Caveman's Valentine, The (2001)

[bunniefuu]

Don't you watch me!

You think you're going to crawl

into my brain and see a show?

Is that what I am?

Is that what you think?

What I think, Mr. Ledbetter,

is the temperature's dropping.

Well, I got legions of angels

up here, like little moths,

and they're going to beat the

hell out of you with their wings.

Freaks.

I'm gonna crap you out,

Stuyvesant!

- Who-Who's Stuyvesant?

- You're Stuyvesant.

I'm not Stuyvesant.

- I'm with the department of social services.

- No, you're a zit...

on Stuyvesant's a*s, but

you're Stuyvesant just the same.

You're all Stuyvesant.

Tell him...

don't send no more no-face errand boys

to catch me, 'cause I hear ya coming.

I hear your chains, clink, clink.

You sound like defeat.

You even smell like defeat.

You smell like,

like degradation.

Happy Valentine's Day,

Caveman.

Hey, yo, Caveman. Give

us a f*cking tirade, yo.

Yo, what's that f*ck

Stuyvesant up to, man?

Help you?

I don't know you.

No, no, no.

You on your own, son.

You got your troubles,

I got mine.

Do I look like

I can help you, huh?

Help you? I don't even

know who the f*ck you are.

All right, Michael,

thank you.

Mr.? Mr.?

Got a pencil?

A pencil? What do you want a pencil for?

I wanna balance it

on the end of my nose.

You want to

write something?

I got a pen.

Hey, keep it.

What the hey, right?

Can I ask what

you're writing there?

You want your pen back?

No, no, no.

It's okay.

- You a musician or a...

- Mm-hmm.

- What do you play?

- My skull.

- I used to play piano.

- You had a piano, huh?

There were a great many

at the school I attended.

- What school did you go to?

- Julliard.

Julliard?

You went to Julliard, huh?

How the hell

did you wind up here?

I'm here because that b*stard

wants me here.

What b*stard?

Don't play stupid. The b*stard

that lives in that tower.

He sits in his tower,

and he watches.

And what he sees,

he doesn't like.

I mean, it curls his stinking,

rancid blood what he sees.

And what he sees

is a free man!

That old Stuyvesant,

you know what he says to that?

He says, "We're gonna

crush that n*gg*r.

Oh, yeah, send some Y-rays

that n*gg*r's way. "

Don't back off, pinstripes,

you f*cking coward.

Stuyvesant's gone and laced

your mind with Y-rays.

You're living like

a jackrabbit.

Oh, yeah, run, Stuyvesant.

But I see ya.

Stuyvesant!

You see me? Well, I see

you right f*cking back!

What lies are you

telling us now?

- Yep?

- Lulu, listen to me.

- Romulus?

- Stuyvesant k*lled someone.

Where's he calling from?

- Tell her I'm home.

- He got a phone in that cave now?

Tell her, my home is not a

mansion, but it suits me fine.

He freezes to death, I'm

not paying for his funeral.

She says

- I heard her. Listen, Lulu,

this time

I've got the evidence.

You do, huh?

There's a body

outside my cave.

That's rough, Rom. Listen,

I just pulled a night shift.

I am sound asleep.

Please, child.

Please, just come on over.

I know what

you're thinking.

But this dead thing

he left outside my cave, it's real.

It's so shiny real,

it hurts the eyes.

...believed to be another

victim of the Arctic cold wave.

The dead man was identified

as Scott Gates, 20 years old,

unemployed and homeless.

Oh, that sucked.

Can I go again?

A young man has been found frozen

to death here in Inwood Park.

You saw this no-face prop the

body in the tree? That's right.

But you were in there

in your bed the whole time?

How'd you see all this?

I told you,

I saw it on my TV.

What kind of shows

you get on that TV?

All of them. The whole heady

broth of American culture, right?

- You get cable?

- Lieutenant.

Can I talk to you for

a moment? Yeah, sure.

Look, I know this guy.

I've seen him around.

He's completely delusional.

- Why don't we just...

- Get your hands off her!

Take it easy, pal, we're

just having a little chat.

Don't touch my daughter,

squashface. Ever!

Your daughter?

This man is your father?

Why didn't you

say something?

Maybe I don't meet her

momentous expectations.

But I'm still a witness. I know who

the m*rder*r is. Now you write it!

Write what? The name of the

m*rder*r, which you already know.

- Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant, now write it!

- Daddy!

Tell him to write it.

I can't tell him anything,

he's my boss.

Hey, what the hell, pal, that's

the way I like 'em, open and shut.

How do you spell Stuyvesant?

You know how to

spell it.

Aah!

Go ahead and k*ll me.

For Christ's sake, Rom.

- I'm dead already.

- Matthew?

- It's you who found him, wasn't it?

- Found who?

Scotty.

He knew they were

going to k*ll him.

Matthew, you're shivering.

I don't care.

You're too cold.

I loved him, Rom.

I wanna die too.

Okay. Okay.

Not right now, okay?

Come on.

They k*lled him, Rom. He was

just too beautiful for them.

Ah, God, Rom, wasn't...

wasn't he beautiful?

He was dead

when I saw him.

Yeah, but...

you met him.

The dead kid?

I don't think so.

Well, he knew you.

He said you weren't afraid

to speak the truth.

No sh*t, Rom.

He called you "The Voice. "

- He did?

- He was just a kid.

He was f*cking innocent till that

b*stard got his f*cking hands on him.

Stuyvesant?

David Leppenraub.

- Who?

- David Leppenraub.

Don't you know, Rom?

The photographer?

