( distant sirens wailing )
( camera shutter clicking )
( dog barking )
( camera shutter clicking )
MAN: ...get that out of here.
Meet Mr. Ricky Clark.
Down twice, felony armed robbery.
He the bad guy in this?
That's what I'm thinking.
Allan Burns,
husband and father.
Clark was burglarizing the home.
When Burns confronted him, shots were exchanged,
death ensued on the front lawn.
Get him out of those cuffs.
Let him talk to his wife and kids.
Standard operating procedure is...
Guy protects his family,
we don't treat him like a criminal.
WILLIAMS: A man died, Chief.
We gotta take the shooter
into custody pending investigation.
We do it by the book, Detective,
but the nice version of the book, okay?
Looks to me like it all worked out for the best.
Not for Ricky Clark.
( parody of Law and Order theme plays )
Too Law and Order?
( indistinct voices )
You'll make better time if you pump your arms!
Thanks for the tip.
Be more physically active.
Remember how good you felt
when you were building that boat
and working out with the cheerleaders?
A happy outlook
is all about endorphins.
So, what, You want me to join the track team?
'Cause I'm not playing field hockey, not even for God.
You're familiar with the upcoming art show?
Oh, absolutely, 'cause, You know,
art's really my thing, next to field hockey.
They're gonna need some help moving the exhibits around,
You know, brute strength.
So, what, this is my future, right,
unless I pull my grades up?
Why are people always trying to discern My deeper meanings?
This is the kind of thinking that starts wars.
Stop it.
I always thought You'd be nicer!
( sighs )
Can I help you, complete stranger,
who I happen to know
should be in English class in two minutes?
Uh, witty, Mom.
Who do I talk to about the art show?
What do you need to know?
Who I talk to about the art show.
What kind of talk?
Mom, do you really want me to miss English or what?
I'm gonna volunteer.
As an artist?
No, to help move things around.
Oh. Why?
For community service points.
This doesn't qualify.
Then to just be a good citizen.
Cripes, Mom, could you please just tell me
which has-been failed teacher/artist
is organizing the dumb-ass art show?
Volunteers for the art show
are to report to the auditorium
at lunch, and the has-been failed artist...
that would be me.
♪ My ordinary life ♪
Chief Girardi, do you foresee releasing Allan Burns today?
The matter is still under investigation.
Do you see his actions as heroic?
I'm guessing that Mr. Burns
will claim justifiable homicide,
that he was simply protecting his home
and family from a dangerous intruder,
but I'm only guessing
because I'm not his defense lawyer.
I'm a cop, and you talking to me about this is like
asking a figure skater about the state of the economy.
( reporters chuckling )
( alternative rock song plays )
Oh, it's cool, bro.
Can I help you?
Uh, there's this band called Red House Painters...
Yeah, we don't really carry anything good,
just, you know, million sellers, so...
All right, thanks, man.
♪ What you need is a friend ♪
♪ Someone who loves you ♪
( store alarm beeps )
I don't have anything.
No sweat. Have a good day.
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Help is on the way ♪
♪ A mighty good leader is on the way ♪
♪ He's the only one gonna come... ♪
I want to intersperse the plastic arts
amongst the concrete arts, so this should be moved over there.
Could you all just help me?
I think if you grab it...
maybe down here, we could just...
Mom, I think Grace Polk
is juggling the ceramics.
No, no!
Art is not for juggling.
( sighs ): Okay...
so, how do we move this without skewering our eyeballs?
Hey, did you notice who made this?
JOAN: "A.R."
Adam Rove?
Adam made this?
Yeah, by now, you ought to recognize his style, Joan...
and mine.
Maybe if you picked one style, I might.
All styles is my style, all right?
And I'd rather...
rather Adam's sculpture not be part of the show.
Why?
Sorry. Reflex action, like barfing.
I'm not sure you understand.
Of course you understand. You understand everything.
It's difficult for...
you already know it's difficult for me.
Okay, listen, I-I-I... don't hate Adam.
