Wexler, your card's been declined.

[chuckles] Yeah, yeah, this happens

every time I go to Europe.

Oh, does it? No, nope,

I am not gonna pay for this lunch.

You have two weeks.

If I don't get that first chapter,

I'm coming after you.

And I'm gonna come after Charlie.

[knock on door]

There's a Dawn Walsh here

and Charlie won't stop calling.

-Hey, Bernie. -Hi.

You, um, you told me to come by

to talk about my writing.

Oh, shit. That's right, I did.

I'm sorry. It was just so crazy.

Uh, one of my writer is--

um, look, I've been looking,

uh, one of my writers, Charles Elliston--

is, is looking for a new assistant

and I've been interviewing all these students

from Harvard and be--

you-- actually--

maybe it's something that you'd be interested in.

Me? Yeah, what will, will I be doing?

Well, I mean, you will be doing

basic sort of assistant stuff, and making coffee

and cleaning up after him a little.

Doing his errands.

But you know, he, he, he's not easy.

He's, um, he's tough.

So? I'm tough.

Yes. And beautiful.

[Bernie] And amazing,

and what happened between us was crazy.

[Bernie's assistant] Bernie, your wife's on line one.

You're married, you're...

Tell her I'll call her back, please.

You're a fucking asshole.

[Bernie] No, no, no, no.

What? Did you think I was just some stupid girl

-No, no, no. -that you could just lie to?

I, I think-- I think you are a cool girl

and I think that I can help you.

And I think we'll be an amazing team together.

oh that's such a crock of shit.

-What? -You got to talk to Charlie.

-Hold on a sec. Give me... -He's on line one

-Just talk to Charlie. -Just give me, hold on a sec.

-What? -Could you come out and visit?

That would be really, really nice.

[Bernie] Look, put in Groundhogs' Split.

No, I-- that is for characterization.

This is much bigger.

[Bernie] Okay. Fine. Then, go to the dead.

Go to Nassau Coliseum 1990.

Oh, to-- what is the last resort?

-Jesus, right. -I'm sorry. Just one second.

[Charlie] Tell me it's not one of your girlfriends.

Seriously, you have anybody new?

I don't know. Just look, just relax.

-[Charlie] Dude. -Breathe,

be brilliant, and keep writing.

[thud] Hello?

[beeping]

You do this all the time, don't you?

I-- no. Look, you wrote a lovely short story about a dog.

Ugh, fuck off. You didn't read it.

Okay. Fine.

I didn't, but my assistant did

and it's in the recommend file, right?

Look, if you take this job, you'll be working

with one of the best writers in the entire world,

and I can read it, and I can help you.

-No, forget it. -What? Why?

I don't need your fucking help, all right?

Now, get the fuck out of my way, piece of shit.

Oh, my god.

There's a guy here from the Internal Revenue Service.

[Nicole] Huh.

So if you wanna keep this shitty job and what?

Write here after hours, night after night, instead--

instead of taking a job working with Charles Elliston,

probably the coolest novelist of our time.

I can't take that job.

Um,

Nic, I fucked up, all right?

I slept with Bernie.

You did?

Well, then, I guess, you're not ready.

Ready for what?

To be a writer, like, a real writer.

What do you mean by that?

I mean, you, you can't just sleep

with every potential reader of your work, Dawn, right?

That's not logistically possible.

Why don't you just go ahead and keep writing

anonymous quotes on that dumbass blackboard

and making other people coffee?

You know, you didn't have to pay for this one.

What? Dawn, you're this hermit,

secretive type person

and, and you finally, like, pull it together

and you screw it up?

Like, what? Uh, at the first opportunity

where someone really wants to read your work and help you?

Bernie is married, okay? He's a damn asshole.

-You're the asshole. -Wow.

Thank you for the career advice.

god, you know, not everyone can just work hard

and get a scholarship to, to some fancy goddamn college.

[scoffs] Dawn, we've been best friends

since you started working here, okay.

I know you've had it rough.

You can't let that stop you from living.

And unless you're actually fragile enough

to give up right now

or to just keep fucking give up, literally speaking.

Right. I'll let you-- let you lock up.

[Nicole] Do it.

[♪♪♪]

[phone line ringing]

[Nicole on phone] Hi, it's Nic, you know what to do.

[Dawn] Hey, I'm sorry about the fight.

I, uh, I did take that gig after all.

You can't beat a room, board, and 600 bucks a week,

so I'm on my way to Charles Elliston's house.

It'll be my "Room of One's Own"

as the badass Virginia would say.

And, um, I'm gonna write something.

Who knows? Maybe I'll even dedicate it to you.

Oh, shit.

[indistinct commentary on TV]

[commentator] It's over. The Red Socks have lost

the 1975 World Series to Cincinnati.

Oh, my god. Yes.

[knock on door]

[♪♪♪]

Hey. Freeze, motherfucker.

Jesus Christ. I'm Dawn,

I'm Dawn, I'm Dawn. Bernie sent me.

-What? Who? -Bernie, your agent.

Is that a remote?

Is that my bell pull?

Yeah.

[crickets chirping]

You want me to clean around the TV and the computers?

[Bernie] I'm at dinner with friends right now.

You didn't tell him I was coming.

I could have been killed.

-He's harmless. -[phone ringing]

-[Dawn] Hey. -Please hold.

-Yes? -Get rid of her.

Get her out of my house right now.

She said you held her at gunpoint?

[Charlie on phone] She did?

Yeah, with like, a remote control?

Look, I'm writing. Make her go away.

Hold on a sec.

-Yeah? -He's watching me.

-Give it a week, okay? -[Dawn] I don't know.

Hold on a second. Are you watching her?

She's spying on me. Lose her right now.

Oh, what's all this food?

-Look. -[Charlie] What?

Uh, I can't keep doing this, okay?

Just do me a favor, put up with Dawn,

and give me the first two chapters.

-Do not call me back. -What?

And you, I will put you back on a bus

and send you wherever the hell it is you came from

unless you can calm down and handle...

Hey, don't you threaten me.