I mean, he's f*cking famous. He

does these pictures of angels,

and everyone's always going on about

how beautiful Leppenraub's angels are.

And, yeah, they're beautiful

because they're Scotty.

Scotty was

Leppenraub's model?

He was his f*cking sl*ve.

He was so ashamed of the pictures,

he wouldn't even show them to me.

That b*stard took him up

to his farm, tortured him,

got him strung out on dope.

He-He even branded him, Rom.

He burned a heart

on Scotty's a*s.

And then when he was done with him, he threw

him away, like a f*cking piece of trash.

I found him on the street

like that, you know?

I didn't care.

He was still beautiful.

He was beautiful to me.

But he couldn't let it go, you know?

All the sh*t that happened to him.

He kept telling me that he

had this tape of the t*rture.

He was going to get a bunch of

money from Leppenraub for it.

That's what got him k*lled.

You tell the cops this,

Matthew?

Come on, Rom,

look at me.

Who do you think they're

going to believe, huh?

Me?

Or the great

David Leppenraub?

What sins have you committed?

Y- rays.

They're listening.

There's nothing you can do,

Matthew.

You and me, we're too small.

He knows that.

He likes that.

You know him?

You know Leppenraub?

I don't have to know him.

I know the man he works for.

You have any-any sins

to confess, my child?

Come on, Rom,

I feel ridiculous enough.

You can call me Daddy,

no one listening.

So what are we

doing here, Daddy?

Suppose I-I told you I knew

who k*lled Scotty Gates?

You did tell me

and my boss.

Just-Just hear me out.

Suppose I told you that Scotty Gates

was k*lled by a very famous artist?

And suppose I found a way to slip

you his name? David Leppenraub?

You-You know

about Leppenraub?

Apparently, everybody

knows about Leppenraub.

Scotty Gates was going all over town

crying how Leppenraub had abused him.

So what? I think the same

thing about my employer.

He told everyone

he was going to get revenge.

So, Lieutenant Cork made a call,

and Leppenraub said, yeah...

Gates had tried to blackmail him,

and he politely told Scotty

to go to hell.

Ya, and then he politely

m*rder*d him.

- There's no evidence of that.

- Hell, there's a body in the tree.

Daddy, Gates was a nutcase.

No offense.

But he was running around in the

middle of winter with no shirt on.

Everyone thought he was

going to freeze to death.

We think it's reasonable for us to

assume that that's what happened.

Very, v-very reasonable,

except for one thing.

- What's that?

- He was m*rder*d.

Daddy, you live in a cave.

You watch the news on a TV

that's plugged into nothing.

You think there's a guy on top of a tower

that's trying to take over the world.

You're not well. Why don't

you let me get you some help?

And just who would you get

to help me, Lulu?

Just-Just who you got

in mind for your old man?

Rom, I-I got to

get back to work.

That what you call it, Lulu?

You call that work?

Terrorizing innocent people while

murderers roam the streets like rats, huh?

And you ashamed of me.

I should be ashamed of you!

You tell your boss he can't snake this

one over on me.

Tell him he can't k*ll me,

'cause I'm reaching

for my wallet.

He can't t*rture me

with his a**l broomsticks.

You tell Stuyvesant I'm going

to tear his tower down! You...

Bored? Depressed? Tired? Need

a lift? An added dimension?

Baby girl, baby girl, I got what

you need. f*ck' taste, man.

I- I just need a front, man.

I got that smoke.

You know I'm f*cking

good for it, man.

Please, man, please.

Don't make me f*cking beg.

I got that smoke. I'll

take whatever you got, man.

- I'll lick your f*cking c*ck.

- Come here.

Junkie, you offend me. People like

you, you're like f*cking tumors,

and I just want to cut your a*s out

- Shaker, Shaker,

undertaker, look what

your garden has grown.

Get the f*ck away

from me, Caveman.

Yo, got that smoke.

Yo, yo, I'll give you two...

I'll give you two for one. Can I

offer you some? Sardine, be a sardine.

Get caught in the net. Get

squeezed in the cage. Caveman!

You want to disappear

from this world, huh? Huh?

You want to learn that trick?

'Cause I can teach you.

You stinkin' m*therf*cker.

Yo, yo, got that? Come here, I got the

smoke with me. Roll with me, roll with me.

Matthew, come on.

You-You said there

was a tape, right?

- Yeah. Yeah.

- Of the t*rture?

- And Leppenraub made it?

- Yeah, he made it.

So sick,

he liked watching it.

But the guy running the

camera, he wasn't into it.

Just doing what

he was told.

So he made a copy

of the tape for Scotty.

I guess he thought he was doing

him a favor. Protecting him.

So now Leppenraub

has the tape back?

- I don't know.

- But the cameraman,

he must have

the original, right?

So what's his name?

Where can we find him?

How am I

supposed to know?

Why don't you ask Leppenraub?

So, now you think

you're a detective?

I got eyes, Sheila, I can

see things other people can't.

Like me?

You still think I look like

this after all these years?

You're no smarter than

when I married you, are you?

I'm gonna find the evidence, Sheila.

I'm gonna nail this Leppenraub b*stard.

Ah, baby, if your sh*t was a rocket

ship, you could go to the moon.

Now why you gotta stick

your nose in matters...

that do not pertain to you, and don't

give me some bullshit about love.

The dead boy knew me, Sheila.

He called me "The Voice. "

It's Lulu, isn't it?

You wanna prove yourself

to her?

You wanna win her respect? Try soap

and hot water. Try getting a job.

