Please identify the accused.
Dr. William Chester Minor...
Captain Surgeon in the US Army, retired.
Dr. Minor has come to our shores seeking sanctuary.
In his home country of the United States, he was pursued...
relentlessly by a man pledged to torture and kill him.
On that fateful night...
of the 17th of February, the defendant woke with a start...
he knew right away that he had been hunted down and found...
that his pursuer, one Declan Reilly was indeed, in his rooms.
Dr. Minor reached for his service revolver and gave chase.
Fenian!
In the streets, he found a man running.
Help! Help!
Help!
Eliza, open the door! Eliza!
Eliza!
In the confusion of night...
he failed to discern the difference...
between his assailant and the innocent George Merrett.
Eliza.
Stop there!
This is not the Fenian!
No!
This is not the Fenian?
No!
I'm sorry! Sorry!
No!
My Lord, Dr. Minor shot the wrong man.
So... he didn't mean it.
My Lord, perhaps the court should simply release...
the good doctor with an apology...
for the misunderstanding that has occurred.
Your Honor!?
Declan... Declan Reilly is his name!
He has a brand on the left side of his face, he comes at night!
He comes with others, they haunt me, they come into my rooms!
I do not believe you, sir. This court does not believe you.
Quiet, please! Quiet in court!
Quiet, please! Quiet!
Quiet, quiet!
We, the members of her Majesty's jury...
find Dr. William Chester Minor not guilty...
of the willful murder of George Merrett...
Quiet! Quiet!
...on the grounds of insanity.
I am not insane, sir.
Quiet, please!
William Chester Minor, it is hereby this court's ruling...
that you shall be detained in safe custody...
at Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane...
until Her Majesty's pleasure be known.
Quiet, please!
Move, move!
Bloody bollocks hell!
Hey! Any more of that and you're off!
Harold!
I must get back in, father.
In a tick, boy. Take a few breaths.
Mind the long run down the flank.
If you see the brute coming, stay downpitch...
and don't let him pull you in, all right?
And try for the clean catch.
Yes, sir. The game, sir.
Harold, about your use of words...
Yes, sir.
- Good. In you go, boy, go on. - Yes, sir!
I had a word with him.
Yes, I saw.
In the paper, a dreadful story, a shooting in Lambeth...
by an American, an army officer...
and that poor woman left behind with six children.
That I saw.
I don't know what I would do, James...
if you were taken like that.
Yes! That's it, that's it!
Yes! Yes!
Yes, yes! How's that, you ensanguined mule?
- That's it, you're off! - What's wrong with ensanguined?
- Get off! - Harold! Harold!
I wish to state that I possess a general lexical...
and structural knowledge of the languages...
and literature of the Aryan and Syro-Arabic classes.
I have recently submitted my paper on the declension...
of German verbs to the Philological Society.
Mr. Murray, I understand that...
you do not possess a university degree.
No, sir, no degree.
I am an autodidact, self-taught.
I am aware of the word. Schooling?
Left at 14 to earn a living.
Honestly, Freddie, it's a bit much.
A bit much, yes.
Of course, we, the august delegates...
of the Oxford University Press...
have been attempting to make this dictionary...
for the last 20 years.
And despite the greatest efforts of a whole army of academics...
myself included, we are precisely nowhere.
Forgive me that is incorrect.
We are, in fact, going backwards.
The language is developing faster than our progress.
This great tongue of ours, which reaches out across the world...
has drawn its guns, sharpened its bayonets...
and declared that it will not be tamed.
And we, with our debates ad nauseam about the scope...
the mode, the purpose of these words have all...
but thrown ourselves down in supplication before it...
bathed in abject defeat.
At this moment, the endeavor is dead.
Is that too much, Max?
Gentlemen, I'm afraid nothing...
short of a panacea is called for.
I submit that the extraordinary, the unconventional...
Mr. Murray is the solution and our salvation.
Your account, though a bit dramatic, is true, Freddie.
But we need something more than impassioned advocacy.
Qualifications come to mind. Perhaps a Bachelor's Degree.
Qualifications, yes.
Well, I am fluent in Latin and Greek, of course.
Beyond those, I have an intimate knowledge...
of the Romance tongues, Italian, French, Spanish...
Catalan and to a lesser degree Portuguese, Vaudois...
Provencal and other dialects.
In the Teutonic branch, I am familiar with German, Dutch...
Danish and Flemish.
I have specialized in Anglo-Saxon and Moeso-Gothic...
and have prepared works for publication...
in both of these languages.
I also have a useful knowledge of Russian.
I have sufficient knowledge of Hebrew and Syriac to read...
at sight the Old Testament and the Peshito...
to a lesser degree, Aramaic, Arabic, Coptic...
and Phoenician to the point where it was left by Genesius.
Forgive me rattling on.
I'm sure you have questions.
Mr. Murray, a word comes to mind... clever.
Can you define it and tell us its history?
I'll make a fist of it, on the hoof, as it were.
Clever: adjective. Meaning - adroit, nimble, dextrous.
Probably from the Low German, Klover.
Or perhaps the Middle Dutch, Klever...
with a "k", meaning sprightly or smart.
Mr. Murray is also a master of the Scottish clog dance.
Forgive me for keeping it from you...
I scarcely believed in the chance myself.
It's all mine, Ada, the entire language.
I've never known how to resist it, your exuberance...
but it's so sudden.
And to abandon all this, the school, the constancy.
Is it truly what you wish for all of us?
Ada, I'm an untutored linen draper's boy from Teviotdale...
now, suddenly, with a real crack at it.
My entire life has been in preparation for this.
The call has finally come.
Whatever I've done, I've done with you.
I've never been able to without you.
Once again, lend yourself to me?
If I am to fashion a book, I'll need a spine.
Father!
Elsie, children.
Are we going somewhere?
To Oxford, your father is the editor...
of the New English Dictionary on Historical Principles.
What is that?
It's a very big book with a lot of words in it.
All the words of the English language.
Like Doctor Johnson's Dictionary?
Yes, but his book comprised of only a mere handful of words.
I am charged with identifying and defining every last word!
Will "happy" be in there, Father?
Aye, "happy" will be there, Elsie.
My dictionary will need as many volumes as these...
to house the entire language.
Will "sad"?
"Sad" will be there, yes, aye.
What about "big", will "big" be in there?
Yeah, aye, and "small" too.
There isn't a word you can think of that...
will not be in this very big book.
- Father? - Yes, Oswyn.
Will "Oswyn" be in there?
Uh... probably...
Never play with books, all right? That's wrong.
BRAYN Wednesday, April 17, 1872. Inmate number 742.
742, admittance.
BRAYN Minor, William Chester...
American, 48 years old...
surgeon, a captain in the United States Army.