I will fucking kill you. You understand?

Okay, okay, okay.

Look, just handle it and I will--

I will double your first week pay.

We have no food in this house. [sighs]

[Dawn] You know what? I can handle dust and grime.

He is beyond eccentric.

[Bernie] Okay. But Dawn, he's a genius, okay?

What did you expect?

If I can deal with him, you can deal with him.

[♪♪♪]

♪ Go a little colder ♪

♪ Yeah, six more lonely nights ♪

♪ That I'm spending dead drunk screamin' ♪

♪ Oh oh ♪

[birds chirping]

-[door creaks] -[Dawn] Charlie.

[grunts]

Shit. Shit. I'm sorry.

Get away-- get away from me.

-I'm fine. Get away from me. -I'm sorry.

[Dawn] Okay. Okay.

-Jesus. I was... -[groans and grunts]

[breathing heavily]

I hope you're okay.

And you're welcome for cleaning the kitchen.

Leave me alone.

I'm gonna be in the pool house.

-Fucking spoiled brat. -[door creaks and closes]

I heard that. I heard that.

Yeah, well, you are.

I spent hours cleaning that kitchen,

and what kind of a person dumps his entire can of coffee

on a perfectly clean floor?

I can if I want to.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, you can. Good for you.

What do you want, medal of honor?

Don't be sarcastic with me.

Did you want me to be polite?

You're the debutant?

Why can't you be polite?

I can't be polite!

[phone ringing]

Hello. It's the Wexler residence.

Dad, it's the supreme narcissist.

Just because your mother calls him that,

does not mean that you can.

Now, please tell Uncle Charlie that I am not home.

Dad says he's not home and I'm not supposed to call you

the supreme narcissist even though mom does.

So, goodbye.

-[chuckles] -Hey, guys.

Val and I just finished our meeting.

You figured out a way to make money

off of vegan crap yet?

Actually, yes.

Seth, would you like to try the new macaroons

-I just whipped up? -Yeah.

Nobody should get excited about vegan cookies.

Uh-huh, he's still your son.

What's up?

Val and I got the Houseman wedding,

so we're gonna make 50,000 in profit.

You guys are gonna make a profit?

And we'll be able to pay you back.

Nicely done. [chuckles]

-Nice. -Yeah.

But, um, also we wanna expand.

What does that mean?

It means I signed a lease for a rental space,

but it's only $40,000, and we are getting

so many orders for Val's desserts,

we just-- we wanna sell them direct.

Well, I mean, we'll just-- we'll have to,

uh-- you know, look, I'll, I'll, I'll get a loan

and I guess we'll just figure it out.

Thanks.

[♪♪♪]

I read his first book, and, yeah, it was cool.

But look at the title of this chapter,

"River of Tears." You know, where I come from,

I would be smacked upside the head

and told to suck it up.

Self-indulgent bullshit.

If you read the whole thing, it makes sense.

[cash machine beeps]

It's kind of cool, actually.

[beeping]

Okay. Then I will get these two,

but I'm gonna pay for them separately.

[♪♪♪]

Coffee?

Don't ask for a latte because this godforsaken thing

hasn't worked since the day we got it.

Black, please.

Hey, I don't mean to butt in, but, uh,

do you want me to take a look at that machine?

I used to work at a coffee shop.

I would love that.

-Is it cool if I open it up? -Sure.

Yeah. Your pump's cracked.

You have to order a new one, but they're not that expensive.

I'm not into Henry James.

Talk about passive-aggressive, it's tragic.

I read that book last year. She's an idiot.

Word.

Hey, what's up?

She's taking care of Charlie.

Which is on the DL,

considering he's a recluse, so...

Well, we've known the family since he was a baby.

My older sister, Carmelita used to take care of Charlie.

She loved him like a son.

He used to be in love with my mom.

-Really? -No.

He would come in.

He's married to his writing, I think.

[♪♪♪]

♪ Coming down fast ♪

♪ It's anything... ♪

Jesus. Oh.

♪ ...that never comes back ♪

[door creaks and opens]

-Oh, hey. -Shit. What in the...

[grunts]

-Are you okay? -Do I look okay?

You put in dish soap instead of detergent.

-Is there a difference? -Yes, there's a difference.

Now you want me to clean this up?

I'll, I'll, uh, get towels.

Why is there a difference anyway?

I think we got it all. It's good.

[sighs] So, how old were you

when you got your first book published?

Um, I was 33.

Wow. That must have been hard.

Although, you are a trust fund baby

and you have your clean, well-lit place.

Do you ever get lonely?

Not really.

How'd you start writing?

I don't remember. I just-- I,

I don't remember not writing.

Are you a writer?

No. I was just-- I was just curious.

Oh. You're just curious?

Yeah, I was just curious.

I enjoy reading novels and appreciate writers,

so whatever.

Most writers write about their childhood,

which is a cliché travesty in my opinion.

I write about what embarrasses me,

what makes me nervous, what enrages me beyond the pale.

Right.

One rule of thumb, always write for yourself first,

worry about the world later.

Huh.

Oh, hi.

Just, uh, watching the stars.

What are you doing?

I'm just gonna get in the pool.

Oh, you can't.

Why not? Is there like a dead mouse or something?

It's my mother's pool.

I thought that your mother was, um...

She's-- yeah, she's dead.

Okay. So what? Is she buried in the pool?

Of course not.

Please, just-- hey, hey, no, no, no. No, no.

Hey. Please just, uh, go away, go away.

Please. Go. Go, go, go, go, go.

Just-- hey! I said no, okay?

Please. Just get away from the pool.

Go away. Go away.

Okay.

Sorry.

[Charlie] Hmm.

[door creaks and opens]

[footsteps approaching]

[Charlie] Hello? Dawn?

Oh, Dawn. I wanna get two walkie-talkies

and they won't let me do it on this stupid card.

We could just text like normal people.

I'd prefer walkie-talkies.

Okay. Uh, I'll look into that for you.

Is that necessary?

Oh, sorry.

May I come up?

