New message. 9:03am.
I won't have you talking to me like that. Not in my own home.
You come back now, say you're sorry, or don't come back at all!
End of message.
You've made your point, OK?
Let's just put it behind us.
We both said things we didn't mean.
And me and your dad just want you to come home now.
End of message.
Tonia, where are you?
You're scaring us. We just want to know you're safe.
Yeah? Give us a call. Will you do that?
End of message.
We want you home.
We're both worried sick.
Just come home.
End of message.
Darling, we want you to come home.
We love you so much.
Tonia, please come home, baby.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Argh!
Argh!
Got something for you. Ah!
All the sentences you didn't like?
There were a lot of them.
Are you here to pick a prime minister, or deal with your son?
How is he?
OK.
Sorry.
Morning.
You wouldn't have a clue, would you, what it was like back then?
What it meant to be a reporter?
My parents were journalists. They met on the news floor.
When I was a little girl, they'd bring me in
to the old Fleet Street offices of The Daily Telegraph.
I knew straight away, this is where I belong.
Everyone smoked back then.
Ashtrays and typewriters.
Say something, someone.
Say you're sad.
Say it's for the best.
Say it's wrong!
In this room, not a word.
Pfft!
I'll say something.
Maggie...I want you to stay.
In here, you matter. Out there, you won't.
All you have to do, once in a while, is toe the line.
You don't want me to stay.
You just don't want to tell your father I'm gone. Hm!
Maggie, please!
You believed in this paper once.
I believed in something.
It just wasn't you.
I held his hand.
He would've recoiled, ordinarily,
from any kind of intimacy.
Doesn't seeing him like that make you wonder
whether it's time to move on with your life?
By move on, you mean remarry?
What else?
Alex? Yes? No, no, don't do that.
Um...if you follow me, let's go and...
Come with me, I'll show you what I want.
We'll bring you more on that rapidly-developing story
just as soon as we have it.
But now, with the Prime Minister considering a date
for the general election,
we go live to our political editor, who is at Westminster.
We're hearing that the PM spoke to his Cabinet...
The Prime Minister has requested that we enter through the back.
But the opposition leader, Angela Howard,
says it's time the country had a change, and...
Thank you.
Hello. Hello, sir. Follow me.
Thank you.
Prime Minister. Max. How are you? Well.
Prime Minister.
I'm sorry for the wait.
No, not at all.
I'm curious, Prime Minister, what...what is this?
What are these? I haven't seen them before. What are they?
Shortbread. Short-bread?
Scottish biscuits.
Are they supposed to look this pale?
That's the idea, yes. Yeah.
They're baked at low temperature.
Ah! Yeah, I've had fruit cake here.
With three different prime ministers.
In the run-up to five general elections.
This will make six.
I always thought fruit cake was such a quaint British tradition.
Shall I call for some cake?
No, no. That wasn't a request. This is...
Shortbread.
So, my friend, give me a date.
There's bread there, as well.
There you go.
Took me four years
to get from there to here.
I had a career,
a house, a wife.
Friends, golf clubs.
Sorry.
My fault.
Most of it.
Sorry anyway.
What about you?
Me?
Why are you here?
What have you been told?
It's not my fault! He's...
It doesn't matter whose fault it is!
It doesn't matter whose fault it is! It's not my fault!
Tonia, where are you? You're scaring us!
We just want to know you're safe.
Give us a call. Will you do that?
Keep your desk tidy!
Hey, my son!
Come here, come here, come here.
Look at you!
You look good.
Are you going to show me? Sure. That's why we're here.
Is something bothering you?
Can I ask why?
Sure. Why what?
Why did you took Lauren to see the Prime Minister?
Oh, well, three of us would have been too many.
Main news floor.
Hm.
Wow! Changed a lot.
Very...precise.
OK, everyone, please, just pretend I'm not here, all right?
Just carry on with your work. Do what you do.
Hey, I'm Max. Charlie. Charlie.
You're not in trouble, sit down. You're fine.
So, this is your desk?
Er...yes. No, well, I've been moved here.
Ah! OK. So you're not a journalist?
He's an intern.
OK. So, the desk became free, you're making good use of it, right?
Yes, sir. That's good, that's good. That's very good. Good.