No known religion, classified a danger to others.
Assigned to Block Two.
The prisoner is in a rage, spitting dozens of times...
by his own account trying not to swallow poison-coated...
cold, iron bars that have been pressed against his teeth.
In you go.
BRAYN March 17th...
three days now the prisoner has gone without sleep.
Constantly leaping from his bed to search...
underneath it in sheer terror.
Repeatedly claiming to look for those coming for him at night.
Doctor Richard Brayn, alienist superintendent...
Broadmoor Asylum.
There it was, staring me in the face...
the Home Secretary wouldn't be bamboozled into accepting.
Can you believe it?
Like Orthrus, a two-headed dog of a line.
Written... in the Athenaeum... in a single sentence!
Your book, Mr. Murray, will need to establish strict rules...
banning such offenses.
Beyond which it should fix all spellings...
lay down proper pronunciations...
and firm up correctness of speech.
We've been here before, Max.
What of all the bamboozles, the wouldn'ts, the shouldn'ts...
and the couldn'ts to come in the future?
The tongue is at its purest peak.
Sufficiently refined that it can henceforward only deteriorate.
It is up to us to fix it once and for all.
Alterations to it can then be permitted or not.
You, Max? Me? No.
All words are valid in the language.
Ancient or new, obsolete or robust...
foreign-born or home-grown.
The book must inventory every word, every nuance...
every twist of etymology and every possible illustrated...
citation from every English author.
All of it or nothing at all.
That would mean reading everything.
Quoting everything that showed anything to do...
with the history of the words that are to be cited.
The task is gigantic, monumental.
And impossible.
There is a way.
A task that might take one man a hundred lifetimes...
could take a hundred men just one.
Volunteers. We have tried it before, James, and failed.
I'm afraid there aren't enough academics in the land.
How many did you enlist?
Eighty, perhaps ninety.
With a thousand, you could accomplish it...
in just a few years.
Where do you propose finding a thousand men?
Everywhere English is celebrated and spoken.
In every book shop, school, workplace or home.
Do you mean ordinary people, amateurs?
English speaking ones, aye.
We will ask them to read...
in search of the words that we want, and get them to write...
the word on a slip of paper, along with a quotation...
that they have found illustrating the very word.
And then? Post the slip tass.
An entire army covering the breadth of the Empire...
and beyond, drawing a sweep net...
over the whole of English literature...
listing the entirety of their own language.
A dictionary by democracy.
Still edited by us, learned men.
And with this system, Mr. Murray...
how long do you estimate to finishing your task?
Five years, seven at most.
All words... and their complete histories?
Every last one.
Dear England...
We are about to embark on the greatest adventure...
our language has ever known.
Let us begin at aardvark...
and never stop 'til we reach Zymurgy.
Zymurgy?
I would wager that that is the last word in the language.
Surely there is nothing after Z-Y.
Meaning?
There's a cloying eagerness to him.
Yes.
And that grating Scottish lilt...
why do you suppose he doesn't try to conceal it...
for the sake of our eardrums.
His ideas are quite radical, just what we need.
You don't think he's a follower...
of that awful German-born pamphleteer, do you?
No, no, no, my dear.
This man is positively baying to be part of this little world...
of ours, already quite seduced, I would say.
I'm sorry, Ada.
What for?
For this disruption, for breaking up the home...
for dragging you here.
No doubts, James, no jitters.
I need this promise from you.
Now that it's started, let's see it through...
steadfast and resolved.
MURRAY An appeal to the English-reading public...
of Great Britain, America and the British colonies...
to read books and make extracts for a new dictionary...
worthy of the English language.
We live today knowing the origins of the Earth...
of man and all the animals.
We know how hot boiling water is, how long a yard.
Our ships' masters know the precise measurements...
of latitude and longitude.
Yet we have neither chart nor compass to guide us...
through the wide sea of words.
The time has come to accord this great language of ours...
the same dignity and respect as the other standards...
defined by science. Fly your words to Oxford.
Let us be connected, all of us in this great endeavour...
through the marvelous maze of our inter-netted post.
What are you doing, Father?
Mr. Bradley and I are putting a big hole in the ground.
- But what for? - For a scriptorium.
That's a room like in medieval monasteries...
where monastic scribes used to copy manuscripts.
Look, look at that, look what I found! Treasure!
Will you clean that for me?
Yes, Father.
Aye.
MURRAY It is a long run...
but we can bear the language aloft.
Mr. Bradley.
MURRAY With you, our volunteers...
as rungs in the ladder...
we may elevate English even unto the gates of heaven.
- Come on. - Get off me!
Easy.
Get him off of me! Who did that to me?
Stand clear! Get out of the way!
Go on, take me!
Get out of the way, get back! Get back, now, now, move, move!
Look at me, look at me!
Son, son, listen to me, listen to me.
We're gonna lift the gate just a bit...
let's see if you can pull your leg through.
I-I don't know, sir.
We've gotta do it, son, we gotta do it.
Will you let us try? Hey, hey?
Good boy, good boy...
after three, one, two...
Out of my way! Out of my way!
How far is the nearest blacksmith?
Crowthorne.
The nearest surgeon?
Crowthorne Village, it's half an hour, there and back.
I want a sharp knife and a saw.
Get it up!
Agh!
In a half hour's time, this man will have bled to death.
- Coleman. - Yes, sir.
Get a sharp knife and a saw... quickly!
Now you listen to me, doctor, I know who you are...
and how you got in here...
and believe me when I say that none of your wealth...
will do you any good if you try anything.
Your saw.
You wrap the wound in boiled rags.
Keep the belt tight and get him to a surgeon.
Your ligation held, hemorrhaging was low...
his condition is delicate, but he is alive.
We are all extremely grateful to you, Dr. Minor.
Was the wound swabbed, dressed in phenol?
Luckily, our local surgeon is well versed...
in Lister's latest antisepsis and asepsis methods...
as I see are you.
Rush's Tranquilizer.
Dr. Rush, he was an American Army surgeon for a time...
as well, I believe.
Dr. Rush believed that if the patient could be rendered...
entirely immobile during the convulsions of mania...
then madness itself would be countered.
Barbaric in its simplicity.
It's a relic, really, from the dark days of my profession...
but it still has its uses when combined with modern techniques.
You think I'm insane.
Are we not all, to some extent?
You do experience yourself as being under threat, do you not?
A man... is coming for me.
From my confinement, I will not see him come.
So if you will permit me, I would ask your vigilance.
And that you have your men alert me.
He is easily identifiable.
He has a brand mark on the left side of his face.
Dr. Minor, rest assured we will do everything...
in our power to ensure your safety.
Is there anything else I can help you with?
I have a pension from the United States Army.
I wish that the greater portion of it...
be given to Mrs. Merrett in support of her children.