Um, yeah.

Where do you keep your credit card statements?

Those look like 'em.

Any particular reason why you keep this stuff?

Okay. Just because I get sick of playing a game

doesn't mean that I may not play it eventually,

so please...

This game sucked when I was 12.

It's like an old friend.

You spend a lot of time with it.

You develop a sentimental connection

and you just do not get rid of it.

[plays guitar notes]

Okay. You can-- all right, definitely--

probably that one, but...

This one's broken.

It is?

Okay. So how about we make a deal?

Anything that's broken or stupid, I get to throw out?

Well, okay, but not the books, okay?

Don't, don't-- no, no books.

Do you think I'm fucking stupid?

No.

That's impressive.

Oh, the books? Yeah. They're...

they're research for--

well, this section is research for the guitar book

and that section is research for the, the baseball book.

-Wow. -Karmic payback.

I got kicked out of high school

and now all I do is, is research.

Huh, Charles Elliston of the Boston Tea Party Ellistons

got kicked out of high school.

Followed the dead for a year,

and made grilled cheese sandwiches at the shows.

Oh, I bet your parents were proud.

What time, uh, are you making dinner?

[sighs]

What time would you like me to make dinner?

7:30?

7:30.

[plays guitar]

Charlie's been through a lot.

That father of his is a difficult man

and the mother, serious emotional problems.

Yeah. Well, he needs to get over it.

Your package from Aunt Helena came.

Dawn, do you mind if I run to the post office?

I'll hold down the fort.

Go ahead, I'll meet you outside.

You shouldn't expect so much of a man like Charlie.

It's that family.

What about them?

The mother was rough on Charlie to be sure

he was the perfect little boy.

Okay. Everybody has it rough in one way or another.

Their little boys can't be perfect.

They're little boys, and one Summer,

she decided the best way to teach them his manners

was dunking his head in the pool,

again and again, until he promised to be perfect.

She used the pool. That is so fucked up.

Yeah. My sister, Carmalita had to stop it once.

Look, I get it, okay?

I mean, kids, they go through terrible shit

and, and they still have to wake up every morning.

-Dawn... -I'm just saying.

Everybody has shit that's just as bad as that,

and they can't afford, you know, these big mansions

where they can just hide away and,

and feel bad for themselves for the rest of their lives.

[Dawn sighs]

Okay.

[♪♪♪]

Hey, I set you a place in the dining room.

I'd rather sit in the kitchen.

Okay.

Oh.

Well, are you gonna eat?

If you want me to.

Yeah. I mean...

My mom, she just-- she used to work

for a family like yours, and we didn't--

we didn't eat with them, so...

Well, when I was a kid, I wasn't--

I wasn't allowed in the dining room.

Really?

Before I could eat with my parents,

I had to learn to participate in dining room conversation,

which is impossible at 5, not easy at 7,

and excruciating by 12.

I'm, I'm nervous just walking by the dining room.

Well, I've never heard anything like that.

No wonder why you hate talking to people.

So, um, who are your favorite writers?

Hmm.

Borges, DiLello.

I have a soft spot for Richard Powers.

Do you know them?

No.

David Foster Wallaceis, a master.

Not quite Pynchon, but...

Yeah. I, I-- I know Wallace.

Ah.

Pynchon, I've, I've never heard of that guy.

[chuckles] I've got a lot of books upstairs.

You can borrow them anytime.

Who's your favorite writer?

I read a lot of Faulkner.

He is unrelenting. It's harsh.

Oh, he's so much more than that.

He's-- when I--

when I read Faulkner, I think of dirt.

It can be hard, but then it can also--

if you dig deep enough, it can-- it can be soft,

and it, it breaks apart in your hands,

and it, it gets into every little tiny crack and crevice.

I...

[music playing]

[sighs]

[water flowing]

[♪♪♪]

[sings musical notes]

Charlie?

Uh, Charlie?

I'm writing.

[phone keys beeping]

-Bernie. -What-- Dawn?

Listen, Charlie's card is almost $12,000 overdue.

Don't go through his personal finances.

He has other cards. He can use them.

No. No, that's not the point,

the point is, what are you gonna do about his bill?

It's above your pay grade. Stay out of it.

No. Don't hang up.

[sighs]

[music playing]

Wha-oh.

Is this something you're writing?

No. What?

Oh...

Charlie, can you just please--

I can do whatever I want.

You're just gonna make fun of me. Charlie--

You are a writer, I see you out there.

I just wanna see what you're up to over here.

Give it back, Charlie!

Give it back!

[grunts]

Jesus Christ.

Back off.

You're such an asshole, I hate you.

And you're a coward.

I'm not a coward.

Can you help me up?

No.

Geez.

Just give me the damn password and I'll see.

[Dawn] Ugh, it's "the grateful dead."

What could that possibly mean?

I don't know.

Well, looks like Charlie's got a lot of accounts

with like, not very much money in them.

Wait.

It looks like all his accounts are linked to this one

that's a trust account shared with Wexler Literary.

What? [sighs]

-Bernie? -Money from the trust account

just keeps getting transferred out to an account at

Boston Commonwealth Bank, yeah.

It's, it's under Bernie's name,

so Bernie's using Charlie's income

like his own private stash.

The last transfer was $40,000.

-Wow. -Wait.

Does Charlie never look at this shit?

[clicks tongue] No. Of course he doesn't.

Rich people are so weird.

Well, it doesn't look like he's that rich anymore.

[sighs] Nic, I don't know what to do.

Yes, you do.

god. Why did I fuck Bernie?

I mean, there's the whole feminist construct

around resources control their men,

and women are, unfortunately, just...

Yeah. I know.

I know. You've told me.

Oh, D. We all do fucked-up shit.

-[chuckling] -Oh, my god.

The Boston Herald covering the wedding,

it is perfect for our launch.

I mean, best press we could've hoped for.

Oh, we're gonna dazzle them

with the cake-- crystalline orchids,

I figured out how to make them out of a gave syrup.

[screams] You go girl.

-Mrs. Wexler? -Yes.