Whose desk was that?
Maggie Barns.
Where is she?
She left.
And he needed a desk, so... That's not the reason he's sitting there.
You didn't want me to ask about Maggie.
We're in the run-up to a general election
and now we have lost our most trusted,
experienced and popular political correspondent!
Well, she was disloyal.
We are all capable of disloyalty
if we're not managed properly.
It's for you.
Please, you'd be doing me a favour.
How's that?
If you accept it, I'll have made a gift.
But if I keep it, I'll have made something completely useless.
Well, if you put it like that, you made a gift.
Static. Rolling when we get into it.
We all right for sound? Great.
OK, so first positions, please, and then tracking
when we get started. Hold on.
Good afternoon, sir.
Yeah, hello.
This is our flagship current affairs show?
Yes. Yes, it is. OK.
Our viewer expects the interviewee to be under pressure.
Yes. Would you like to see the questions?
No, it's not about the questions, it's about the chairs.
I need two chairs with no...no backward tilt.
Make them feel uneasy as soon as they sit down.
All right, closer, closer. Closer!
I got it.
No, no. OK, screw them down.
I don't want them to be able to push back. OK. Chippy?
And they can't choose their own position.
They're not in control here.
They haven't said a word and they're already off-balance.
Now, I'm the viewer.
I'm watching these two disagree.
They're leaning forward because they can't lean back.
Right? They're in each other's space and I'm, like,
"Are they going to fight, or what? What's going on?"
Caden?
Great. Thank you very much.
Ben, new position, but just hold for now.
Stay with them on...
You pop up a second. Are we all right for sound? Yeah.
Did you take care of that situation with your mother?
Not yet, no.
Sure. You see, he didn't lean forward, so he looks timid.
If he had leaned forward, he'd appear to be aggressive.
Aggressive. So there's no neutral position.
Neutral is no good. OK.
Neutral is no good. Can everyone to say that?
The whole group. Neutral is no good.
Neutral is no good!
Neutral is definitely not...not good.
Thank you.
Kathryn?
Some of the staff have brought it to my attention
that one of the clients might be getting a little too close to you.
Close?
The two of you smoke together almost every day.
I see.
Look, I don't want to sound... No, I'm embarrassed, that's all.
That wasn't my... I'm sure it wasn't.
We all care a great deal.
It won't happen again.
They're complex characters.
Damaged.
Even if they don't seem it.
Yes.
Your son specifically requested this table.
Thank you.
Oh!
Are you well?
Yes.
And you? Yes.
Mum, before we start...
Is there a reason you asked me to lunch?
A rival paper are going to run a story.
What story?
That you're romantically involved with a homeless man.
His name's Scott.
They're trying to embarrass our family.
Well, I'm not embarrassed.
I work there. This man's interesting.
He's kind.
And I like him. You can't say you like him.
Why not?
When you find someone in this world, who you like, you say you like them.
Mum... This is nonsense.
Is it? Are you going to ask? Your father would have.
He'd say, "Kathryn, are you fucking him?"
You can't do it, can you?
Only the sad part is you consider that's a failure.
Can you smoke in here?
No. Mum - you can't smoke.
Well, I'm going to smoke. Mum - this is serious.
What is the point of having a private room if you can't do as you please?
I thought you were going to quit. I'm not having this conversation with you.
I'm proposing we run our own pre-emptive
story about volunteering.
Our own story? Show how friendly you are with all of them.
Men and women. Young and old? Something like that.
No. I refuse. How can you refuse?
Because when somebody asks you to do something ridiculous, you refuse.
Tell your father - I refuse.
I can't...
tell him that.
Tell him you succeeded.
You met your mum.
You had an enjoyable lunch...
..and not hidden away in some secret room.
Would you throw this away, please? Certainly, madam.
Was something wrong? No, nothing.
In fact,
why don't you take off your jacket?
And your tie.
Could you hang those up, please? Of course.
Thank you.
We're going to start again. I'm going to enjoy a glass of wine.
And I'm going to listen to you talk about your life. Not your work.
I want to know what's going on with you.
Girlfriends. Lovers.
Hobbies. Holidays. Movies. Anything.
But not your work.
Do you remember?
When I lost you at the beach?
Caden?
Caden, where are you?