You're asking me to...
To prevent this from going on display.
That simple? That simple.
And you're gonna have to find somebody else
to help you move this thing.
Shirker!
( splutters )
FELLOWS: I do not want to lay charges against this man.
I agree.
Middle of the night, this hard-working,
solid citizen is in bed with the wife--
his own wife--
with his children asleep down the hallway.
It's the D.A.'s decision
whether or not to lay charges.
Frankly, I'd be happy if you didn't.
He hears glass break downstairs.
He fetches his properly licensed
and registered weapon
from the gun safe and loads it
with ammunition he keeps in a separate locked box.
He surprises an armed intruder.
Shots are exchanged.
The good guy is left standing, the bad guy dies,
and choirs of angels sing in joy.
What do you want from me?
I want you to say he's a hero,
that this is not a murder case.
He is a hero.
I want you to say it to the press.
Leave figure skaters out of it.
That would not be smart.
Leaving out figure skaters?
A police chief should not comment on the relative guilt
or innocence of a suspect before the investigation is complete.
So complete the investigation, then tell the press he's a hero.
That is my plan.
You're not fighting me on this?
No. We're in complete agreement.
I find that disconcerting.
Adam.
Cha, Jane. Hey.
You ever seen anything like this before?
Hold that.
Yeah.
I need to talk to you about your entry
in the art show.
Where'd you see it?
I'm helping out as a volunteer.
No, I meant this.
Every kid makes necklaces out of those.
Listen, have you considered rethinking
entering the art show?
What? I thought I invented this.
Adam, forget about
the soda pop necklace, okay?
Art show, art show, art show.
Art show, art...
So, wait, why don't you want me to enter?
What would be a good reason?
If my piece blew chunks.
No. No, no, no, no. It doesn't...
it doesn't blow chunks.
What-what I think...
...is, um...
they're not ready for you.
You're avant-garde,
Okay? This whole thing
is basically, very, you know, high school.
You think my art stinks.
No! No. Don't go there.
I thought you got my work. I thought you liked it.
I do. I do like it. No.
( sighs ): I do like it.
That's why, you know... I... I want to buy it.
I want you to withdraw your piece from the art show
so that I can buy it.
Unchallenged?
Yeah. How much?
I'll give it to you.
Great.
Great, 'cause I love it.
Really, it's-it's avant-garde.
Well, it's yours.
Okay.
After the art show.
What's the big deal?
Cha, Jane, there's gallery owners
and then there's buyers
and there's judges and the papers.
There's not very many things I have a chance to win
and this is one of them, so I'd like that...
and so would my dad, and...
and so would my mom...
if she were here.
So I want to win.
♪ Sometimes it all comes crashing down ♪
♪ With everyone inside ♪
What do you think you're doing? ( gasps )
Um, uh, I-I, um...
Are you trying to steal this sculpture?
No, no, no, no. Not, not steal.
Uh, the artist said I could have it.
You know, you'd make my life a lot easier
if you just arrested me right now and took me to jail.
You want to lift something that heavy, you need help.
Or maybe you could help me.
That's what people say, right?
I mean, "God, help me"?
I take more of an advisory role in our work together.
Adam won't pull this thing out of the competition.
It's too big for me to steal.
I'm out of ideas.
Then you're gonna have to think harder.
Are we, are we,
like, afraid that Adam won't win
and this is gonna break his heart?
Or maybe,
maybe someone's gonna trip over it
and then try to sue the school.
I like the way you're beginning to consider
the results and ramifications of our work together.
Turn the lights off when you leave.
Is Dad home?
Hi, honey, nice to see you, too.
What do you need Dad for?
What's with this new thing, where I ask you a question
and you ask me 20 questions about it?
Think of it as Socratic parenting.
WILL: I'm home!
Daddy!
Is it ever okay to break the law?
Somebody kills somebody, it's serious,
no matter what the circumstances.
Who said anything about killing?
Wh-What are we talking about?
Not allowed to ask.
KEVIN: I'm home.