That's just what

Stuyvesant wants, isn't it?

Get a shave,

get a job, relax.

Well, not this time, Sheila,

because Stuyvesant left

that valentine outside my door.

He thinks he got to me this time by leaving

that particularly nasty, f*cking insult.

It pisses me off.

Sir? Sir?

You can't sleep in here.

It's like an oven in here.

What, are you trying to bake us?

- Are you making a pie?

- Sir, you're going to have to leave.

- Will you marry me?

- I'm calling the police.

Call the preacher, my love.

I love you more than life itself.

I'm dialing right now. I know

you're dialing the preacher, my love.

I hear your heart beating,

like a newborn...

butterfly.

Arnold?

Hello?

Who is this?

It's-It's Rom.

Romulus? Romulus Ledbetter?

I do not believe it.

I thought you'd...

My God, I heard you were living

in a cave or something.

A little rough, a little rough,

but things are good now.

Uh, living in Tahiti.

Tahiti?

W- Well, San Francisco.

- Was in Tahiti.

- Okay.

Rom? Rom?

Rom, are you there?

No, no, no.

- Everything's good.

- Great.

- How you doing, Arnold?

- Same old. BBC's doing an opera of mine.

You're not still...

composing, are you?

Um, just-just did a piece

for the, uh,

the New Pastorale Festival.

- Wow, that's great.

- A sonata, uh,

inspired by this guy

David Leppenraub?

- You know his pictures?

- This is incredible.

- David Leppenraub's a friend of mine.

- Oh, my god!

Is he?

Hey, hey. Listen, Romulus. This is...

Well, I mean, it's just a thought,

but we're having a fund-raiser

up at David's farm.

That piece of yours, do you

think you could perform it for us?

This Saturday.

Oh, hey, look,

it was just an idea.

- Be glad to.

- Great! Great.

This is gonna be

some surprise.

Hey, mister.

You got a suit and tie?

You want a suit and tie?

Got a gig upstate.

Old classmate got it for me.

Old classmate from Julliard?

Right. You remembered.

Let me ask you something.

You say you went

to Julliard.

What can you tell me about,

say, Scriabin?

Who?

The Russian composer,

Scriabin?

- What can you tell me about him?

- Nothing.

Ah,

of course you can't.

- Take care, my friend.

- Scriabin.

I can't see through to the least

flicker of that man's divinity.

Poeme Divin's okay.

That Promethean chord of his?

Nothing but a dominant ninth,

few hocus-pocus suspensions.

Play the F-sharp it's "G," the

"A" is B-flat. You see what I mean?

You can't impose

divinity on a chord.

A chord's divinity has to

come from the inside out.

You know?

Betty?

This is Romulus.

Hi, Romulus.

Romulus is a homeless man

who needs a suit of clothes.

Uh, not-not homeless.

I live in a cave.

He's the one

I told you about, remember?

- Remember?

- The music man, Bob?

That's it. Right.

Th-That's some view.

You'll grace us?

Nice detail, Bob.

Bosendorfer '36.

Very good.

Everything in here

is from the '30s.

Ohh, that's what it is.

Yeah, I'm

a bankruptcy lawyer.

The depression was something

of a golden era for my kind.

Please, play something,

anything.

I- I really couldn't.

- Why not?

- Honey, if he doesn't want to play.

I wanna know

if he can play, honey.

Please.

Fight it, baby.

Show Stuyvesant

you're not scared of him.

Play the damn thing.

One hand-me-down suit

coming up.

That was wonderful. Why

does it hurt you to play?

That was another life.

You like?

Oh.

Oh! Oh.

Romulus, what size shoe

are you?

- Uh, 12.

- Hmm.

Bob's a nine. Well, maybe

just keep 'em hidden.

There you go, Romulus.

We wouldn't want you

to freeze to death.

A toast.

Honey?

To the eternal cycles

of failure...

and reorganization, huh?

So, tell us, who is

Cornelius Gould Studebaker?

Stuyvesant.

Darling? Maybe we better not talk

about Mr. Stuyvesant right now.

Make you nervous, Bob? Something

you don't want her to know?

We wouldn't want you

to freeze to death,

I really love that one, Bob. Wouldn't

want to find you propped in a tree.

What is it?

It's a new weapon.

It's something

I've never seen before.

Z- rays.

I'm so sorry.

I- I really must be off.

If I've been impolite

or ungenerous in any way,

please, please, please,

forgive me.

I- I really must be off.

My undying gratitude

for the clothes.

Woo, what are my chances

of pulling this off?

About zero.

Rubbing bellies with zero,

unless you all simmer down!

Look at you!

You are a sight

for sore eyes.

Remember Stacy Kensinger?

Flautist, great lips.

Stacy. Stacy?

Uh, maybe she came

after you left.

Why'd you leave anyway? I mean,

nobody f*cking ever leaves Julliard.

Oh, well...

got Sheila knocked up.

Really?

That was it?

Christ, you could have

found some way.

Well, the last time I saw you

was at Lincoln Center.

The snow out here

is a different color.

- You couldn't play that day.

- Blue,

like skim milk.

You know what I think?

I think you were afraid.

You know how they say some

people are afraid of success?

Well, this therapist

I've been seeing...

thinks it's because we don't

want to surpass our fathers.

Romulus?

Rom!

Great lips,

where does it all go?

Just didn't care much

for recitals.

Hmm. Yeah.

- Lao-tse, how you doing, girl?

- Lao-tse, get down!

- She looks scary, but she's a sweetheart.

- Hi, dog, hey.

Moira.

What a magnificent day.