And when I found you,
you were on the sands.
Holding a dying seal.
Caden?
I told you there was nothing we could do.
We should go back inland and tell someone.
But you said we should stay.
You didn't want it to die alone.
So we stayed
and we talked and talked...
..so it could hear that it wasn't alone...
..and you held it in your arms.
And when we ran out of things to say...
...you started to sing.
I was so proud of you.
Well, that was a long time ago.
Not so long ago.
Find a spot over here, maybe. OK.
Something was bothering me about this story.
The victim was a private investigator.
His computers were stolen.
When I asked the lead detective... Who?
Yorke. He's a smart guy.
He says it was a robbery gone wrong.
Too smart to say that.
I took the story to Caden. Asked if I could dig around.
You know what he says? He says it was a robbery gone wrong.
He knew about the case? Even knew to use the same lie.
Tell me why? Why should I get involved,
when I'm happily retired?
There was a woman at a bus stop, early one morning.
An alcoholic.
A policeman sees her. But he doesn't call an ambulance.
He tips off a journalist.
They show up, pay the officer, photograph the woman.
She's the wife of a politician.
And we all go on, about our business,
like that's just the way it is.
The kitchen can get a little lively. It's like student halls.
That's the idea of this place - a halfway house.
Halfway between being on the street and being independent.
No-one steals, but milk in the fridge is fair game.
Is it not rude of me, turning up like this?
No.
I'm glad you're here.
Just...I wish it wasn't for a reason.
What is the reason?
Did you sell the story of our friendship to a newspaper?
What is the story of our friendship?
That we're inappropriately close.
Inappropriate?
There are photographs.
Of us? On the roof.
Even if we were...inappropriate, which we're not - who would care?
You're not aware of who I was previously married to?
I'm not angry. But don't lie to me.
I've never lied to you.
I'm not surprised you were married to someone famous.
Or important.
But I don't know anything about it.
And I didn't sell a story to a newspaper.
I'm not offended you asked, because you don't believe that I did.
No.
And you're using it as a reason to come round here.
Because you wanted to see me.
The first thing they suggest we do, when we move in here,
is create a daily routine.
Our life.
Hour by hour.
One of the skills you lose on the street is the ability to structure time.
I wake up at 6am.
Every morning.
Seven days a week, without fail.
Even though I have no job to go to.
I exercise for 30 minutes.
Push-ups. Sit-ups.
I count them.
I log them.
I clean the shower room.
I shower.
I make the bed.
And so on, the entire day.
Nowhere have I allocated any time
to betraying the only friend I have in the world.
And nowhere does it say
that I try to kiss her,
even if that feels like something I want to do.
I'm very proud to be your friend.
So who were you married to?
Third floor.
Good afternoon Mr Finch. This way, please. Thank you.
Hello.
Angela Howard! We finally meet.
Thank you for taking the time.
Now of course, of course. Strange, isn't it?
We've only seen each other in passing at galas and parties.
With a glance and a hello.
Mmm. Well, I'm excited to hear you talk.
I'm excited to finally have an audience with you.
No-one left behind. Mmm?
No-one left behind.
Angela Howard.
What, what is that?
The building over there. What, is it? The funny one.
That one.
Riverfront Plaza. Luxury apartment development.
Not given planning permission by anyone at this table.
No, because none of you are in power.
Would you have turned it down? Hmm?
Yes? No?
It's been nicknamed. The Battery.
The Battery? Mmm.
Yeah. Was that the intention?
Oh, I don't think so, no. No.
All those years. Planning. Designing. Committees.
Brainstorming - The Plaza. Luxury living.
A kid on the street says, "Daddy, look at that - it's a battery".
And the kid is right. And it sticks. Uh-huh.
You can't outspend the truth.
I have some friends who would argue that point.
We have strict campaign spending limits here.
Do you play by the rules?
I don't plan on breaking any.
I do plan on changing them.
Yeah, well, you've gotta win first. That's right, I do. Yeah.
So your campaign won't be about money?
Or lying.
I won't tell a single lie.
No money? No lies? What's left?
The truth.
That better be some truth.
All right, if that's what you've got.
Give it to me. Let me have it.
I can hear them.
You can hear them?
Out there.
Their pain. I can feel it.