What's to eat? Hey, how was work?
( scoffs ): Let's just say
I know a lot more about Ashton Kutchner
than I really want to.
Kutcher! HELEN: Kutcher!
Hey, what's with that shot
you took at figure skaters?
It was an analogy.
Dad, is it ever okay to do something wrong
for a good reason?
Are you talking about Allan Burns?
Who's Allan Burns?
Guy who shot the robber.
Was that illegal?
Technically.
I can't believe you're not allowed to shoot an armed robber
breaking into your home.
Well, honey, you're from the South.
Come on, Dad,
if someone was breaking
into our house, you'd kill him.
LUKE: No, no, Dad wouldn't kill him.
He'd shoot him in the legs. Uh, he didn't
shoot the bank robber in the legs.
Kevin!
My-my father shot a bank robber?
( groans ) Twice.
Kevin. Wh-When was this?
When I was six.
Wait-wait, did your victim die?
My victim?
Dad, you killed someone?
I-I didn't mean...
it wa... it wasn't my victim.
He was, he was shooti...
Can we just drop this?
Okay, so sometimes
it is all right to do something that looks wrong
if you have a good reason?
Dad blew away a bank robber.
That's the coolest thing
I've ever heard.
No, it's not.
It's not cool to take another person's life
in any situation.
It might be unavoidable, but it's not cool.
I'm not proud of it.
I see that man's face every day.
It's not something I boast about,
and it's not something I want my children boasting about.
All right, can we please have dinner,
and find something
nice to discuss?
Mom, you know a lot about art, right?
Oh, about as much as the next has-been failed artist.
All right, I'm sorry, okay? You kind of led me into it.
I got to go out.
Why?
Because I accidentally stole a CD,
and given the high moral tone
of this family, I'm going to return it.
How do you accidentally steal something?
Ooh, you're in for it now, buddy. ( sighs )
I didn't notice that it fell between my butt and the chair,
and since I can't feel my butt...
Fine.
Drive carefully.
Mom, you know Adam's sculpture, the one in the art show?
Ascension?
What?
He wanted to call it The Thing Made Out of Stuff,
and I talked him into Ascension.
Is it any good?
Is that why you volunteered?
To show support for your friend?
Why didn't you just say so?
Was it because you didn't want me
prying into your relationship with Adam?
Because I know the importance of boundaries.
Mom, do you really need me for this conversation?
Adam shows a lot of potential.
He's unschooled, and he's raw, and he hasn't yet figured out
where he stands on the nexus between
non-objective abstraction and neo-expressionism,
but he's... Again, Mom, you don't need me for this.
So, Mom...
in simple language, is Adam any good?
I think he has the potential to be great.
Yeah.
I got to go see Grace.
Grace Polk? Tonight?
( soft rock playing )
Thank you for shopping in a store,
instead of stealing off the internet.
( alarm beeping )
Hey!
It's Red House Painter guy.
Yeah, yeah. Um...
( clears throat ) ...remember when I left
earlier today, the beeper went off?
It was because I accidentally took this
Jason Mraz CD.
I'm so... sorry.
Keep it, man.
Keep it?
Sure. Uh...
we write off a certain amount to shoplifting, anyway, so...
But I didn't steal it.
And it's Jason Mraz.
( chuckles )
You're an honest guy,
so for a reward, keep it.
Are you giving it to me because I'm honest
or because I'm in a wheelchair?
Whatever.
Whatever?
What if I take this, too? Would you call the cops?
Right. I'm gonna call the cops
on a guy in a wheelchair.
Why not? I'm stealing.
'Cause you've got enough problems, okay?
( alarm beeps )
( knocking )
Mr. Polk?
It's, uh...
it's Rabbi Polonsky, if you please.
How do you do?
Um, I assume you're a friend of Grace's?
Uh, Jo-Joan Girardi.
Hi. How are you?
Well, um, despite our different names,
( clears throat ) Grace is my daughter, you know.
Uh, you see, her great-grandparents
changed our name to Polk,
then I changed it back to Polonsky.