Well, I'm sure that can be arranged.
Sir? I'd like to take care of that personally.
There you are, Dr. Minor.
You have our very best man on the case.
There are children sleeping here.
Only a letter to deliver, ma'am.
Bit late for the post, ain't it?
You lot are terrible liars.
I'm not from the papers, or the police, I'm not.
Not here to bother you at all.
I needed to make sure you got it right personal.
I'll just slide it under the door.
I'm not from the papers.
Who are you, then?
I'm Muncie, ma'am, I'm hoping to help.
Is this from you?
No, ma'am, the letter will explain.
Who's it from?
She wouldn't consider it.
Thank you, Mr. Muncie.
Look again, we must have it.
I have looked and we do not...
I have quotes for it in the 14th, the 15th...
the 16th and the 19th, but not in the 17th and 18th centuries.
How is that possible?
How can Ruskin write "The sculpture is approved...
"and set off by the color" in 1849?
How can I, now use it everyday, if you are telling me...
that it vanished in the 17th Century.
Where did it go for 200 years?
I am not saying that it vanished, sir.
I am simply saying that we do not have proof.
Look again, Charles.
And where exactly would you like me to look, sir...
in the birthday cards, perhaps or the medicinal instructions...
or the How-to manuals...
or perhaps the Guy Fawkes day messages?
And we're only just dealing with "A" here.
What of B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K?
It's bloody hopeless, sir!
Mr. Hall! Please try to maintain a semblance of decorum.
Henry, what exactly is the problem here?
It's "Approve", sir. There is a missing link.
To say nothing of "Art".
We're missing "Approve" in the 17th and 18th centuries.
We can't find a single trace of it.
Look at Paradise Lost.
The language took a crucial turn with Milton.
He was somewhat of a purist...
re-affirming the meaning of his English.
The key would be in there. Try that.
Perhaps we can skip the 17th century, sir.
We have its birth in 1380 with John Wyclif.
"Christ confirmed his law and with his death approved it."
And we have Ruskin here in this century.
Mr. Bradley, we must have every step.
This is not about the centuries.
This is about recording the evolution of meaning.
Go to Milton, it's right here.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Bradley.
Charles.
Accepted.
Razor! Bring me my razor!
Sir Richard! Calm down!
The razor, bring me my razor!
Lads, bloody well hurry up!
Bring it, bring me the razor!
- Bring me the razor! - Come on, hurry up!
Father! Father! Father! Father!
Father! Father! Father!
This man, Declan Reilly, is a deserter.
Mark him for what he is.
Agh!
Zinc... I'll need sheets of zinc...
he must have come from below.
And water, in a bowl, by the threshold.
This, the demon will not pass.
What's on the other side, doctor?
The night, he wants to take me there.
With his blind eyes, he can only see me in the dark.
How would you feel if we brightened the light?
As treatment?
I don't need treatment!
Not as treatment! As an experiment!
I need to see him come so I can defend myself!
An experiment in self-protection...
we embark on together, doctor, yes?
Let me take a look at these.
Superficial lacerations, multiple to the face.
How would you feel, doctor...
if we were to introduce some of the comforts of home?
Orthognathous jaw, facial angle, 80 degrees...
maybe some clothing. Amativeness, 8 incline...
Philoprogenitiveness, 4 decline.
How would that be?
My own wardrobe as protection?
As protection, precisely. Adhesiveness, 3 constant.
Combativeness, 6 incline. Secretiveness, 8.
Hope, 4, constant.
Yes, the simple things that we can fit into your surroundings.
It also happens that the adjoining cell...
has become available, you could stretch your legs.
I could have easels with paints.
Certainly. Wonder, Ideality, Wit, Form. All 8, decline.
Eventuality undetermined. Do you have any other requests, doctor?
My books. May I have my books?
By all means, anything else?
My gun.
Perhaps we'll give that one a miss.
Thank you, doctor.
Please, don't thank me.
It has been a long time since anyone has...
My dear friend, no thanks, no thanks...
a new beginning.
Yes, a new beginning, yes.
BRAYN How can a man of such high breeding...
have regressed through disease so far back to animality?
Doctor?
Mr. Muncie?
We wanted to give you this, sir, the lads all chipped in.
And what have we here?
It's a book, sir. We're all grateful to you.
Yes, it is. Thank you, Mr. Muncie.
For saving a young guard's life, sir.
I will read it avidly and I will treasure it forever!
You thank your men on my behalf!
Merry Christmas, sir.
Merry Christmas, you, too, yes.
Ham, Mr. Muncie!
Sir?
I find that a good, warm ham is often better...
for fighting the cold than any number of blankets...
or coals in the fire, especially at this time of year.
Did he like the book, sir?
- The book? - Yeah.
- I don't know. - Well, has he read it?
- Well, he opened the wrapping. - Yes, sir.
- And then he opened the book. - Yes.
And then he threw it out the window.
He what?
Yeah, he said a demon vaporized off the page...
and went up his nostrils.
His nostrils?
He's in there now trying to pull out his nose hairs.
MURRAY To chart the life of each word, we must start...
with a record of its birth, when it was first written down.
From there, words come down to us through the ages...
twisting and turning, weaving their way.
Their meanings slipping and slivering, offishlike, adding..
and shedding subtleties of nuance to and from themselves.
But they leave tracks...
in the great expanse of the literature...
of the English language.
MURRAY We will chase them, hunt them...
and ferret them out, all of them, every single word...
from all the centuries of writing...
and we will do so by reading every single book.
Can it be done?
You crazy, beautiful bastard!
Guard! Guard!
Ink, I'll need ink.
Yes, sir, I understand, sir.
- Paper. - Yes, sir.
- Lots and lots of it. - I'll see what I can do, doctor.
And Coleman...
Yes, sir?
Would you be so kind as to dispose of this for me?
What is it, sir?
You can't see?
Yes... of course, I can, sir...
Yes, nasal hair, mind the demonic vapors...
make sure to wash your hands...
and I'll make sure to fish out some more later.
- Thank you, sir. - Thank you, Coleman.
I'm too cold. I'm gonna get myself home.
We'll warm each other up, come on.
- I'm too cold. - Oh, you got a smile.
- I can't, it's too cold! - Come on!
No!
No, no, you promised me! You promised me!
Get off, I don't owe you nothing!
What am I meant to feed my little ones with, eh?
I don't know, ask their father.
How are them matches coming, eh?
Mum, you alright?
Yeah, yeah, I just needed a moment.
Please, can I help you?
It'll be alright.
Good evening, I was wondering, is your mum around?
We'll get those matches done by night's end.
It's a man at the door.
Tell him it's Christmas and he'll go away.
Could you just give her this for me...
and tell your mother Happy Christmas from Mr. Muncie?