There's no possibility of an equity loan on your house.

Your husband's taken out three loans already.

-Three loans? -In fact,

the mortgage is four months past due.

Four, four months?

[breathing heavily]

Mia, are you okay?

Are you having a heart attack?

Emergency. Medic, ambulance!

Panic attack. Panic attack.

Ah, a panic-- okay.

Keep calm, breathe.

Uh, uh, breathe.

[♪♪♪]

Set the coffeemaker now and wait for my 3:30 run.

[speaking indistinctly]

Done half an hour ago.

Okay.

[speaking indistinctly]

Oh!

Mia. Mia!

Oh, Mrs. Houseman, you look beautiful.

I count four tea roses here.

I bought and paid for five.

Oh, actually, we agreed on four tea roses

to, um, cut costs.

It's right here in your contract.

Oh, right. I remember.

Bernie, um, please meet Mrs. Adolph Houseman.

Her daughter is about to get married.

Pleased to meet you.

I really don't give a rat's ass.

Bernie, what the hell?

What happened with Mrs. Houseman?

I need to talk to you.

Not now.

You called a divorce lawyer?

We are broke, you didn't tell me.

It's a-- it's a cash flow issue, that's all.

No, it's not.

Bernie, it's that soul-sucking vampire

of a narcissist Charlie and you keep choosing him.

That's not true.

Look, we, we are going to be fine.

You risked our financial security

on a crazy person,

and you hid it from me because you knew

that I would make you choose him or me.

I mean, the mortgage?

You knew I'd go ballistic.

Please don't do this, okay?

You know that I love you.

All right? Just-- I just need time.

Partial custody.

That is what you get.

Motherfucker!

Fuck!

[cue balls clacking]

-Charlie? -I'm busy.

Hi, hi. How's the writing going?

Has anybody, uh, resurrected themselves yet?

Well, uh, let me repeat myself.

It's about a post-apocalyptic world,

everyone is dead.

Right. Listen, so I looked into that

that credit card issue that you were having.

Oh, that. Forget it about, it's fine.

No, no, it's not fine.

There, there is actually a huge problem.

Dawn, your writing.

What?

Your writing sucks.

If you wanna be a writer,

you have to interpret the world around you,

not merely regurgitate your tawdry life experience.

My tawdry life experience?

You fucked Bernie, and then you compound your mistake

by romanticizing it in this, like,

hackneyed pitiful Hallmark card of a story.

Like you don't romanticize yourself

with your books that are filled with fucking idiots who,

who feel sorry for themselves or guitar-playing losers?

Oh, wait, but that's right, there are millions of losers

that could commiserate with your shit.

Well, I'm, I'm just curious,

how, how many non-talent women who fuck married men

and have time to read, do you think are out there?

Fuck you.

What the fuck do you know about women?

When was the last time you even had a conversation with one?

Let alone, walked down your own goddamn driveway?

I know you.

You know you don't have what it takes

to be a writer so you fucked Bernie,

uh, thinking that it's some sort of,

like, legitimate pathway,

uh, of getting yourself published.

Let me just tell you something,

no matter how good a piece of ass you are,

it doesn't make bad writing readable.

-What are you doing? -What does it look like?

Isn't this why you're mad?

Huh?

He's seen my ass and you haven't?

Well, feast your eyes, dickhead, because I'm going swimming.

Wait! That's not allowed

I'm going in that goddamn pool.

I said no!

Don't-- hey! Don't you dare!

Hey, don't come any closer.

Stop!

Dawn... would you act like you're reasonable for a minute?

Please? Hey!

-Dawn! -[Dawn] Ugh!

I-- get back here right now!

Come on, Charlie... cannonball or swan dive?

I said I forbid you!

I can't hear you.

I am just a no-talent piece of ass who's hard of hearing.

Does the word "forbid" mean nothing to you?

Do you just think you can come here

and shit on anything and everything you want

because, 'cause you're angry?

Look, did I ask you to come here, did I?

Hey, I swear to God, you crazy fuck,

if you come near me, I jump in.

I'm, I'm going in the house.

I'm turning my back.

No.

Help!

You were supposed to take care of me!

[sobs] You're supposed to take care of me.

Ohh. Why do you have to go and hurt me?

Sorry, I was just joking, Charlie.

Get away from me, I can't do this!

No one is hurt, Charlie.

-I'm sorry. I... -I just...

[sobs]

I can't do this.

Everything is fine. I'm...

Get out of here.

Okay. Okay. Fuck.

[sobs]

[music playing]

♪ I keep your picture upon the wall ♪

♪ It hides a nasty stain that's lying there ♪

I'll be out of here in an hour or so.

I don't want you to go, Dawn.

I'm, I'm sorry I got angry...

and, uh, I, I lost it.

And I'm so, so sorry.

Yeah. Well, I'm sorry too.

I mean, I don't really know what to think.

I mean, is this what polite people do?

Do they-- do they just say they're sorry and go of tears?

I don't know what other people do.

I think we've established that fact.

I can only speak for myself.

Okay.

Well, I'm not-- I'm not proud of my behavior

and what I said.

And I lied,

which is.. it's unforgivable.

Well, I showed you my ass,

so I'm sorry for that.

Oh, that.. that's okay.

It's not.

Well, do you think we could put it behind us,

and, uh, you know, I want to go over your stuff if--

we haven't really done that, so...

Oh, um...

Okay.

So...

let me just start by saying

you've got a long way to go.

This is a very strong story in terms of setting the scene,

the, the catalogue of debris, and the Mary McRiver,

the shopping cart, broken slabs of styrofoam,

oil slick, it's gruesome.

But what you aren't doing is revealing

the whole range of emotions

of the main character, her whole soul.

You've got opinion and action,

but no inner life,

but the passage at the end, where she's alone in her bed,

there you've captured that private emotional landscape

I'm talking about.

Her shame, it's visceral...

in the halting rhythm

of the sentences, the stark choice of words,

it's, it's...

well, it's breathtaking.

[Dawn] The ending just sort of came out that way.