And, uh, to defy her father-- which is healthy in moderation--
uh, Grace kept Polk.
Also, uh, she's not home.
Is-is there a message?
Oh, I-I just dropped by to ask a favor.
Oh? Wh-What favor?
Well, now that I'm thinking about it,
I'll just leave a note on her locker.
All right, I won't ask. Fine.
Well, good night, Joan Girardi.
Um... Rabbi,
can I ask you a religious question?
Well, a small one, maybe, all right,
because I'm enjoying my dessert.
Would-would God ever ask
a person to do something... bad?
No. No, and for future reference,
evil is a large question.
So if someone were
asking me to do something wrong,
they would probably be working for the devil?
You see, um, we don't really believe in-in "the devil."
Why don't you have a seat for a moment, okay?
Here.
Sit down.
Now... ( clears throat )
...if you mean yetzer hara,
which is our own inclination towards evil,
that comes between us and God,
then the answer is maybe.
Why? Is somebody asking you to do something wrong?
I'm not... sure.
I see. Well, yetzer hara just thrives on moral confusion.
Hmm.
What do I do?
Confuse the confuser.
You act with righteousness, and you act with kindness,
then you follow yetzer hatov...
that's your own good inclination.
So, good night?
Oh, good night.
Enjoy your dessert.
Thank you.
( sighs )
GRACE: Girardi! Hey, thanks for coming.
I need you to help me move this.
What the hell made you think
you could just drop by my place?!
You never said I couldn't.
Well, I figured you had the brains
to deduce from my general vibe.
Oh, yeah, like I deduced that your Dad's a rabbi,
a really nice rabbi,
and that your real last name is Polonsky.
Don't stop by my house, unless you're invited,
which will never happen.
Wait, I need you to help me steal this.
I'm mad at you! I'm yelling at you!
I wouldn't help you do anything.
Don't you pick up any signals at all?
( sighs )
Excuse me, but I'm out of ideas.
( sighs )
Stealing was bad enough, but if you expect me to destroy this,
then that's just evil.
Do you do that?
Well, do you?!
I appreciate your cooperation.
My client is willing to cooperate fully,
because he has nothing to hide.
What happened is not completely clear in my own mind.
My client is traumatized by the fact that he used force
to end another man's life,
and he's traumatized
by his incarceration.
Ms. Hamdon, you don't need to use
your courtroom voice on me.
Really? Because I'm a little confused
why the Chief of Police is asking these questions.
We'd all prefer that the evidence show
that Mr. Burns acted
purely in self-defense,
but it doesn't.
Oh, my God. HAMDON: Relax, Allan.
I've read the forensics report, and nothing in it indicates
that you acted in a pernicious manner.
He shot at me first.
You're certain of that?
It's the one thing I am certain of.
I-I was coming down the staircase,
uh... there was only light from the streetlights outside.
I saw a shape.
Uh, I saw the-the flash from the muzzle
wh-when he fired at me, and I fired back.
He, uh, he ran...
on the lawn...
he-he aimed at me again, but I shot first.
Pop. Just like that.
I thought I'd missed him.
But I didn't. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't miss him.
Mr. Burns protected his wife and his family
at great personal risk.
He should not be in jail.
Mr. Burns,
could you tell me
how a man like yourself came to own a gun?
The weapon was legally purchased, registered...
That's not what I asked.
I'd like to know why.
My wife and I were mugged two years ago.
I was beaten.
Fine. I-I could take that,
but they beat my wife...
in front of me...
...and they said things to her.
And she called for help.
And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.
Do you have any idea what that feels like?
So I...
I swore that that would never happen again.
I bought a gun.
( upbeat music plays, excited chatter )
It's a fine job, Mrs. Girardi.
Yeah, it's turning out really well.
Well, let's see how many kids actually make a sale
before we jump to any conclusions.
The show isn't about sales.
It's... it's about display and community.
It's about young artists sensing the dynamic
between creator and-and audience.
Oh, I agree.