Hey, dog. You think

I'm running a con, don't you?

You think I'm the shoes

and not the suit.

Lao-tse, stop bothering

our guests.

You're right.

No bother.

No bother.

This is your

brilliant friend.

Hi, I'm Moira Leppenraub. I'm

David's sister. Mr. Ledbetter?

Romulus. Rom.

Lucinda!

Baby, baby boy!

Arnold tells me

you're a genius.

- At what?

- Music.

Oh, is that all?

Why? Is there more?

I can put a match

in my mouth...

and when the lights are out, I

light up like a jack-o'- lantern.

The man does not

promote me right.

Tell her about the time you

burned a hole in your tongue.

Juvenile bullshit.

Sheila, what are you

doing here?

Watching you make

a fool of yourself.

What are you

doing here?

I have to prove

Leppenraub's guilty.

- Prove to who?

- To the world.

To Lulu.

Lulu needs a father,

not some psycho Sherlock Holmes.

You're gonna get yourself

in deep sh*t.

Look at her. Like a cat

itching to get scratched.

You better watch your back,

baby.

- Shall we go in?

- I-I'll do it.

Oh, thanks.

Um, just this way.

Man on a horse.

I was at this exhibit, and

it was basically penises...

...big, small, fat, skinny...

all in pastel.

No, thank you.

Don't you watch me!

Joey!

Could you be a little less

conspicuous, please?

Sorry. Please excuse him, Mr. Ledbetter.

He's a filmmaker. I can't

seem to get rid of him.

Apparently, some people find

my life terribly interesting.

I'm David Leppenraub.

I'm honored to have you here.

And-And I to be here.

I was very flattered to hear

that my work inspires you.

- Oh, well.

- Why?

- Excuse me?

- Why do you like my work?

- Well...

- This one.

What do you think?

What do I think?

That's what I asked.

It's empty.

Empty?

So empty,

it hurts the eyes.

You see, the angel is-is looking

heavenward, but he can't see...

because Stuyvesant has sucked

out his soul and just left a shell.

He's empty.

So empty it hurts.

Now that I like, amigo.

It hurts the eyes.

Watch your head.

Does it hurt,

Mr. Ledbetter?

It's supposed to.

All great art

is born of suffering.

Tell me what you feel.

In what dark, damaged

place does it infect you?

Deep, ancestral,

primordial pain.

Shame, fear... that's

what my work is all about.

Fear and transcending fear.

Guts versus fear.

It's really all there is.

I'm told I'm something

of an expert on fear.

Let me show you this.

My latest.

What's your verdict?

Guilty.

And your evidence?

Don't have any.

Not yet.

That's a different kid,

isn't it?

It's not the same model who's

in the other shots, right?

You are perceptive.

Most people can't tell.

That's Joey, the as*h*le

with the video camera.

My regular model had vertigo,

and I needed him up in a tree,

but heights

made him twitchy.

Is that right?

Who was your regular model?

He doesn't work for me anymore.

Joey took his place.

Really?

What happened to him?

What difference

does it make?

Right, what difference

does it make?

After all,

they're just bodies.

I mean, after the body's done,

just chuck it, hang it from a tree.

You playing some kind of

game with me, amigo?

This stuff could go out

of fashion real quick, right?

People find out the real story,

they don't want it in their house.

- Who the hell are you?

- Suddenly, it's not worth millions...

What do you want?

You want to blackmail me too?

Stuyvesant wouldn't

like that.

- What's this Stuyvesant sh*t?

- What's this m*rder sh*t?

I don't know who the hell you are,

but you listen, I loved Scotty Gates.

- Oh, I bet you did.

- Like a son.

- Why'd he run around telling people you

tortured him?- Because he went crazy.

- Why?

- How the hell should I know, I wasn't even here.

I had an opening in Cologne.

When I came back, he was gone.

His boyfriend broke up with him,

maybe that was it.

Love, it gets in your head.

Not yet! Not yet!

Love...

it-it will...

it will do that to you.

Look...

I owe you an apology.

I'm-I'm sorry.

I- I heard these rumors.

That's all right.

I suppose it's just

part of being who I am.

Wild envy surrounds me...

and rumors.

Too many goddamned rumors.

One of them actually had

the nerve to call my work...

"victim art. "

Trying to believe these stories

of oppression and cruelty.

Does it hurt?

I like you, Romulus. It's too

bad you can't be with us longer.

Excuse me?

Well, let me rephrase.

If the price of rapture...

is a mountain

of suffering,

shouldn't the fee

be paid?

So long as nobody gets hurt.

"So long as nobody gets hurt. "

I like that.

My brother likes

to hear himself talk.

You'll get used to it.

Excuse me.

He died of fright, didn't he?

Mr. Ledbetter,

is now a good time?

- For what?

- To sh**t you.

I guess now is as good

a time as any.

Wow. You're really scared

of the camera, aren't you?

Camera?

I'm wanting to do a quick interview,

so you can talk about whatever you like.

Where?

I do a lot of taping

there in the coach house.

Is that where you made

the video of Scotty?

What?

Come on, Joey, you know

what I'm talking about.

Look, there's-there's no

tape, man. That's just a rumor.

But you know better, right?

Because you made it.

Shh. Please.

- You a cop?

- Mm-mm.

Well, how come you know

about the tape?

A friend of Scotty's told me about it.

You were a friend of Scotty's, weren't you?

- Scotty's dead, man.

- But he still needs justice, right, Joey?

Look, I don't want to talk

about Scotty now. Please.

You're scared.

You're scared of your boss.