Goodnight, girls.
Mum?
It's a ham in one, the other, he didn't say.
He said tell your mum Happy Christmas.
Happy Christmas from Mr. Muncie.
It's alright then, isn't it, Mum?
Sir, stop, sir, please!
Yes, dear?
Is that supposed to be me?
Yeah.
Good night, then, Mrs. Merrett.
Good night... and thank you.
Forgive me for saying, ma'am...
but it doesn't have to be this way.
The children... they don't need to go hungry.
There is one waiting to feed them.
Take me to him.
Let me look him in the eye, see if I can stomach him.
I went to a banquet and I ate apples...
bananas, and cranberries.
I went to the banquet and I ate apples...
bananas, cranberries, and... dog.
That can't be, you can't eat dog.
Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
Mum! Mother! Mum?
Merry Christmas all!
Hey! We're taking fire, Mr. Bradley!
Pounce on them!
Ah, you wee...!
Well, you deserved it.
Faster!
Do you remember our first Christmas at the school?
Harold was no more than 8 or 9 months old.
Such a fat, little baby. Do you remember how he used to cry?
Oh, god.
One night, he was screaming so hard...
I don't know how his little body could do it.
Every ounce of him shrieking. Nothing I tried would calm him.
I was frightened, then you came home.
You lifted him up into your arms...
you held him to your chest, and he stopped.
He was so exhausted he fell asleep instantly.
It's always been that way, with all of them.
You had something I didn't.
So I taught myself to be what you were not.
Strict, fixed, changeless.
A queen and a clown, together a perfect whole.
What if it changed?
What if you're not there to be the clown?
I know I've been less than present lately...
but change will come, and for the better.
I wish I had your certainty.
Want to put the fire out when you come to bed?
Ah, I thought you might be here, sir.
I have a few hours before my little ones wake...
for Christmas morning.
I thought I might take another look at Approve.
That'll make it two of us.
William? Dr. Minor?
I have a proposal for you.
There's been a request for a meeting.
Tristram Shandy, a gift from Mr. Muncie and his men...
but much more.
This is very delicate.
I'll need books, far more volumes...
than I have within my own reach.
William, I think this could be very important for us.
Oxford University has undertaken an inventory...
of the entire English language, and they've asked for help.
Are you listening to me?
I'll be all right... with work, with this work.
I'll be all right, but I need books...
I only need books.
Make me a list of all the titles that you require.
If I have them, I'll get them sent to you.
Thank you, doctor.
William...
When does she want to come?
Mrs. Merrett.
- Where is he? - It should only be a moment.
I just wanted to make sure that everyone was breathing.
There's a real generosity in your visit today...
Mrs. Merrett... a true courage.
Courage, doctor, is not why I came.
Is it... is it possible they wait?
The letter.
Yes.
All right.
How can...
We'll take care of everything, sir.
- Thank you, doctor. - Thank you, Mrs. Merrett.
It doesn't make it right.
What would you care to send her?
Everything.
MURRAY Few of the earliest books have been read.
It is in the 17th and 18th Centuries above all...
that help is urgently needed, for nearly the whole...
of those centuries have still to be gone through.
You may concentrate on the rare, also late...
old-fashioned new and peculiar, but avoid not the quotidian...
for every word in action becomes beautiful...
in the light of its own meaning.
Mr. Muncie! Mr. Muncie!
Sorry to have woken you, I need your help with a post.
Yes, well, is it night?
Such a lot of it, need envelopes, tons...
lots and lots of envelopes and a large bag.
Yes, sir.
And a carpenter, can you bring a carpenter by...
in the morning, of course?
Good morning, sir.
Not so good I'm afraid, Henry.
It's Art, none of it is working.
Are you sure, sir? I checked it myself last night.
The construct is off. It has lost all sense of coherence.
And it's missing countless variations of meaning.
We'll have to start it anew.
But, sir, it will take weeks just to reset the definitions.
Mr. Gell has asked for me at the Press office this morning.
I would very much like to see Art torn apart...
and restarted when I return, eh?
Very well, sir.
Thank you, Henry.
Your book, Mr. Murray, is going to be an unassailable...
contribution to English scholarship.
It will make you famous, when it is finished.
Look around, Mr. Murray.
Empire, one quarter of the land and peoples of this earth.
The largest trading dominion ever known.
If one wishes to participate, one bows down to Her Majesty...
and one speaks her tongue, English.
Forgive me, Mr. Gell...
remind me why I am being kept from my work this morning.
I was brought onto the press...
to modernize the commerce of academia, to sell.
And do you know what the first hotcake I found was?
The King James Bible...
it has sold everywhere, in every backwater and morass...
where an Englishman is doing God's work in a frock.
We have operations on every continent.
Depots in Edinburgh, Toronto, Melbourne and Calcutta.
All printing, binding, dispatching all advertising...
and all, now, ready for the next good book.
All waiting... for you.
What is this?
Your work is taking too long.
Our expectations constantly revised...
and not a single page to show for it.
The delegates have unanimously agreed that I take charge...
of keeping the project to time.
To that effect, you have in your hands a set of suggestions...
on how to curb the scope of the work.
What we need is more rigorous selection...
survival only of the fittest words.
I'm tired. My team, we are all beyond tired.
For months now, my pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears.
You have refused to pay...
for even for a single additional assistant.
I began this intending to create something unprecedented.
To order the world of words...
making them universally accessible and useful.
I swore that I would bend at nothing to make it happen.
And as of now, this very moment, my resolve is greater than ever.
You are on the verge of all out cancellation.
These rules are designed to help keep the work going.
You may not like them, Mr. Murray...
but what other way is there?
My way, Mr. Gell.
Mr. Murray, we are watching with a concerned eye.
Watch, then, and be amazed.
Lord in Heaven help me. I am lost.
Sir! Sir! Sir?
What?
It's a miracle, it's impossible.
Calm down, man, spit it out.
- Approve, sir, it's complete. - Complete?
You were right, sir.
"Others who approve not to transgress by thy example"...
Milton, Paradise Lost.
You found it.
No, not us, sir. You better read this.
It is with a great sense of privilege...
that I offer myself up as a volunteer.
Please, sir, read on.
MINOR Enclosed please find one-thousand word slips...
with corresponding quotations...
from the height and depth of literature.
I have derived a key, a type of dictionary...
within a dictionary, that allows the amassing of words...
with addended quotations.
My request is simple.
To make your burden light.
Write to me, tell me what specific words at present...
shimmer and fade at your grasp.
Let useful others troll the oceans...
with their nets cast wide.
I shall throw my line and pluck the very quotes...
that evade you when you call upon me to do so.
Very truly yours, W.C. Minor, Crowthorne, Berkshire.