What? What did you say?

The ending, it just..

it just sort of came out that way.

Oh, well, if you wanna be a writer,

you've got to find your way

deeper into those channels, okay?

I, I don't know how to do that.

I mean-- I mean, no one's ever taught me.

Well, no one ever taught Kerouac

or Twain or Angelou.

You know what you're doing,

you've got talent, ridiculous amount.

You just got a lot of scathing opinions

cluttering up the good stuff, the raw stuff.

How do I tell the difference

between the things that I care about,

which is basically everything

that I've put into this--

I'm not letting you off the hook.

Do you wanna be clever or do you wanna be great?

Charlie...

Thank you.

[♪♪♪]

[♪♪♪]

Sick.

♪ There are two of us on the run ♪

♪ Going so fast every doubt we had is coming undone ♪

♪ And falling behind with everything we left there ♪

♪ We held on for far too long ♪

♪ And now we pass so many people on the road ♪

♪ They could come along I wish they'd been told ♪

♪ They may call it a shot in the dark ♪

Hi.

I have a surprise for you.

A surprise?

Come on.

No, no way.

[Charlie] It's been years, so...

-I can't. -You can.

[sighs]

I promise.

Come on.

♪ 'Cause we've got everything we're gonna need ♪

Whoa.

[Charlie] Whoa, whoa!

Settle down. Settle down.

[engine roaring]

[♪♪♪]

♪ We made something of ourselves ♪

[keyboard keys clicking]

[phone ringing]

-What? -It's Bernie.

Hi.

It sounds like I'm the gas company calling you.

Look, I got good news.

All right, we got another four weeks out of Liz,

She hired some pretty fucking scary lawyers.

so how's it going?

It's going good.

[Bernie] Uh, do you wanna, like, bounce any ideas off of me?

Um, not really.

Just tell me where the book's going.

Remember how we flipped the main character in Guitar Book?

Like, maybe we should consider--

I don't really wanna talk about it right now.

[Bernie] You don't wanna talk about it?

That means what, that, like, you don't need me?

Oh, you know what? Wait.

I need, um, I need two walkie-talkies.

You know what? You have an assistant.

Fuck you.

Wow, this, this carpet is awesome.

Dust is a little scary.

Look at that.

Spacious, it's bright, it's kind of pretty.

Yes.

Here, come here.

Um, so I was...

um, this table, can we-- can we get rid of it?

Yeah. And then afterwards,

maybe we could do something about the mausoleum.

The mausoleum?

Uh, I-- did I just say that out loud?

Yeah, you said mausoleum. What is that?

It's where the dead people live.

I'm gonna go get the vacuum.

[chuckles]

-[sighs] -[Bernie] Charlie?

[soft knock]

[Bernie] Charlie?

Charlie?

-Bernie. -Hey.

You good-looking preppy asshole.

-Hi, bud. -Oh.

-How are you? -Oh, it's good to see you.

I didn't know you were gonna be here.

Dawn?

[sighs] Bernie.

Hey. Before I forget, here's your salary for the week

and a little something extra for the house.

Hey, let's go grab a beer. Come on.

Dawn, you wanna...

Oh, just let her keep cleaning.

Besides, I, am so very [indistinct whispering]

[♪♪♪]

[indistinct chatter and laughter]

[Bernie] Come on, big, go big or go home, kid.

Oh, hey, by the way, did I show you the article

that I scored us in Rolling Stone magazine

that perfectly sets up the release of the book?

Dawn showed me the link.

They call to Charles Elliston, existential angst,

in postmodern paranoia.

Cheers.

Am I really brilliant and relevant?

Oh, most definitely. Dude, haven't you heard?

Every generation goes through a crisis of faith

and a love affair with nihilism.

I mean, if you don't get Charles Elliston,

you just don't get it, man.

I don't get it.

Neither do I.

[vacuum whirring]

[Bernie] The mere possibility that you could get some,

it gives you like this temporary superpower

to listen to any of the bullshit

that comes out of a woman's mouth.

It's like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,

blah, blah, boom,

in triumph, you find yourself in her apartment

banging around into the goddamn furniture.

But it's great because you're gonna fuck her

or her roommate who's crazy and has a cat,

and is neurotic, and stutters, but you might fuck her, too,

which is also fucking great because fucking is great.

Because fucking is great!

The best sex I've ever had in my entire life,

bar none, without a doubt, is with my wife.

Like married sex, when it is good,

it's...

it's the best.

Then one day, you catch her looking at you

and she's got this...

this like look of disappointment in her eyes

and then she's never the same.

Fucking is a fucking mystery.

Boys, I'm going into town.

-Ooh. -Hey.

Wait, are you hungry? Because I am.

We would like some food, please.

Well, there's a fridge with leftovers,

so you can get it yourself.

Just don't forget the saran wrap.

Otherwise, you'll choke to death.

Dude, no, why don't you have Dawn do all this?

We're just... we're just triaging here, man, come on.

That's the issue with help.

Once you have help,

like, all that happens is you end up cleaning more

for some weird guilt-based reason.

Help?

Okay, Lord of the Realm.

Oh, you're looking at me?

I learned that expression from you,

you over-privileged asshole.

I never had help in my life.

So then, does that simply make you an asshole?

Oh! [laughs] Guilty.

Oh, what's that?

This, this is the deal here.

You use that soap to wash the dishes,

it is not for the dishwasher,

which is an entirely different situation.

[Bernie giggles]

And when you're done, you get to moisturize.

You get to moisturize?

Go ahead, smell.

Oh, bro. [sniffs]

Right?

This smell... this smells like...

this smells like a garden in Springtime.

-Oh, come on, man. -It just smells like...

No, no, no. It smells like the ocean.

-The ocean. -Oh the ocean.

Oh, that's good. You can smell this.

You know, waves.

♪ Standing high in the clouds I'll be lost in ♪

♪ Never found again when on the rainbow mountain ♪

Dude, you oughta try some of these doughnuts.

Bernie?