Please! They'll hear us. You don't know.

Well, why you so scared?

Because I've seen

what he can do.

You can't imagine.

- Wh-Where's the tape?

- Romulus?

It's safe.

I've been looking everywhere

for you. It's time.

- Time for what?

- Piano time.

I haven't started yet.

Just play, baby.

Just get from this side

of the piece to the other.

What? What is it?

What am I smelling

in this place?

There's some foulness here.

The smell of mendacity

and evil.

What is this stench?

Is it the rotting boy

delivered outside my cave?

Is that what I'm smelling?

The sweet valentine

you delivered?

What is this reek?

Is it the smell

of t*rture?

The brand burning his flesh?

Is that what I smell?

It's all of you,

isn't it?

It's the smell of your heartless

art and your bone-dry theories,

like last week's vomit.

And the heart has vamoosed

from this culture long ago.

And anybody gets wind of that...

You tortured him,

k*lled him and you make a

videotape of it and call it art.

I won't have this. You hang the body

from a tree to teach the Caveman a lesson.

And you burn the Caveman's eyes out with

blue skies and green ducks! Green ducks!

Get your hands off me!

I haven't found the clue yet!

You lied to me. You're still

in that cave, aren't you?

And you won't get me out of that

cave, either. You can't matchbox me!

Stuyvesant! We're going to

bring your tower down!

Stuyvesant!

Get out of here.

Lao-tse, what is it?

What is it, you dumb dog?

What? Lao-tse!

Romulus?

Lao-tse, come here.

You scared the sh*t

outta me.

- You here alone?

- Yes.

Why'd you leave the party?

I hate those parties. What

the hell happened to you?

Your-Your brother's hit man

tried to run me over.

Photographers do not

have hit men, Romulus.

Yeah, well you tell that

to the no-face with the g*n.

You're psychotic,

aren't you?

I- I have brain typhoons.

Brain typhoons?

Swarms of moth-seraphs

howl in my skull.

Lies vex them.

Then you'll understand

if I don't invite you in.

Mm-hmm.

- Your brother tortured Scotty.

- That is a vicious rumor.

And when Scotty started to spread the

word around, your brother had him k*lled.

- David loved Scotty.

- Not what Scotty says.

Scotty had a nervous breakdown.

He was a dope fiend.

Who made him a dope fiend?

Go on, girl, go on out.

Come in here.

Scotty was a junkie

when we met him.

David likes damaged souls. He

says they make better subjects.

If it were true, if David

hurt Scotty in any way,

believe me, I would have

known all about it.

Scotty and I were friends. I was

devoted to him. What are you doing?

Looking for clues.

What kind of clues?

Well, this is the place that they did

the shows, right? The t*rture shows?

Oh, God.

Don't be scared.

It's not real.

It's all fake, Rom.

It's an illusion.

He uses prosthetics,

clay, wax, all these props.

None of it's real. David says

he wants to "provoke the viewers,

set off tremors in the

subconscious," I don't f*cking know.

- S- See, what's that?

- What?

That-That looks like

real blood.

It is.

It's yours.

See, Stuyvesant uses Y-rays

to terrify and-and destroy.

See, Y-rays are crude.

Y-rays are tax collectors and

police brutality and drug wars...

and backed-up toilets.

- But this new weapon...

- Z-rays.

Mm-hmm, Z-rays. Z- rays

are green and soft...

like moonlight and seductive

and... much more vicious.

Z- rays smell like

a rich man's bank account.

They smell like success.

Rom, this is a great story.

I love the no-faces

and that guy in the tower,

but, um, you know

it's bullshit, right?

- It's not reality.

- No, of course not.

Okay.

Stuyvesant's much truer

than reality.

Stuyvesant invented reality.

You're hopeless,

aren't you?

I'm hopeless.

Turn around.

What?

Do you have a match?

Yeah.

Were you scared?

No.

Are you?

Yes.

Some white girls will f*ck

any kind of black man.

Crazy, homeless.

Leave me alone, Sheila.

So, uh, what do you

call yourself doing?

- Digging for evidence?

- I'm getting close.

Something happened here,

I can feel it.

I bet you can.

I got Leppenraub on the run.

He knows I'm going to get him.

I'm going to nail that b*stard.

I think you're being misled.

Misled by whom?

By you, as usual.

I think you got it all wrong

about these people.

You better open your eyes,

take a look around.

Leave me alone, woman.

How'd you get in here, anyway?

I rode in on your dreams.

Well, ride on out.

You better wake up, baby, before

you get m*rder*d in your sleep.

You hear me?

You better wake up.

Don't mind a little dark.

Daughter?

Jesus, Rom,

what are you doing here?

I didn't... I didn't get you

anything for Valentine's Day.

B-But I found these, and they're

still in pretty good shape.

Don't worry.

I- I don't wanna come in.

I- I just need a ride home.

So, where you been?

What happened to you?

I guess I cut myself shaving.

You don't wanna tell me, fine.

I haven't seen you shaved

since I was a girl.

You look good.

I- I needed a change.

There's a shelter

in my precinct.

There's a waiting list,

but, um, I could get you in.

See that building over there.

That used to be

Sisters of Mercy Hospital.

Uncle Augustus...

that's your great-uncle Augustus...

he used to lecture there.

He was a surgeon.

Did I ever tell you

about him?

Look, Ward's Island.

D- Do you remember

that little playground?

Yeah, you said pirates

lived there once,

and there was

buried treasure.

You used to call me "Captain. "

You used to dig

in that sandbox for gold.

- Look it, Daddy.