The best dynamic between creator...
How do I look?
Like always.
This is a new hoodie.
Okay, Adam, I think people have seen this enough.
Let's take it out of the show.
Relax, Jane.
It has your name on it.
"Ascension."
Hmm. That's very apropos.
Are you a priest?
Roman Catholic, yes.
I have to ask you a question.
Hey, you're Joan Girardi.
Hasn't your mother ever mentioned me to you? We...
Uh, she invited me here today.
Oh, that's great.
Well, would God ever ask a person to do something wrong?
What do you mean by ask?
Well, want or... require.
God doesn't ask His children to do evil.
What about the whole inquisition/torture business?
( laughs )
Well, you really are a lot like your mother.
Uh, I would explain the inquisition
as a case of, um, men being duped
by the Adversary into believing...
The Adversary! Ha!
Like Satan.
I realize it sounds melodramatic, but yes.
So-So the-the devil really exists?
Well, one of his best tricks is
to get people to believe he doesn't exist,
or to take on the guise of our Lord.
The devil imitates God?
In essence.
Is he any good?
Very good. In fact,
in the Book of Revelations, it tells us
that when the Antichrist first appears, even
the most godly may be fooled.
Yeah, like when you first hear Dave Matthews,
and you think he's good, but... he's not.
I don't know who that is.
HELEN: You sold it?
ADAM: $500.
Adam!
That's amazing.
This is a creepy development.
Adam made a sale.
Ooh, I'm gonna go rub
Price's nose in this.
Okay, uh, don't get mad,
but um...
this old lady just offered me money.
$500?
Yeah. I know.
I-I'm sorry, but I'll make you another one, okay?
HELEN: Adam?
Adam, bring your check over here.
Show him.
( alternative rock song plays )
You know, I'm not certain
this magnet is powerful enough for my needs.
Mm-hmm.
See, 'cause what I want to do is make a rail gun
that lessens the power requirements of the compulsator
by increasing the magnetic field using ceramic magnets.
Just give me the magnet!
Oh.
Well, Mr. Big Bucks has a job
and he wants to show off.
Thanks.
What are you... What are you doing?
It's called the wheelchair discount.
Will that be all?
Yeah.
Kev?
What? Shut up.
Give me the magnet.
Fine. Be jelly.
I'm just trying to help you out here.
Be that as it may...
You want me to empty out my pockets
or anything?
No, it's okay.
'Cause sometimes my chair sets off the alarm.
Uh, it won't be necessary.
$3.87, please.
See?
It's like being invisible.
Isn't that one of those geek powers you always
used to wish for?
Is this the, uh, strongest magnet you've got?
Uh, yeah.
$6.49.
That's $6.49 you could have saved.
Keep the change.
Out of a 20?
I'm sorry.
Um, I'll pay for these.
Poor guy, right?
I mean, he's-he's got it tough, poor bastard.
Okay. See,
what-what you're... what you're doing right there--
you might as well spit on him.
It even makes me want to steal from you.
I know you're trying to be a nice guy here,
but still, I'd like to smash your face.
( catching her breath )
I'm having second thoughts about You.
It's called a crisis of faith.
It's all right.
It's not really faith if there's no crisis.
Faith is an act of will, not a feeling.
How do I know You're not the devil?
You asked me to do something which I didn't do,
and a good thing happened to Adam.
Why would God want a good thing not to happen?
I understand you're confused,
but there are no dilemmas without confusion,
there's no free will without dilemmas,
and there's no humanity without free will.
You know, I don't understand what You're saying.
It's all just blah, blah, blah.
It's not for now. It's for later.
( sighs )
Are You really God?
You know I am.
( laughs )
You know I don't know You are.
Maybe you don't know because You aren't really God,
or maybe I'm crazy
and talking to thin air.
You're confused because I asked you to do something
you thought was wrong.
I tried talking Adam out of it. I...
( sighs )
I tried... I tried buying it.
I tried stealing it.
What else is there?
I mean, You want me to smash it?