I can speak to it.
Maybe you can.
Maybe you can. Maybe you can.
Actually, Mrs Howard -
ladies and gents, if you wouldn't mind, I do have a few questions.
Yes, anything. Anything at all.
Thank you. About your media policy.
Can she win? She'd need all our support.
And even then? I'm not so sure.
She's got something. Mmm.
She'd give us anything we wanted.
I'll see you tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow.
Just drop me off here.
You know, it occurs to me...
..I haven't seen your new place.
Why, you...you want to come up?
Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to see where you live.
OK.
Penthouse.
Uh-huh.
Yep.
Is this wheatgrass? Yeah.
It needs a haircut.
Nice. Hah!
Have you ever eaten beef tartare?
I've had it with you, I'm sure. You know.
On the menu they say, "served with accoutrements".
Yes. Bowls of pepper and salt.
Capers. Horseradish. I know what accoutrements are.
Have you ever heard the word used in another context?
I don't know.
Yeah? Well, think about it.
Take a moment. Maybe. When?
No. Probably not. Right. Well, it's a little pompous.
A little awkward. As a word.
When else would it be the right word to use?
You don't like the apartment?
Why do we make a mistake?
Why do WE, or why do I?
A person, any person. Why would a person make a mistake?
Lots of reasons.
In my experience, there aren't a lot of reasons.
Lack of information? Stupidity? Clumsiness?
Or is it protest?
What am I protesting against?
Honestly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking you.
It puzzles me.
I think about it. And I think about it.
I come up with nothing.
That's because there is nothing.
Really?
And don't tell me what you think I want to hear.
The questions I asked. We never ask for anything.
We put ourselves in a position and it's offered to us.
Yes, I've heard you say that many times before.
And yet here we are. So you must have wanted this.
This must have been your intention.
For the two of us to be standing here, face-to-face.
OK, so go ahead.
Tell me what you want to say. Talk to me.
It's all right. Go ahead.
No?
You tried. It's all right.
Please.
You can't do it, can you?
Why do you make it so hard?
I'm dying.
Cancer.
Don't say anything. That's not why I'm here.
I want to help you with this investigation.
But I want you to understand it will be my last.
So it can't be about a few private detectives.
We go for the top.
We go for Caden.
We go for Max.
We make a difference.
Are you prepared to do that?
I am.
Hmm!
Penthouse.
I need you to pretend that you know nothing about sex.
You want me to pretend I'm a virgin?
No.
I need you to pretend you know nothing about your body.
Or mine.
No knowledge of any kind.
Let me put it another way.
Take off your dress.
No. I say, "Take off your dress". You say, "What is a dress?"
Take off your dress. I'm sorry, sir, what is a dress?
No. You should use your ordinary voice.
Let's try again.
Take off your dress.
What is a dress? Good.
Your dress is the material covering your body.
What is my body?
This is your body.
Find your dress.
Now take it off.
Take off your panties.
What are my panties?
The material covering your cunt.
What is my cunt?
The slit between your legs.
You mean this?
That slit is called your mouth.
Does my cunt have these?
Yes.
Find your other set of lips.
I found them.
Are they moist? What is moist?
Are they moist? Yes.
Don't tell me what you think I want to hear.
Never tell me what you think I want to hear.
Are they moist?
No.
What do you see?
I don't know. You see a man.
What is a man?
This is a man.
What do you feel? I don't know the word.
Pleasure? What is pleasure?
The opposite of pain.
Accoutrements!
Fuck you! Accoutrements!
Accoutrements!
I see my friend.
Hello.
Penthouse.
Caden.
Caden!
I'm Caden's mother!
He'll survive.
How can you know that?
Because he was born fighting.
I watched him arrive into this world more dead than alive.
His umbilical cord around his neck.
Skin was blue.
But he hung on.
Only you could speak about the birth of my child
as though I weren't there.
You were there... but you didn't see.
You're right.
I couldn't see.
There were doctors and nurses huddled around him.
But I didn't need to see.
I knew.
When they handed him to me...
..the most beautiful, fragile little boy...
..barely ready for this world.
Yes. Yes, yes, yes...
When you stepped forward to take him from me...
..I had an instinct...
..not to let him go.
Oh, my God.
_