- Once I found a balloon there.

You-You thought

you found a balloon.

- No! No!

- You cried...

Yeah, you cried

when I wouldn't blow it up.

You did blow it up

for me.

No, no, I-I bought a real

balloon. I blew that up for you.

Daddy, thank you

for my flowers.

- Little late.

- Still, it's the only valentine I got.

I didn't get you anything.

Oh, you-you still could

if you wanted to.

There is something I kind of

got my heart set on.

What?

It's something I want more

than chocolates or a car or...

What do you want, Daddy?

The autopsy report on Scotty Gates.

I wish I could shake you.

Just shake all that

crazy sh*t out of you.

g*dd*mn!

Just a second.

Just for a f*cking second,

it was like we were...

talking.

Like I was actually

talking to my father.

You break my heart.

Get out.

Get out!

Get the hell out!

Matthew?

Rom.

I changed my mind.

I don't wanna die.

Who did this to you?

A couple of guys

with stockings on their heads.

Like those f*ck you're always

talking about.

Shut the f*ck up.

They wanna scare you, Rom.

They wanna shut you up.

You gotta stay nasty

on them, Rom.

Stay nasty

on those m*therf*ckers.

Lao-tse. Come on, girl!

Whoo!

You break my heart.

"The victim is the k*ller. "

Does it hurt?

Please. It's supposed to.

Your pain moves me.

Tell me what you feel.

- Shame?

- Please.

- Fear?

- You're brilliant, okay?

- You're a brilliant artist.

- You're soft.

- Please!

- Soft as a pillow.

Please!

How long...

Why don't...

Why don't you let me die?

Faker.

You haven't experienced

real pain.

...don't you let me die?

How long...

- Why don't you let me die?

- Faker.

You haven't experienced

real pain.

...don't you let me die.

You don't wanna watch that.

Joey.

Give you nightmares.

So, you found my hiding place.

But you're not a detective...

and you're not a cop,

so who are you?

I- I'm the one

that found the body.

- The homeless guy?

- Not homeless.

I live in a cave. So what

the f*ck you doing here?

What if he saw you here?

Scotty asked me to help him

before he was k*lled.

He asked me to help,

and-and I didn't.

So what, you feel guilty?

You feel like it's your fault?

Your fault. Jesus Christ.

J- Joey. Joey.

What d-did he do to Scotty?

Listen.

I came here...

because I thought

David Leppenraub...

was the greatest artist of the

human psyche who had ever lived.

That he knew

all about suffering.

What attracts us to it,

you know?

Why we seem

to reach out to it.

I wanted to be

one of his disciples.

Carry his cameras, film him,

do whatever he wanted.

Whatever he asked, I did.

So did Scotty.

Except once.

Up in that tree.

See, Scotty was scared

of heights.

David wanted to tie him

to that branch,

but no amount of dope would make him do it.

- Give me your hand.

- I can't.

- Let go of the tree. Give me your hand.

It'll be fine. I can't. I can't let go.

- Would you just trust me, please?

- David, please, I'm scared.

I want you to be scared.

Come on, we're losing the light.

- I can't!

- Scotty, if you damage that f*cking cage,

I swear I will throw you

out of this tree!

- But, David,

- He's terrified.

Get down, you p*ssy.

Get out of the f*cking tree!

Joey, take off your clothes.

You'll pose this one.

- Scotty, get down.

- I'm going, and I'm not coming back either.

Where are you going to go,

Scotty?

You're never going to touch me again. I'm

gonna tell everyone what you did to me.

Are you?

So, he came down...

and I went up.

And I was

the crucified angel.

Greatest moment of my life.

I got to be inside

Leppenraub's vision.

You have no idea

what that meant to me.

And-and Scotty?

I never saw him again.

Wanna know what I think?

I think

he brought him here.

I think he had Scotty

in the freezer.

I think

he froze him to death.

- Give me the tape.

- Why?

- So we can fight him.

- We can't fight him.

We can go to the cops.

- There's no evidence.

- The tape!

Against David's lawyers?

They'd rip it to shreds.

You don't understand. You can't

fight him. You can't run from him.

You can't just give up.

- Why not?

- Don't you see?

You're next.

You're the next angel.

I know.

Joey?

- Duck! Hide!

- Joey?

Saw you with someone. Who was it?

Who?

You were talking to someone.

Who was it?

Romulus!

What can I do for you?

I need a place to stay.

The cave's not safe.

Uh, I don't think

you can stay here, but

I can call a shelter for you.

Come on in.

Come on in.

Have a lime rickey.

Hey, everyone,

this is Romulus.

Hi, Romulus.

This is a Bob

and Betty festival.

- May I propose a toast?

- Sure.

To the eternal

and-and everlasting cycle...

of failure

and resuscitation.

Hear! Hear!

To the fact the cycle...

seems to be stuck.

And-And the Bobs and Bettys

are always on top.

Let's drink...

to those on top,

stay on top.

And let's drink to those

poor slobs down below.

'Cause they'll always

be "shitslogging. "

Am I right?

They'll believe all of

the lies we tell them!

You're losing it, baby.

Don't bother yourself, Betty.

No need to call the cops.

You're safe up here.

Nothing can touch you.

I need you to believe me.

I need you to believe me.

Leppenraub Foundation,

can I help you?

I have a message

for David Leppenraub.

Tell him this. Tell him the

Caveman made a copy of the tape.

Right? Joey Peasley has the

original, but I made a copy.

And if he wants it,

I'll sell it to him.

Tell him that.

My dearest Lulu,

"By the time

you read this letter,

"they will have k*lled me.