Look, it's all there.
He's given us Approve in the 17th and 18th centuries.
And Art?
Not that one, but so much else.
All in the "A" s, all words we're working on...
and at first glance all of it usable.
God has sent us a savior.
Now all we have to do is try to keep up with him.
Thank you, Mr. Hall.
Let's have a good look at these slips.
Sort these now.
MURRAY You cannot fathom the impact of both...
your offer and your timing. I am your grateful recipient.
Let paper and ink be our flesh and blood...
until we are privileged to meet.
That's right.
MURRAY Enclosed are a list of words that...
at present... are eluding us.
The word Art is proving particularly troublesome.
MINOR Enclosed you will find the quotations...
that you have requested.
In pondering "Art", I am reminded of the words...
of a great man of our time who said...
all great and beautiful work has come of first gazing...
without shrinking into the darkness.
May I, sir?
Aye.
Ah.
MINOR I have been much acquainted with that darkness.
Thank you for letting me lend my light to yours.
Together we shall shrink the darkness...
until there is only light.
Yours, W.C. Minor. Crowthorne, Berkshire.
Ah, here it is... heh-heh, eh.
Now we'll put your name on it, too.
Mr. Bradley, can I have another fascicle, please?
I know of another who's joy in seeing it would be immeasurable.
Yes, ma'am.
Is Mr. Muncie working?
He is.
Could you please tell him Mrs. Merrett is here to see him?
I will indeed, ma'am.
Hello, ma'am.
Mr. Muncie.
So pleased you've returned, Mrs. Merrett.
Come on in then, ma'am.
It's... very interesting.
Come in, doctor.
Mrs. Merrett has brought you a book.
Yes... from Maggs, the book shop.
I was told you like to read.
Thank you.
Would you care to take a walk on the grounds, madam?
It is a beautiful spring day.
Did you read it?
Great Expectations, the book you brought me? Is it a favorite?
No, no, the shop suggested it.
Ah.
I came to say... thank you.
The children, they're not going hungry no more.
They've got warm clothes now, even for next year, but...
It's never too late with children.
Their whole lives are tomorrows.
But I can't go on taking your money. It's... it's not right.
- Please, Mrs. Merrett. - It's blood money.
I know, but it's my blood, too. My life belongs to you.
I made it so on that night.
I took a life and by dreadful bargain...
I've placed another in your hands.
By right, all that I have is yours.
I don't know what to think. I don't know why I came.
Mrs. Merrett, please!
Well, let me know if she comes back.
Let's have a look at those chains.
Thank you.
Can I help you, sir?
Yes, I'm here to see the superintendent.
Are you expected?
No, I came on impulse.
I'm James Murray, I am a friend of Dr. Minor's...
yet only through the post.
Dr. Minor, the superintendent.
Ah, ah, I came to bring him this fruit of our labor.
I know who you are, sir.
I posted all the letters for him. I licked the stamps myself.
Oh, thank you, for your mother tongue.
Yeah, I'll see what I can do.
- So this is the good doctor? - Mr. Murray, sir.
Dr. Minor, I'm proud to make your acquaintance, sir.
I cannot believe my eyes.
Nor I, nor this surprise.
How did you gain entrance?
I came on the off chance and to bring you this.
Our gathering, so far.
Meek, but poised to inherit the earth.
I thank you. You deserve to be proud.
Dumbfounded.
You've been a bulwark for us, doctor.
I'm happy to be of assistance...
though I am merely worker to the queen. The alveary is yours.
Ah, you sent the quote for alveary? From...
Baret, 1580.
Of course, the early dictionaries of English...
Latin, French and Greek, but of course, you know that.
Of course, I don't.
I do know the poets. You, in your letters, know the scribe.
Now my task is to de-scribe.
Alveary, such a lovely buzz to it.
How about cosh, or fettle?
Fine. Louche.
I remember that from childhood.
It always seemed undressed.
Commotrix, I adore that one...
sounds as though it wants trouble.
Troublesome indeed, and difficult to find.
Gyre.
A revolution, a whirl.
Decussated.
Formed by crossing lines, an X, an intersection.
Perhaps you should be writing definitions and I...
well, I'd be useless tending to your patients.
So let's leave it as it is.
We've only just started. Partners, word for word.
An American and a Scot?
How does an American come to eye these gates?
A story for another day.
Let's continue the comparison.
One Oxford, one Yale.
Both graying.
One brilliant, one mad.
Aye, but which is which?
Where to from here?
Antagonism to bathe.
Batheable to cholera.
Choleric to dysenteric.
Dysentery to eczema.
Eczematous to fungus.
Why not jump straight to leprosy?
Oh, that's dropping off a lot.
You could go back to acne.
Well, there's no need to be rash.
- Who's this? - Murray, sir.
- Who's Murray? - The man from the dictionary...
the one the doctor has been working on.
Good God, well, he's had a very busy day.
Let's keep it short, shall we?
Yes, sir.
Mr. Muncie? Accord Dr. Murray full visitation privileges.
Let me know when they're gonna happen.
- Yes, sir. - Thank you.
Let's document all their meetings, keep full details.
One could dare say it's beautiful here.
Listen to the leaves scratch the air.
Sometimes it sounds like gunfire. Sometimes like...
- Like applause. - Yes, applause.
Mr. Murray?
- Aye. I should be off then. - Check your posts.
I will garner my thoughts and spark them off of yours.
As iron sharpens iron...
so one man sharpens the countenance of a friend.
Scripture. You're a man of God, I should not be surprised.
It is by His grace alone.
I wish I had experienced that more often.
You will, my friend.
Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
You're not alone, good doctor.
We are linked now... consanguineous.
Brothers.
I looked for you this morning...
I wanted to share some good news with you.
What news?
A new volunteer, a miracle... he's pulling us out of the mire.
We've doubled our progress with him already.
That's wonderful, James. Who is he?
A friend.
A letter from our superintendent, sir.
Oh, thank you.
Henry, could you keep an eye for all future letters...
from the good doctor?
He is rather a private man and I would wish to honor that.
I brought another book for you.
I see that. What is it?
One from the list Mr. Muncie gave me.
I asked, it's one of the ones you wanted.
You read.
I will guess which one it is, a paragraph, a sentence.
I'm sorry, doctor.
Mrs. Merrett, Mrs. Merrett...
Mrs. Merrett, please, what did I do?
You cannot read.
Forgive me, I should not have presumed.
I do not need you to bring me books, Mrs. Merrett...
it is your visits...
Please, doctor, let me be.
I can teach you.
I am what I am.
Oh, please, let me teach you. You can teach your children.
It's freedom, Mrs. Merrett.
I can fly out of this place on the backs of books.
I've gone to the end of the world on the wings of words.
I can not.