[Bernie] Hey. [laughs]

So, um, I was just-- I was just kind of looking

just for the first chapter.

Oh, it's not done yet, man. Just wait.

-Okay, but... -Just wait.

Just wait.

Yeah, I know. I just-- I, I just thought

like, the tone, we could set the essence, do our thing.

Like, do the thing that we always do.

Shall we watch a baseball game?

No, no, no, no, no,

let's, um, let's not watch an old depressing baseball game

from, like, it's-- oh, 1975.

We're, we're just toddlers, man. We weren't even at that game.

Besides, the Red Sox have won three World Championships.

It's kind of dynasty.

Not my Red Sox.

Uh, look, I didn't even actually

wanna talk about the Red Sox.

Let's talk about, like, the first chapter.

I've been holding the line as long as I can, but we're,

we're officially out of time and we have no money.

[playing guitar]

Well, this book has been the best experience of my life.

It's like a different dimension, so, so the..

really, the, the best thing that you could do,

would be just leave me alone and just let me finish it.

But I need to--

I mean, I need to read it and I need to help you.

I mean, we crushed it on Baseball Angels

and we have to crush this book, bro,

we need to hit, like, a homerun.

Yeah, see that, you can't help me.

This particular book, you just-- you wouldn't get it.

Hmm.

Well then, party on, Tinkerbelle.

[playing strains on guitar]

Okay, man.

Fuck.

[laughing]

You're lucky I didn't see you on the road

because I would've driven over your ass.

You're drunk, you shouldn't be driving.

Oh, any more suggestions, Nurse Machete?

Hey, you don't have to insult me.

Do it.

Well, why won't you go be his housekeeper, nanny,

assistant, handmaiden/whatever the fuck it is

that you do, sweetheart?

Go.

[♪♪♪]

[screaming]

[keyboard keys clacking]

[♪♪♪]

Where were you? It's almost 5:00.

Three guesses,

the one diner, grocery store, or the one gas station in town.

There's no lunch. I can't find you.

[Dawn] You were asleep when I left.

I'm, I'm looking over the rocks here.

Uh, I'm sorry.

I didn't know that you wanted lunch.

I was just getting some stuff for your birthday.

Well, uh, um-- it's just that I've finished.

Oh, wow.

That's, that's, that's amazing, Charlie.

It's called, Grace.

And I was wondering if you'd give it a read.

Me?

It's not like anything I've ever done.

It's, uh, sort of a love story,

complete departure from my groove.

There's this 2,000-year-old whale

in this post-apocalyptic world and a sylph.

A sylph?

[Charlie] A thousand-year-old sylph.

A sylph is-- like-- it's like a mermaid,

but it exists in the sky, and back in the day...

they gave the secrets of the earth to the mortals

and they've often been mischaracterized,

but this sylph speaks the truth.

The truth, which is the purest,

finest construct in the universe.

The whale and the sylph feel as though--

you know, they, they, they can't possibly fall in love

because their world is beyond repair,

but their souls collide, which is...

What is that?

[gasps] Your manuscript.

Did you like it?

It changed me.

Hmm.

[exhales]

[♪♪♪]

♪ It matters to me ♪

♪ Took a long time to get you ♪

[Nicole] What, so you have a grade school crush

on the crazy person?

Well, yeah, but that doesn't matter.

You've clearly gone insane.

No, uh, you, you look very happy right now

and that concerns me greatly.

Seriously though?

I mean, whenever we-- whenever we spend time together,

it's just like we're in this different dimension.

It's crazy.

Maybe that's because he's decades older than you.

Stop it.

[laughs]

You really have to read "Grace."

I mean, it's just-- when somebody writes about you,

it's like-- it's like they're describing...

everything that you know about yourself and then

and then there are these other things

that you hope are you and-- I don't know, it's like

it's like-- it's like half of me was always

just a few steps ahead,

and the other half just never caught up and...

[giggles]

He... gave that to me.

Yeah, but-- I mean, you're you, right?

So, like, Charlie helps you see it,

and that's amazing,

you deserve that, but it was yours to begin with.

Yeah, I guess so.

It just-- I don't know, I guess my whole life,

people have always, you know, made me think I was this,

this one thing, this thing that I had to be,

and, and-- so I was just being that thing.

Yeah, you're the only one

who can change that thing, right?

Yeah.

Look, D, you-- God bless you,

you can come on a little strong.

Hmm.

Right? [laughs]

And then when one thing gets, like, a little bit wonky,

you just burn the whole fucking house down.

I just--I don't want you to be disappointed.

-No. -I know. I know.

Don't come down on me right now.

Oh, come on.

-Okay. I have to go. -All right.

But, um...

Hmm.

I was wondering if you could just do me this favor.

Would you take a look at this? This thing that I wrote.

I, I just-- I want your opinion.

This thing that you wrote?

Yes, this thing that I wrote.

Finally. Yes.

But hey, you're gonna get no mercy.

No mercy.

[chuckles]

-Bye, D. -Bye.

Dawn Royce.

Bernie, you're not answering any of my phone calls

I came by to make sure that you are sure--

He doesn't want me to go around while I'm writing.

I am not going to his damn birthday.

He needs you to go to his birthday.

-It's tradition. -No.

He needs to make money or he's gonna lose his house.

What? It's that bad?

Yes.

Well-- uh, well, I read his book.

And it's actually-- uh, it's actually incredible.

He's finished a book

and I haven't seen it, but he gave it to you?

Yeah, it's bizarre,

but it's, like this perfect, perfect metaphor...

I don't give a shit. I need a copy of the book.

I'll pay you for it.

No. I'm not stealing from him.

It's not stealing. It's our business.

It's our survival.

It's your survival.

How much have you already taken from him?

Are you driving his fucking Porsche?

The two of you, you've made millions,

and where is it?

Where's it gone?

Did you just drain him of every last dime--

You have no idea what you're talking about.

You know, what's gonna kill him?

I wanna tell him every day what a dick you are,

but I can't, because it's gonna break his heart.

I'm not gonna justify my relationship

with my best friend to some fucking assistant.