"And you'll know that everything

I've been saying is true.

"Get Matthew to tell you

the whole story.

"Go to Leppenraub's farm.

Make Joey give you the tape,

"then take all the truth

you've gathered...

"and drive Leppenraub

through the gates of hell.

"I'll meet him there just inside

and deal with him.

"At this very moment, Lulu,

in some other court of time,

"I live not in a cave,

but in a tree house.

'A tree house by the sea.

Please, don't!

"You and I are down on the sand

making a castle.

'And your mother is wading

through the shallows,

'gathering enough sand dollars

to make us all filthy rich.

I love you. Daddy. "

I said don't f*ck with us.

Where is it?

If-If you're gonna k*ll me, you'd better

do it quick. They patrol around here.

- Oh!

- You're gonna talk.

You have to k*ll me and t*rture

me, but hurry. Get to the k*lling.

No, no, no,

we're not gonna k*ll you.

We're not gonna t*rture you. See,

that's too easy. That's too cruel.

We're gonna t*rture your daughter,

little Lulu. 135 Cole Street.

We're going there right now,

Caveman. Wanna come?

No! Aah!

Aah!

See, Caveman,

you're gonna go with us.

We're gonna party with that girl

all night long.

Phone call. Phone call. What?

Hell no.

- I'll get your tape for you.

- Where?

Hey, hey, Captain.

You know the guy that owns

that little videotape?

Well, he wants it back, and

he wants it back real bad.

No explanations.

Tell her where to make the drop.

I'd really appreciate it if you

would bury that treasure for me.

Rom, what are you

talking about?

Did I- Did I hear

somebody with you?

Yeah, yeah,

you heard right, Captain.

Look, I-I know it's late

for this pirate thing, but...

these guys really need you

to do that tonight.

- Do what?

- Look, bury the treasure...

at the place we talked about,

where you found the balloon,

- and-and then clear out.

- Hang up.

- Rom, who is that?

- Look, Captain.

I won't ever ask you for

anything again. I promise.

I know you think I'm crazy,

but I always keep my promises.

All right? Bye-bye.

Baby, what are you doing?

If Lulu knew what I was talking about,

I could call to her and warn her.

- He will k*ll you.

- But she'll get away.

What if she just turned over

and went back to sleep?

Then, we'll lose her. But she's

gotta be in that playground.

- There's no other choice.

- Come on, as*h*le. Move!

- Let's go!

- What's your hurry?

Move your a*s!

Look it, Daddy.

Is this it? Get in there!

What the f*ck is this? You

want me to k*ll you, don't you?

Police, don't move!

Drop the g*n!

I got a g*n pointed

to your father's head, b*tch!

- So don't spook me. Put your g*n down.

- Do it, Lulu!

Wanna see his brains, b*tch?

I said drop the f*cking g*n!

- sh**t him! He'll k*ll us both!

- Hell no!

You think I'm gonna k*ll a cop?

Put the g*n down and I'll run.

Moth-seraphs of divinity

of vengeance, I need you.

- Put it down, girl!

- Lulu, k*ll him!

Let him sh**t me! Do as

I say, I'm your father!

Do you want me to k*ll

your father? Put it down, girl!

Now.

Don't! Don't!

Don't move!

- You f*ck!

- Lulu, over there!

He's over there!

Daddy. Daddy.

Daddy, it's all right.

It's all right. He's gone.

Are you shot? Am I?

- It's all right.

- We're all right?

We're not shot?

You're alive. I'm

alive. How can that be?

He wasn't aiming at us.

He was trying to finish off

his partner here.

Operator, this is Officer Ledbetter,

New York City Police Department.

I'm at Ward's Island Playground.

I need a bus forth with.

I have a perp shot and the other

perp fled over the footbridge.

He's armed with a g*n.

Send backup forth with.

Shaker.

- You know him?

- Mm-hmm. Shaker.

It's Matthew's dealer.

We're looking for the one

that got away.

We figured they must have overheard

you and Matthew on a street,

talking about this valuable tape and

decided they wanted some of the action.

How's he connected

to Leppenraub?

Caveman, come here.

You see that pack of vermin

down there?

If Leppenraub's name comes into

this, no more quiet investigation,

no more slowly

building a case,

just f*ck' weasels

everywhere you step.

Listen, Caveman,

this is detective business.

All due respect,

maybe it's not for you.

Maybe you need what's called

a "rational mind. "

Yeah, m-maybe...

maybe you're right.

I should leave

the police work to you.

Meanwhile, I'll give

my first press conference.

Oh, f*ck! Caveman, what

do you want from me?

The autopsy report

on Scotty Gates.

Your daughter dropped it

off this morning.

Knock yourself out.

It says,

"The-The 'periorbital' spaces...

are-are free of extravasated

blood and edema. "

It says,

"The-The 'sclerae'...

"are an-

'anicteric. "'

What it doesn't say

is anything about a brand.

Matthew says Scotty

was-was branded.

"Blood-red valentine

on his butt. "

Why didn't the autopsy

mention that?

It's just gone? Vamoosed?

How'd it do that?

What the hell's

Stuyvesant up to now?

Did you f*ck Scotty Gates?

Did you come all the way

up here to ask me that?

- Mm-hmm.

- Why?

I have to know.

If you f*cked him,

then you saw his butt, right?

- Right?

- I guess so.

Then, you could tell me if-if

there's a heart brand on his butt.

A heart?

I guess I could.

If I saw his butt.

But...

I didn't see his butt.