When I read, no one is after me.
When I read, I am the one who is chasing, chasing after God.
Please, I beg you... join the chase.
Kumquat.
Oblong.
Pert.
Prunes.
Coconuts.
Chitty.
My win, Murray.
- What on earth is chitty? - Long form of chit.
Of course, chit. Letter or note, Indian origin, no?
That's right.
Who is she?
The impossible.
The more impossible, the greater the love.
Do you truly believe that?
My heart is so sick.
What I know of love, the sickness often becomes the cure.
She is my friend, she is my dear friend...
she has suffered a terrible loss.
Perhaps God's grace will come to her through your love, William.
Eats, so you don't really say the "A"?
Eats.
Wa... ush... brush and fish.
- Yes. - Wash.
You're learning very, very fast.
The brain is wider than the sky, for put them side by side...
the one the other will include, with ease and you beside.
The brain is just the weight of God, for, heft them...
pound for pound, and they will differ if they do...
as syllable from the sound.
Did they cut the rest of the hair on that girl off?
Mrs. Merrett?
He's making the most tremendous progress.
Mrs. Merrett.
I'm beginning to believe the more he's exposed...
to the world beyond these walls, the speedier will be his cure.
You think he can be cured, doctor?
I have to... there must be hope for all of us.
Even the most broken of souls.
I, uh... think on it.
MURRAY My Dear Friend, I have recommended...
to the Delegates that your name be acknowledged...
in the First Volume of the "New English Dictionary...
on Historical Principles", to which your vibrant mind...
has so critically given the breath of life.
The last fascicle is already complete.
Expectantly, James.
Congratulations, Dr. Murray.
For giving us A to byzen.
And for the rest to come, beginning with cab.
Thank you, sir.
It's not selling.
4,000 orders the Empire through and he won't go any quicker.
We're the laughing stock of all academia.
I wonder if it's time to ease our gentle Scotsman...
off his little perch.
Stop it!
It'll be alright, they're good kids.
We don't have to do it, if you don't want to.
Look at me... William.
It'll be alright.
Children, I would like you to meet a friend...
his name is William.
You must be Olive, is that right?
Yes.
- Iris. - Mm-hm.
Jack, and Peggy.
You must be Peter, it's good to meet you, Peter.
And are you Clare, then?
Clare.
Truly I'm honored to meet you, Clare.
Clare!
Mr. Muncie. Watch them for me, just for a moment.
Mm-hm.
Doctor! Wait! Wait! I'm sorry.
I never wanted that to happen. I'm so sorry.
I remember being safe and still I remember knowing who I was...
and I woke up and it had all gone away, and I hated you...
so much, for so long, but now I know you, I know who you are.
And I know the same has been done to you.
I wrote you something.
"I can"...
"I can... because of you."
I miss my husband.
I came here that first day to hate you.
To take your money, watch you locked away, see you done.
You should still hate me.
Not any more.
Look what you've done! Look what you've done!
Not that many this time, sir.
I wrote you something. No, read it when I've gone.
I'm sorry, Eliza.
But what if I'm not?
I have killed him again.
It's all your fault.
I've killed him again in your heart!
Mr. Coleman!
You might alert the clinic.
I have injured myself.
MINOR "My Friend, I no longer find I have the place...
for this, I thought you might accept it.
Remember me by it.
As a testament to our friendship and to that...
which we created together, in the brief and fleeting time...
Dr. Murray, Richard Brayn, Superintendent.
Pleased to meet you, sir.
I am very proud of the contributions that Dr. Minor...
has made, of course.
The illness has entered a new phase. You may be shocked.
I should warn you, too, that he may display some hostility.
You came.
Of course, I came.
I knew that you would.
Your God is very demanding.
A sacrifice was required.
I received your letter.
His love... his wife...
I stole her from the dead.
Have you gotten to the "I's" by now?
I had some to add to your words.
But I can't seem to...
I can't seem to find my pens.
Our words, William, our words.
Perhaps that is true, perhaps...
madness... gave us words.
But you have made them yours, they bear your secret signature.
Why did you come here?
Did you bring others?
I am alone, William.
I have reason to believe that they are hiding...
between the spaces in the floor, biding their time.
I'm sorry, James. I'm sorry.
For a moment, I...
dared to hope.
Your words, her... forgiveness.
It's more than forgiveness.
She... she gave me this.
Read it later, if you truly want to know why.
Know what?
A quote, Austin, 1832.
I sent it in, but only hoping, I wasn't sure, until now.
I can't... I can't remember the quote.
Look it up! Look it up!
You have seen me now and we're done.
You can leave the lunatic to his delusions.
I came here to see my friend.
I am no man's friend, I am a murderer.
Everything else is make believe.
So leave, leave, leave, leave, leave, leave, leave...
leave, leave, leave, leave, leave, leave!
And do not come back! I do not want to see you!
Please, doctor, if your claim that you are my friend...
is true, you will respect that one simple wish!
Yeah.
I think no more visitors for Dr. Minor.
Bondmade, missing from Volume One.
A perfectly solid, everyday English word...
and we don't have it.
I don't know how that could have happened...
I checked the proofs for it myself.
The University of Vienna picked up on it.
Calm down, Philip.
We'll catch it, we'll form an addendum.
I've been meaning to discuss that with all of you.
Are you intending to drop others?
The makers of this grand folly also deign it beneath them...
to include the nouns and adjectives denoting countries.
Hence no mention of African, Arabian, American and so on.
In the blasted Figaro!
In the same breath, expounding the virtues...
of their competing dictionaries.
In France, Germany, the Netherlands.
This is a war about the spread of colonial language...
not one with bullets and bayonets...
but with influence and appearance.
This is utterly absurd.
a superabundance of redundancy, Dr. Murray.
We need your focus.
The language is escaping you, you are losing.
What precisely are you saying, Mr. Gell?
This is Oxford. We do not lose.
Clearly the only course remaining...
Bondmade.
What was that? Speak up, Freddie.
Bondmade. I borrowed the proof from the scriptorium...
to use in one of my lectures.
I forgot to replace it. I am responsible for its exclusion.
It doesn't change a thing.
Also the absence of African, Arabian, and American.
I convinced James not to include them.
So you see, gentlemen, you are inculpating the wrong man.
You're right, Philip, there is only one course of action.
I will resign my post from the board of delegates.
We shall make an announcement on it.
And the project will go on, with James.
I really don't see how...
Philip, please!
Have it in writing to the Press offices in the morning.
He's lying through his teeth.
Of course he is.
Then why let them get away with it?
Didn't you see? Dr. Murray is a breath away from shattering.
And without Furnivall's meddling...
all we need do is wait.
Have a quiet word with Bradley, I suspect he is just...
the ticket for a more malleable pair of hands at the helm.