Don't blame me for your failure of imagination.
What you have to ask yourself is,
what are you going to do now?
That's what I'm all about,
your next chance to do the right thing.
That's how you know I'm who I am.
That's how you shall know Me from all others.
What are you going to do now?
Every new decision is another chance
to do the right thing.
You don't get that from the other side.
What's wrong with Adam making a little bit of money?
I mean, if You took a second to explain it...
If I explain it to you,
then there's no need for faith.
Remember, Joan,
it's all about what you do next.
Don't be late for school.
( splutters )
How can you be late for school?
You left home before I did.
You didn't stop somewhere and smoke a cigarette?
Mom!
PRICE: Mr. Rove, you are making a huge mistake.
You have to say that.
You cannot go out into the world
without finishing high school.
ADAM: I am an artist, yo.
What do I care about school for?
Hey!
It's Bastille Day, Jane.
I'm a free man.
Adam, are-are you quitting school?
Well, my dad says I can't quit school
unless I can pay rent, so I got, like, 500 bucks
off that one piece.
You can't live on $500!
I got, like, 20 more things at home,
so I can pay my dad rent and work on my art.
You're going to end up on the street.
Dude, I won the art show. I'm hot.
HELEN: Listen to me.
An education will make you a deeper artist.
You're very talented, Adam...
Mrs. Girardi, listen,
my stuff comes from the inside, okay?
From the heart, not the brain.
And-And school is a brain specialist, and...
you're all about the brain; you've got no heart.
Jane, don't worry. We'll still be able to hang out, okay?
PRICE: I believe
the pertinent phrase is, "You can't win 'em all."
I mean, what are you going to do?
( grunting )
WOMAN: Stop that!
Hey, stop that!
Stop that right now!
Go get Mr. Price.
( grunting )
WOMAN: Oh, my goodness.
( Joan catching her breath )
PRICE: Uh, Marlene, I'm going to need you
to reschedule my 2:15, please.
( door closes )
All right, here's the situation.
Mr. Rove refuses to lodge a complaint,
which means there are no grounds to have you arrested.
I am suspending you for three days
for vandalism and brandishing a weapon
on school property.
Excuse me, it was a chair.
Joan.
PRICE: The only reason
you're not being expelled is that your parents
have agreed
to get you counseling.
Now, I believe you owe
Mr. Rove an apology.
Never mind.
As soon as I make another sale, I'm out of here.
Adam, please don't be mad at me, please?
You know that...
you know that I make these things
to remember my mother, okay?
Because she loved them.
( crying ): I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. Please?
( panting )
Listen, we're not friends anymore.
We probably never were.
( stifled sob )
What do we do, ground her?
I don't know, have her committed?
( sighs ): Please stop
talking about me like I'm not here.
Then maybe, for a change, you could talk to us
as though we were here.
You think I'm happy?
Adam hates me.
He's never going to talk to me again.
Did you see the way people were looking at me in the hall?
They think I'm insane!
What did you think would happen?
What possible justification
could you have for going berserk?
She wanted to keep her boyfriend in school.
What?!
Mom, no, Adam is not my boyfriend.
I didn't want to wreck his sculpture.
I... I left it too late, and I couldn't think
of another way to-to keep him from quitting school. I...
Adam can't quit school!
In case you haven't noticed, he's kind of weird,
and if he just sits at home
and works on his weirdo art,
he's just...
Mr. Price said, "What are you going to do?" s-so I...
Smashed his artwork with a chair?
What else could I do?
Oh...
say...
talk to the buyer,
talk to Adam,
uh, talk to Adam's father.
Believe it or not,
I have some influence with him, too.
Honey, there are lots of other things
that you could do before...
destroying his best work.
WILL: Destruction
is not a good option.
I had a failure of imagination.
Well, that's putting it kindly.
Will...
Helen, you aren't going to defend
what she did, are you?
We raised Joan
to do what she thought was right.
She did what she did to help
another human being, despite the consequences.
You want me to be proud of her?