Now, please, get off my property.

Dickhead.

[door creaking]

Happy birthday.

You look nice.

Thanks. So do you.

I was thinking maybe we could eat in here tonight.

You know, just a romantic--

Where's Bernie?

He's not coming.

-No, he'll come. -He's not coming.

I went and I saw him

and he said he's, he's not coming.

Bernie always comes.

He said that, that he wasn't coming,

so, um...

But, you know, uh,

dinner for two is nice, right?

[sighs]

That was it. That was my high school career.

So, you got kicked out of Andover

not because you were cheating or because you were high

but because you ditched to go to a Red Sox game?

It was opening day.

-It's significant. -Oh, that's great.

They kicked me out and Bernie,

didn't talk to my father for two years.

I didn't finish high school.

Why not? Why didn't you?

It was nothing. It was... Well...

It was just this really fucked up thing,

I don't know. High school sucked anyway.

Who liked high school?

Kids, all they did, they were just... I don't know.

We just got drunk and high and we drove over mailboxes.

Did you run over mailboxes and stuff?

Sometimes, we did.

But it's not like I liked it or wanted to, it just happened.

Then I read "To the Lighthouse" and "Virginia Woolf"

she, she fucking hates her father

just as much as I hate mine.

I mean, it, it was just so much resentment and desperation,

and just beauty streaming off the pages, and I just...

I just loved it.

It was...

I don't really...

I thought-- I thought I was really weird

and so did everybody else, I guess.

Most people think I'm weird.

They totally think you're weird.

[chuckles]

Oh.

I forgot.

I got you something.

[Charlie] Uh-huh. A present.

Okay.

So, I was hoping that this would inspire you to new heights,

as they say.

And I also-- I borrowed your CD burner

but I put it back.

Thank you. Thank you.

So, I guess I'm supposed to listen to new music now?

I think so.

[sighs] Uh-huh.

Time for port.

Let's go. Come on.

-Oh, it's okay. -Port.

-[Dawn] Now what? -[Charlie] Okay.

Just put it around here, around this bit. Top.

[Charlie] Ooh.

Can you close it? Nice. Okay, good.

This is what we're gonna do.

Very pretentious tradition.

[Charlie] Okay, that's good, that's good.

Oh.

And the old port bottles, the cork gets disintegrated.

[Dawn giggles]

[bottle clangs]

Voila.

Wow. Now, that, that is some fancy shit.

-[Dawn] Fancy -Right?

[Dawn chuckles]

Cheers, I think.

Do you do cheers with these things?

Yeah. [glasses clang]

What's that?

[Dawn] Aw. Look, you're so young.

Oh, Mr. Publicity, hmm?

Uh-hmm.

How did he become an agent?

He stole my first piece of writing.

And gave it to Liz at Russian House.

She loved it, she published it.

All he wanna do is get laid.

He told her some sob story about his poor friend,

Charlie, all he did was write.

[chuckles]

Charlie, there's something I have to tell you.

What?

Just say it. You're going to anyway.

You always do.

Bernie, he's steal--

he's, he's taking all your money.

I don't care about that.

[sighs] I don't care.

Why do you have it out for Bernie?

Charlie, he's a crook, which means--

it means he's not your friend.

That's-- Bernie was the only person

who didn't laugh when I said I wanted to be a writer.

He's, he's made it all happen for me.

Charlie, your, your writing

is what has made this whole thing happen for you.

Not, not Bernie.

That's, that's not enough.

He's relentless, okay? I could never have done it.

-You told me... -[Charlie] Not like him.

write for yourself first,

and the rest of the world, it just, it comes later. Right?

I'm talking about friendship and history.

I don't care about the money.

Charlie, Charlie, listen. What, what, what friendship?

He has been stealing from you.

That's not friendship, Charlie.

So, you get to screw Bernie, and now I can't be friends...

Hey, yes, I slept with him.

Okay?

And it is a huge, pathetic mistake that I am--

I am trying to recover from--

First best opportunity comes along,

Bernie, then me, then someone else, and you just--

No, no, Charlie!

-[Charlie] You just hop aboard-- -No!

You're like a little toad from lily to lily.

No, you don't get to twist this around, Charlie, okay?

Get out.

What?

[Charlie] Get out.

No. Charlie, you do not get to act like--

Get away from me.

Get out.

[Dawn] Charlie. Charlie, wait!

I was only trying to help. Charlie!

Go away! I don't need you.

What are you talking about? What about what you wrote?

What about Grace?

[chuckles] It's not about you!

It's-- you're just a muse.

It's, it's fiction.

[Charlie] I'm done with you.

Why don't you go?

You fucking asshole. Fucking bastard.

Leave me alone.

[Dawn] Charlie!

[Dawn grunting]

Open the fucking door, you fucking pussy.

[bangs on door]

[screaming] Open this goddamn fuck.

Charlie.

[crying]

[♪♪♪]

[clattering]

[rustling]

[♪♪♪]

[Bernie] Your mom loves me, and she always will,

and I'm always gonna love her.

But we just, you know,

we just can't live together right now.

That's all.

I heard her crying last night.

You need to get back together.

Well, I'm sorry you heard that. That's--

that's terrible, pal.

But sometimes you know, things break,

and you try to fix it,

and sometimes, they get fixed, and sometimes, they don't.

I wanna go back to the house now.

What? I want a dad hug.

No.

No?

[cell phone ringing]

[clears throat] Liz, hey.

Hi, I was-- I was just gonna call you.

Uh, Charlie is almost finished with the entire book.

Great news, right?

Bernie, your time is up. And I've got confirmation.

Not only can I sue you personally,

I can go after the copyright on all of Charlie's books.

He's written the most beautiful book of his career,

we-- you should be happy.

Good. I own that, too.

-[indistinct chatter] -Charlie. What are you doing?

Charlie boy.

Tip me over and pour me out.

You really got after it, huh?

I mean, this place is a shit show.

Get it out of your system?

Hey, you got to sing that song, you gotta sing it right?