James... what's the matter?
I'm adrift, Ada. The day has been one of loss.
I need to tell you some things.
Don't go on... what you've done...
there is nothing you can tell me to make this right!
All the wisdom, all the diligence and you simply...
How long have you known about his madness?
How much time have you spent with this man?
Why are you so angry? What difference can it possibly make?
His work on the dictionary proves he is sane.
He fooled that jury and he fooled you.
What about repentance, Ada? What about redemption?
we all deserve more than to have it all...
Stop!
I could call into question the morality...
of every invisible volunteer we've ever leaned on.
This one hits his children, that one's on the whiskey...
this one, didn't you hear, he cheats on the Times crossword.
Remove the blaggard from the list.
He is a murderer! He lied to you.
Have you never lied? Have you not?
What are you so afraid of, that a bad man can be redeemed?
Isn't that what we believe, what we whisper to our children...
at night, what we pray for? Forgiveness.
I don't know who you're preaching to.
Neither do I.
"Thus they in lowliest plight repentant stood praying...
from the mercy seat above, prevenient grace descending...
had removed the stony from their hearts and made new flesh".
Milton, Paradise Lost, prevenient grace, Ada.
From before the fall, salvation for all...
if we choose to engage it.
"If love... then what?"
What is that?
A note, from the widow, asking the question of the killer.
"Assythment - satisfaction for an injury done.
Compensation, reparation, indemnification.
have still the right for assythment."
I don't understand.
It means to pay everything back.
The guilty make recompense the victim.
I thought he'd already given her money.
No, Ada, his life, with his life.
"If love... then what?"
Is what she wrote to him. And his response.
What are you going to do?
What can I do?
Sometimes when we push away...
that is when we most need to be resisted.
♪ When I am dead my dearest ♪
Please, let me in, let me in!
I need to see him, let me in!
Mr. Muncie, please, I know you can hear me, let me in!
I need to see him!
Let me in!
- Mrs. Merrett... - I need to see him, please.
It is best you went away now and you not come back.
Please, I need to see him.
Mrs. Merrett, I'm sorry.
Oh, I need to see him, please! No!
I need to see him! Please!
♪ When showers and dewdrops hurt ♪
♪ And if thou wilt remember ♪
♪ And if I wilt forget ♪
BRAYN It is time to commence a course...
of more invasive and more experimental treatments...
all procedures will be fully documented.
William... are we ready?
Most rightfully so.
Thank you, doctor.
Secure his arms, all right, here we go.
That's it. Steady. Good boy.
Come on, let's get him over. Up you go. All right.
- Doctor, please bear with me. - Yes.
All right, that's it, that's it. Steady.
Again.
- Same again, sir. - Oh, no.
Again.
Oh, yeah, we've got you.
Again.
- One more, sir, good boy. - I asked first.
Up now, up now. Steady.
Once more.
- You've got them? - Yes.
Mrs. Murray.
My name is Church, I'm with the South London Chronicle.
May I speak with your husband, ma'am?
The story runs tomorrow, sir, everything...
you, the big book, the widow Merrett.
There's nothing I can do about it now.
I just wanted to give you fair warning.
But these... I haven't given'em to the paper.
I thought, maybe, you should hold on to them.
It looks like he's in a bad way, sir.
Mother!
No, no... go upstairs and play up there.
James.
If I may say, sir, between you and me, I've been concerned...
about some of Dr. Brayn's medical techniques.
We had to take precautions.
William? It's James, William.
William.
It's no use, I'm afraid. He's not here.
I don't know where he is, but he's not here.
Wait for me outside.
Dr. Murray, I must ask that you inform me...
before you pay a visit.
I came as soon as I knew.
Yes, but it's not a club, sir, this is a medical facility.
Dr. Minor is a patient in my care.
He is my friend, my brother.
Yes, he's my friend, as well.
And he's one of the bravest men I have ever known.
However, this is severe catalepsy.
It's a fair question...
whether or not the soul has already left the vessel.
"Divided from himself and his fair judgment...
without which we are pictures or mere beasts."
How could this have happened?
I must ask you to leave immediately.
No, he doesn't belong here, not like this.
On the contrary, he does not belong anywhere else.
Please allow us to get on with our work.
We have a great deal to do. It's alright, William.
Please! It's alright, William...
it's alright, William, it's all right.
The last 400 years have been defined by his quotes alone.
We were at our darkest moment. He gave us life.
I'm asking for your help here, Ben.
To tell the truth of what he's done.
Let it be known, not this.
My only regret is that you did not come forward...
with this much sooner.
What there is to be known has already been said... right here.
Written. Didn't you see?
But this is the life of a man.
All that he is will end with him in that place.
And he is where he should be.
What use an act of pointless charity?
Then I resign.
There will be no need for such theatrics.
William Minor will be struck from all acknowledgments.
You are to be welcomed, for as long as you like...
as a contributor to the dictionary.
The editorship will pass immediately to Bradley.
I will be proposing this at an emergency meeting...
of the delegates this afternoon.
I do not expect any dissent.
I won't thieve any more of your time.
Nor I yours.
Yes, sir?
Is the master of the house in?
James... is everything alright?
I'm sorry, Freddie, I didn't know where else to go.
I've lost everything. Everything is broken.
I wanted to document the history of each and every thing.
To offer the world a book that gives the meaning...
of everything in God's creation.
Or at least the English part of it, but it has defeated me.
And now I've paid for it with everything...
that ever meant anything to me.
You know, there is another book that purports to do just that.
But it has already beaten you to the punch.
Come with me. Come, I want to show you something.
I need me dunnage.
What, with a sprat? How'd you do that?
Dunnage? Sprat? Blag?
How many new words to replace the old?
How many new words for things that have yet to be imagined?
How many of them in your all encompassing book?
No language can ever be permanently the same, James.
Not if it springs forth from life.
But how can the work be ended if not ever completed?
You have given us its heart along with a great jolt...
to begin the first few beats.
Generations after you will continue this work...
because you have showed them the way.
But it will never be completed.
Let it go.
Tend to yourself, leave the project to me.
I have a few tricks for Jowett and his lackey Gell...
that they have not considered in their maneuvering.
Ada?
With Bradley in charge and the University press...
firmly driving the endeavour, we believe we can keep...
to our desired target of 704 pages a year...
doubling current sales estimates.
Thank you, Mr. Gell.
Well, gentlemen, I believe we are all now...
sufficiently informed to put the motion to a vote.
I'm sorry my husband is unable to attend.
I would like to ask permission to say a few words in his stead.
Mrs. Murray, this is a closed meeting.
I'm afraid you will have to leave.
My family and I have given much for the glory of the delegates..
Mr. Gell, I am certain they can give a few moments...
of their time in return.