No, it was stupid, but...
she is only 16,
and her intentions
were good.
And, um...
she had a failure of imagination.
( sniffles )
Do we punish her for that or what?
( chuckles )
Go to work.
( sniffles )
Chief Girardi, have there been any developments
in the Allan Burns case?
No comment.
Do you personally believe
this man should go to trial?
I don't know.
It seems to me that Burns is
a decent man, but the evidence
as to whether or not he had the intent to kill
that night is unclear.
That's why we have juries.
So you believe this case should go to trial?
Yes.
I believe the case should go to trial.
Excuse me.
Thanks for your support, gentlemen.
The Mayor would like a word.
Excuse us, would you?
Am I in trouble?
The point was not
to take Allan Burns to trial.
The point is to figure out
what really happened that evening.
Good speech, Chief.
So, you support the budget request?
Thank you, Gabe.
The people have spoken.
Allan Burns is a hero.
Gabe has informed you of my wishes in this matter?
Oh, yes, sir. He's very good at that.
Then why didn't you behave accordingly?
There's a problem in this town.
Enlighten me.
You like to handle everything through back channels.
You want to decide this case here or in an office
or on the pages of a newspaper instead of in a jury room.
You lack faith in the system.
Now, either it's because you don't give people credit
for being able to deal with complicated matters,
or it's because confusion works for you.
All right.
Then let me be very clear.
At the end of your probation period,
your employment will be terminated.
I'm pretty sure the police commission
will have something to say about that.
Oh, I don't know about that, Girardi.
As you say...
I don't give a damn about the system.
You have about six months
to find another job.
I-I brought you the stuff you needed.
Stuff you bought for me, you mean?
I don't need it.
I'm getting rid of all my toys.
Well... scale models are not toys.
It's time for me to grow up.
I wasn't aware that was something you could just decide.
I was the perfect big brother.
Come on, admit it.
I'm stronger, faster, better-looking.
Well, not better-looking.
It's a reality, kid-- face it.
People were nice to you
because you were Kevin Girardi's kid brother.
Probably kept you from being beat up about 100 times.
I-I do seem to attract threats of violence.
Last night, the natural order was reversed.
You were the big brother.
You were smarter
and stronger and tougher.
And better-looking?
I'm the big brother in this family,
in or out of the wheelchair, so get off of my cloud.
Th-The cloud reference eludes me.
Yesterday?
That will not happen again.
Are-are you apologizing to me?
No, no, of course not.
Why... why would you?
It's an explanation, and that's enough.
If you can't get your money back, I'll reimburse you.
Well, that's okay.
Of course.
Yes, I can...
I can use the money.
And you're fully capable.
You're going to be proud of me again.
Why is it so quiet?
Joan won't come out from beneath her covers
till we promise not to send her back to school.
Kevin is mad at Luke for something teenagery,
and Luke's coping mechanism is to build,
I don't know, a spaceship, maybe.
Well, if it works, you and I should take it
on a spin through the Milky Way.
We don't need a spaceship for that.
I saw you on the news.
Yeah.
I'm afraid I'm not turning out
to be a very good chief of police.
Hmm.
I don't know if I almost...
did the right thing for the wrong reason today
or the wrong thing for the right reason
or both or... something in between.
When I shot that bank robber...
when I killed him...
The kids were bound to find that out someday.
It was a righteous shooting, Helen.
I mean...
I'm sorry I killed a man-- I really am--
but I don't doubt that it was necessary,
that I had no other options.
I miss that clarity.
Everything in this job is so... murky with politics.
Hey.
I love you,
and if there's a problem
with your job, then the fault does not lie with you.
I'm as certain about that as you are about...
shooting bad men.
♪ Put your head on my shoulder ♪
♪ Feel me breathe ♪
♪ Let me hold you closer ♪
♪ Never leave ♪
♪ One world ♪
♪ One love ♪
♪ One life here with you ♪
♪ This time ♪
♪ We'll be fine ♪
♪ One thing is true ♪
( whispers ): ♪ I will. ♪