♪ I'm a little teapot short and stout ♪

♪ Here is my handle here is my spout ♪

[laughing]

That's not the book, is it?

[laughing]

Oh.

Tell me you have other you have other copies, right?

No, no.

It wasn't really me anyway, man.

[Bernie] Why would you do this?

I mean, honestly, why would you do this to us?

Get me that outline! Get me that first draft.

I got to sell it.

Then, goodbye, Charlie.

Dawn says it's your best work,

you've never been better.

Now you're just gonna destroy that?

I quit.

[tearing paper]

I quit writing, Bernie.

You're supposed to be my friend.

How-- how have you ever been my friend, huh?

Since the first fucking day you got published

to being the writer of a generation.

This, right here, has been a one-way street.

It's you needing me. I do everything for you.

Let me ask you a question,

where's the nearest grocery store?

You ever bought groceries?

You ever-- you ever pay taxes, you ever pay your mortgage?

What do you do for yourself?

Nothing. You know why?

Because I do everything. Me.

It's just your name on the goddamn book.

You stole my money.

[laughs] I stole money?

You owed people pages for a year and a half,

a year and a half.

Powerful people,

and it was my ass in the goddamn hot seat.

My entire family has been bet on you.

Every single dollar that's ever come out of this relationship?

Trust me, motherfucker. I have earned.

And the one thing, the one thing

that made all this worth it

is that we were a team.

Every single paragraph that you have ever shaped,

I helped you orchestrate.

And I'll tell you right now,

being that close to you, being brilliant

made it all worthwhile, all of this bullshit.

And now, this girl comes along

and all of a sudden, what?

I'm shut out? I'm not good enough for you?

What? Am I nothing now?

You're dismissed, Bernie.

I'm gonna find that fucking book.

♪ At the China Cat Sunflower ♪

♪ Proud-walking jingle in the midnight sun ♪

♪ Like a crazy-quilt star gown through a dream night wind ♪

♪ Na-na-na ♪

Hey. Hey, uh, uh-uh.

Hey, don't you think you're going anywhere

with that goddamn book.

I don't have it. Ask Charlie.

[Bernie] He's acting like a lunatic.

He claims that he's destroyed

every last copy of that manuscript.

He wouldn't do that, not to Grace.

He almost burnt down the whole goddamn house.

Hey, hey, hey.

Listen, I'm serious.

I have to have that book.

-Hey, hey. -I have to have that-- I...

-Hey. Hey. -Fuck!

Get the fuck off of me, asshole.

[Dawn] No.

[Bernie] Stop. God, stop.

[screaming] Charlie.

♪ China Cat ♪

♪ China Cat ♪

[Dawn screaming] Charlie!

[screaming] Charlie!

[♪♪♪]

Are you all right? Can you hear me?

Are, are you okay?

[sniffs]

[sighs]

Tell me what it was like

to grow up next to the Merrimack River.

[chuckles]

It sucked.

[chuckles]

Just like [inhales] just like here.

Yeah?

[sighs]

I hit Bernie first.

I, I, hit him first.

I have to stop doing that.

It's just...

You can.

[♪♪♪]

[sobs]

[exhales deeply]

[crowd cheering]

-[man] Throw the heat. -I'll be right back.

Hey.

Hey.

Gonna come watch Seth?

[chuckles] I parked the car.

But I just--

I can't face you.

It's understandable.

Seth.

We broke his heart.

Your son is batting cleanup and the score is zero to three.

Seth always kicks ass when the pressure is on but,

it would be good if you were there.

Come on.

Hey, batter.

[boy] Go Seth, Go Seth. Come on.

Let's go, batter. Come on now.

-Let's make contact. -Come on, Seth.

Let's go.

Batter, batter, batter, batter, batter, batter.

Woo!

-Come on, big guy! -Yeah, Seth!

[♪♪♪]

[sighs]

Oh, my God.

-[Liz] Hey, Charlie. -[into phone] Liz.

How's it going? It's good to hear from you.

Great. I'm, I'm doing great.

Listen, there's something I want you to read.

♪ I'll drink to find inspiration ♪

[Liz] I am so glad we decided to come in.

This work is different,

it's a very challenging material,

but the writing is stunning.

It's visceral.

I would call it darkly beautiful.

Thank you.

We all agree that it's time for a new voice

in the literary world.

So, are you ready?

♪ Something happens when I lean on my mistakes ♪

♪ Love is mystical ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm a rational man ♪

♪ And I can see how far I've come ♪

♪ I can see how far I've come ♪

♪ But I don't know where to stand ♪

♪ Or who's coming to meet me now ♪

♪ Living life with no need ♪

♪ For the brakes ♪

♪ Something happens when I lean on my mistakes ♪

♪ If the words are true and the words reveal the same ♪

♪ I come alive when I don't even think ♪

♪ Love is mystical ♪

♪ Love will break the chains ♪

♪ You might feel invincible and you might be afraid ♪

♪ Light in darkness will show you the way ♪

♪ Gives you the power to believe again ♪

♪ Streetlights all night ♪

♪ We're alive but we're not all right ♪

♪ And now our thoughts are running wild ♪

♪ Sorrow, hollow ♪

♪ It's what we feel when we're alone ♪

♪ But we won't be headed home ♪

♪ We'll separate day by day ♪

♪ And we won't carry on ♪

♪ 'Cause we are far too young ♪

♪ To mess it up, I've had enough ♪

♪ Constantly on the run ♪

♪ But we are not getting home ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the cold ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Don't you carry me, don't you carry me home ♪

♪ Sad face, what a waste ♪

♪ No one ever left a trace of the sour bitter taste ♪

♪ Watching, driving, passing by feeling alive ♪

♪ Like you never change your mind ♪

♪ We'll separate day by day ♪

♪ And we won't carry on ♪

♪ But we are not getting home ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the cold ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Don't you carry me, don't you carry me home ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the cold ♪

♪ Won't you carry me, won't you carry me out of the darkness ♪

♪ Don't you carry me, don't you carry me home ♪

[♪♪♪]