Of course, Mrs. Murray.
We are here to listen, please, go ahead.
My husband has this silly, little leather parchment.
On it, he's engraved a creed. "Only a most diligent life."
Diligence. I looked it up, in your dictionary.
Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken.
Persistence, application, but also, toil, and pain.
Some of you think my husband a fool.
Obstinate. Naive.
Driven to what he is by fear...
of what awaits us all on the other side, but he isn't.
He sees the world, all of it, with its myriad choices...
and he chooses to be what he is.
Yet, two such men found each other in our time.
My husband and his friend, the murderous madman.
Together they have given us something extraordinary.
I am here to ask you to take exception...
to our prevailing natures.
I'm here to ask you not to punish them for it.
Bradley told me you quit.
I did what I could in there, but they're a tough lot.
We're leaving this place. We're going back to London.
The book, it is not just yours to quit.
It is ours, remember? Mine, the children's, countless others'.
And they can, James, if there is love.
I know the answer now.
I know the answer to the widow's question.
I want you to do something for me.
I will.
I want you to go to her and look her in the eyes.
And if you see forgiveness, if you see love...
I want you to help your friend.
Yeah.
- Here, my man. - Thank you, sir.
He gave me that the last time I saw him.
The last time he was lucid.
They won't let me see him. Can you make them let me in?
It's no use. He's not the same as you remember.
If I've forgiven him, why should they go on punishing him?
Thank you for seeing me...
at such short notice, Sir Charles.
Freddie is an old friend.
I have to warn you though, Mr. Murray...
the American murderer is a scar...
perhaps one that is still too fresh.
Perhaps this will heal it.
Hardly so.
Any politician espousing his cause is certain...
to face public outrage, chances of a pardon...
or a reprieve, are virtually non-existent.
What price justice? What price mercy?
Expensive to your first, cheap but unpopular to your second.
Look here, levers can be pulled, get you a hearing.
But if I were you, I would do all I can to find out...
who will be called to it, and I would stack the deck.
William? William, can you hear me?
- Everybody out. - It's James.
Everybody out.
William, you need to hear us. Can you hear me?
I brought Mrs. Merrett to see you.
Leave him be!
- She needs to talk, you need to... - Leave him be!
With all due respect, sir, leave them be!
William? William?
William, I'm here.
It's Eliza.
Do you remember, William? "If love... then what?"
If love... then what, William?
If love... then love.
If love, then love.
Please stand.
Do you know why you are here, Dr. Minor?
I do.
And in your opinion, Sergeant, have the circumstances changed?
No, sir.
Under what conditions did he enter catalepsy?
Documented procedures of treatment.
With the patient's agreement?
Of course. Gentlemen, with respect, the matter here...
begs a different question.
Where and into which hands would misguided compassion...
release him, there is nowhere else. This is his home.
Thank you, Mrs. Merrett.
Is there anything further you would like to say?
Yes, I would.
My husband didn't deserve what happened to him.
He worked hard. Kept his family together.
Then one day he was gone, and nothing could bring him back.
What happened to him isn't fair.
For a long time after he was gone...
I didn't want to remember him, not even what he looked like.
I want to say I'm sorry about that.
He deserved more than that.
My husband was a sweet man, but he could get angry, too.
Once he got so cross, he kicked the heater...
'cause it weren't working, he put his foot right through...
burnt it on the hot coals, he was limping for weeks after.
One day he caught Jack behind him, hopping along...
all hobbled and all, like him, do you remember?
He looked at Jack, and he started to laugh.
He laughed so hard hobbling, he nearly fell over.
I think that's why he was often so cross.
It's cause he wanted his babies, you were all his babies...
he wanted them to make him laugh.
I think if George was here now, he'd think all this is unfair.
I think this would make him angry.
He wouldn't have a lot of fancy words to say about it.
But I know he would want it to stop.
Sir, please, a moment of your time.
I will deliver my report in two days. You will know then.
We are not asking for your full deliberation.
Just a hint at which way you lean.
Release will be denied.
The particulars of his treatment...
that have come to light are troubling...
Is that not enough to...
But they are an indictment of the entire criminally insane...
system of which this board is not a competent judge.
Dr. Minor is a severely disturbed man.
For his own safety, the recommendation...
cannot be given to release him into the open.
Sir, is there no other way?
Whatever you intend to do, Dr. Murray, you have one day.
Then I have to submit my report.
We can try one last measure, James.
But you had better be prepared to lay it all on.
Your timing couldn't be worse.
An armed gang of Latvians have holed up...
in a building on Sidney Street.
The Scots Guards have it surrounded...
and the whole thing has escalated into a siege.
A bloody disaster, and it's put him in a foul mood.
Wait here.
I'm sorry, chaps, no go, bad timing.
Sir? Sir? Mr. Churchill, please!
Forgive me, that was insolent.
I don't know you, sir. I don't know the sort of man you are.
But the office you occupy permits me to have desires...
as to the kind of man I would want you to be.
Your decisions affect all the lives of this land.
And I am here, standing before you, for a single one.
A complicated, pained and soured one, but a life nonetheless.
And therefore deserving and worthy and precious.
If you believe, as I would have you believe...
that every individual life deserves its own chance...
please, hear what I have come to say.
Please, sir? All right.
I suppose I did say lay it all on.
Charles?
I will not release Dr. Minor.
The prime minister won't countenance it.
The public won't stand for it.
Fortunately your lexicon provides us with the means...
to conceal the unpalatable.
What I will do is deport Dr. Minor.
I gather he has family in Connecticut.
He does, sir.
I shall let the board know, should he be released...
he is to be sent home.
Undesirable alien... let America manage her errant son.
Settle this matter, Dr. Murray. Go back to your work.
The nation has need of you, and allow me to get back to mine.
Thank you, sir.
- Congratulations, doctor. - Thank you, thank you.
May I introduce you to Freddie Furnivall.
- It is an honor, doctor. - That is impossible.
They're ready, sir.
Ah, wait a moment, please.
Yes, sir.
I'll be right here, William, right over there. All right?
That's good, and if you can hold on three...
one, two, three.
This is ours. Something to read on the ship.
Does she know?
She does.
Tell her I... you'll tell her then.
I will.
Have you seen the latest proof of the front cover?
You see, the fortunate thing about these awful people...
is they believe in the divine right of rule of the monarch.
Their system falls to pieces if they don't abide...
by its silly intricacies.
So, we use it against them.
Your book is safe, James.
You are safe at its helm for as long as you wish...
or until you shuffle off this mortal coil.
- Yes. - What now?
Now and forever beyond, my dear Gell...
Dr. Murray is the dictionary.
Perhaps you should consider taking a rest.
I hear the South of France is quite the place...
for recharging one's spirits.