'Cause I didn't f*ck him,

'cause he's g*y

among other things.

Do you think that I f*ck

everybody, Rom?

You-You said

you were devoted to him.

A different kind

of devotion.

Hello, Romulus.

It's nice to see you again.

Hi, Moira.

You know, it's, um,

it's interesting that you

mention this heart thing.

I have a little confession

to make.

You got what I want?

Got a little atonement

for me, master?

Does it hurt?

It's supposed to.

It's not over yet.

'Course not,Joey.

'Cause it's not his money

you're after, is it?

What are you doing here?

You want the glory...

a little recognition, and he denied you.

- Did you tell him that?

- I did treat you somewhat shabbily.

That time you took Scotty's

place up in the tree,

I know I wasn't

appreciative enough.

He didn't even acknowledge

it was you.

He passed you off

as Scotty.

- I scoffed at your ambitions.

- He didn't see your genius.

And that twisted your brain

around in its socket, right, Joey?

'Cause you're a great artist.

You're a genius.

The master of suffering.

And yet, he called you a faker.

Soft. Soft as a pillow.

Never experienced real pain.

You don't know what pain is.

Why the f*ck

did you talk to him?

So, one day, you decided you

were going to show Leppenraub...

who the real master was.

So, you took Scotty in the big freezer...

and you made your own art.

You froze him to death.

Are you saying I k*lled Scotty Gates?

Masterpiece of suffering.

You're schizo.

Scotty was nuts.

He was homeless, that's why he

froze to death. Everybody saw him.

Everybody saw you!

That wasn't Scotty Gates running

around the village, that was you.

You're so beautiful.

You figured if Leppenraub

could pass you off as Scotty,

then-then you could too.

You played the victim,

but the victim was the k*ller.

It's brilliant, Joey. You're

radiant. You radiate Z-rays.

- This is bullshit!

- Then you took the tapes you've made,

and you-you put Leppenraub's

voice on them from your interviews.

All that stuff he's been

spouting, you put it all in.

Does it hurt? It's supposed to.

But they were just words

strung together.

You twisted them so you

could blackmail Leppenraub.

- I told you to keep your mouth shut!

- Meanwhile,

you were watching me.

You set me up.

And when you were ready,

you-you left your valentine

outside my cave.

'Cause you knew I'd go around ranting

about the evil David Leppenraub.

The cops?

They wouldn't believe me.

The rumors would scare the hell out of

Leppenraub,

so you became my nightmare.

You played me.

You knew all my chords.

You thought the no-faces

could control me,

but I'm a free man!

You're insane!

You're a lunatic!

And you're a f*cking genius!

Tell him. Tell him.

Tell him about the little moths

that live inside your head.

They're not moths!

They're moth-seraphs.

The moth-seraphs

of divinity and vengeance!

And they're sick and tired

of your lies and your deceit!

And they're gonna fly you

straight to hell!

Look at him!

He's a lunatic!

Do you really think he was

going to help you, you as*h*le?

If this is what you got,

you got nothing!

Scotty?

Scotty!

You set me up,

you f*ck?

You're supposed to be dead.

Scotty, they said

you were dead.

Get your hands off me,

you stupid f*gg*t!

You're gonna die now, Caveman.

- Joey!

- Drop the g*n, police!

Police!

Get down!

Matthew!

Matthew!

You never knew Scotty Gates.

How did you do it?

How the hell did you know?

So, how did you know?

His heart.

Matthew said that Scotty had

a heart branded on his butt.

But it wasn't in the angel pictures,

and it wasn't in the autopsy report.

So, I asked Moira.

'Cause I thought maybe

she had sex with Scotty.

So, I asked her about the heart, and

she said of course she remembered.

But not on Scotty,

on Joey.

Moira had sex with Joey.

Yep. With me too.

These are good.

Can I have another?

Maybe you should slow down.

Why did you let Joey

have so much power over you?

You could have

called his bluff.

I mean, the police would have

known the tape was a fake.

He wouldn't have taken it

to the authorities.

He would have circulated it

at parties.

Success is fragile,

Mr. Ledbetter.

Do you know what it is

to have a muse?

I think I do.

Joey was nothing like him.

But sometimes,

if the light was just right,

I could almost believe.

I guess I'll have to

find another one.

Look at you.

Drunk as a skunk.

Oh, but I put a nick

in Stuyvesant's armor.

Stuyvesant?

Haven't you

figured it out yet, baby?

Don't you know

what k*lled Scotty Gates?

Not Stuyvesant, not

Stuyvesant's no-face sl*ves,

just craziness.

That's what makes

all these victims.

None of your fancy demons,

just plain ol',

run-of-the-mill craziness.

That's the only beast

you have to tame.

Rom.

I liked what you played,

up at the party.

Little raw, little rusty,

but it was good to hear.

You have a beautiful face.

In a strange turn of events,

police were aided by a homeless man,

Romulus Ledbetter, who resides in

a rocky enclosure in Inwood Park.

Ledbetter, known to locals

as "The Caveman, "

was instrumental in the capture

and arrest of Joseph Peasley,

who is suspected of murdering

Scott Gates.

Gates' body was found in the

same park on Valentine's Day.

A police spokesperson stated that

"The Caveman" is a local hero.

Daddy.

I wanted to warn you.

You know, you could

come home for awhile.

I mean, if you wanted to.

I don't think Mama would mind.

You know, just...

just for awhile.

Y- You know, Lulu,

I don't think so.

Maybe some other time.

Thanks just the same.

Daddy, I want you to know...

I am really...

I'm proud.

I'm proud of you.