KNOCKING AT DOOR
Hello?
Hello.
Hey. You all right?
Yeah, no, I'm, er, just here about the room.
Oh, fuck!
Aye, you said you'd be round this morning.
I'll come down. Sound.
Hiya. All right? How's things?
Not too bad, thanks.
Cheers.
We're just upstairs. Great.
This is it.
MUSIC PLAYS IN ADJACENT ROOM
Great.
It's usually a bit tidier than this.
It's fine.
So, erm, do I... do I give you the deposit now, or...?
You must really need somewhere to live.
Yeah, well, er, I'm supposed to be starting college on Monday, so...
Oh. I'm back Monday myself.
Trinity? Mm-hm.
There you go.
Niall. Connell.
I suppose I'll move my shit off your bed now.
Ha. That'd be great.
Depending on your module, you can access lecture notes,
online assignments and other activities through Blackboard.
Reading lists are available in the early weeks,
and I cannot overstress this -
start reading early.
Read early and read often.
And while I have you all here, I should make you aware of the...
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Just how much empathy Defoe writes her with,
I feel like that's kind of radical, when you read his contemporaries.
Also, how many examples of the picaresque novel are there
that centre a woman so boldly, and without condemning her?
Yeah, but also in terms of her class.
That's exactly what struck me.
You get this, this really, really complex character, you know?
I think Defoe writes with incredible subtlety and attention to detail.
It's sort of amazing.
What about anyone else?
Connell?
I, er, thought it was very moving.
Yeah, and, er...
..I, er...
Yeah, I just agree with what every... everyone was saying, so...
Yeah.
Thanks.
Mam?
KNOCKING AT DOOR
Mm-hm?
Hey. Hiya.
Welcome home.
Where have you been?
Just out,
with a friend, you know?
Oh, yeah? That's fair enough.
HE CHUCKLES
Come here, then.
So good to see you.
That's you.
No bother. All right?
How are you?
Oh, I heard about that.
So, how many girls have you shifted?
Ah...
Come on, you must be the only lad doing English.
I'd say you're drowning in it. No!
No, I'm only messing.
Are you enjoying it?
Yeah, it's all right.
It's a lot of loafers and chinos and whatnot, yeah.
It can't be all like that, though.
It's Dublin. It's exciting.
At least you fucked off out of here.
Well, there's nothing wrong with here.
I don't know about that.
Are you not enjoying the job?
Ah, it's all right.
Decent to have a bit of money, I suppose, you know? Yeah.
A bit quiet.
Maybe you made the right call there. Yeah? Yeah.
Not sure college is all that great, to be honest.
Oh, fuck off, would you? What?
You don't need to...
..write, Con.
I didn't have your fucking brains, did I?
Yeah, that's true enough, all right. THEY LAUGH
Well, just don't waste it.
Have a good time.
Yeah.
We go again? Ah, no. No?
I'm all right.
I should be getting back.
No worries, no worries.
It's good to see you, anyway.
You too.
MUSIC PLAYS, INDISTINCT CHATTER
All right, man?
Is this the new roommate?
Yeah, this is Connell.
He's from Sligo.
Hey. Does he talk?
If he has to. Have a good one.
Thanks, man.
FOOTSTEPS ASCEND STAIRS
KNOCKING
Sorry, man. Do you fancy a beer?
Er, yeah. Sound. Sweet.
See you in a minute. See you in a minute.
LAUGHTER
Stop talking.
Leave now. Thanks for ruining the night.
LAUGHTER
I played mostly football, but, like, yeah,
it would happen if you get kicked, like. Yeah.
Did you ever have a few scraps yourself, just for the craic, like?
Huh? No, I'm a lover, not a fighter.
LAUGHTER
Oh, yeah? I don't believe you for a second.
No.
Cheers, lads. Cheers.
Apparently by the end of the year,
I have to, like, do these medical role-play things,
when they, like, come in and I have to pretend to actually be a doctor
already. Squeezing in. All right, man?
CHATTER
Uh, yeah. Erm...
I think the fact that she gives us a new chapter suddenly
out of nowhere from the perspective of Knightley,
having been with Emma throughout, felt...
..really remarkable to me, and...
..a moment of balance and care, and...
..something psychological, which hadn't really been attempted before.
There's also a refusal of any kind of moralistic judgment
granted to everybody.
And I... Well, I found that sort of extraordinary, so...
So, yeah.
Great, that's really great.
OK.
That's it for today, but essays in for next week. OK?
Thank you.
Sorry.
Sorry, I think that's yours.
Oh, thanks.
It's Connell, right?
Yeah. I'm Gareth. I know, yeah.
How are you? Not too bad, how are you? Good, yeah.
I was going to grab a coffee when the debate's up,
if you want to join? Sure.
Your student fees are being used to pay for
a neo-Nazi to spread racist propaganda. Thank you.
Just through here.
Your students fees are being used to pay for a neo-Nazi to spread...
It's so boring.
It's such an uncomplicated response. He's coming here to debate.
This is literally the debating society.
Do we not trust people to form their own opinions? Yeah.
Do you need to debate a Nazi, though? Like, is there
value in giving a Nazi a platform?
It's not like history hasn't heard a fair bit from his kind already.
Like, the debate's been had. He's not a Nazi, though.
No, look, I just think we need to be really careful with that word.
I feel like people use that word way too flippantly these days.
He's a fascist, though, right? He doesn't define himself
as a fascist. Fair enough, other people do, so...
And free speech.
Yeah, sure.
Should protect it, but, uh...
..not really sure that's what the issue is here.
It's like, by that reasoning, you'd have to invite everyone
everywhere to debate about everything,
or else their, like, freedom of speech is impinged.
Like, that's just ridiculous.
You should join the debating society. Oh, I really shouldn't.
No, you actually should. You should.
All right. Well, look, we're having a little party
at my house tomorrow night.
It's House 24, just in The Rubrics, over there.
Yeah, maybe.
Thanks. Come to the party, man.
All right. You definitely should.
I will.
LORRAINE: How are you going to get to know people if you don't go
and meet them? Not really my type of people.
And what type of people are they? You know,
like... Trinity students.
You're a Trinity student! Ah, yeah, but not like that.
Listen, if you don't like it, you can leave. Mm.
Sounds a bit pathetic, doesn't it?
Yeah, you're right. It would be much cooler to stay at home
all night on your own.
Harsh words, Lorraine.
Go, and I'll give you a call tomorrow.
You can tell me all about it, and I can live vicariously through you.
If you're going to live vicariously, I'd pick someone a little
bit more exciting. I don't know.
College party sounds pretty good to me.
All right. Go.
Love you. I love you.
CHATTER
Sorry, is Gareth's party upstairs, is it?
Thanks.
CHATTER, MUSIC POUNDING
No, no, no, it doesn't take that long.
Right, sure, yeah.
CHATTER AND LAUGHTER
Connell, good to see you, man.
How's things? Good to see you. How's it going? Yeah, no, not too bad,
how are you? Good. Nice backpack.
Very '90s. Thanks.
You know Jenny, right?
Yeah, I think we're in a seminar together.
Oh! Well, let me get you a drink.
Thank you. Thank you.
What have we got here? Uh, is beer OK for you?
Yeah, cheers. Thanks.
So you're not from Dublin, then?
Sorry? You're not from Dublin? Uh, no, Sligo.
Ah, I can see that. Yeah, my girlfriend's from Sligo, actually.
Oh, right. Well...
..there you go.
Do you live here, do you? Mm.
Yeah. It's not bad for campus accommodation. No, it's lovely, aye.
Do you have your own room and that? Yeah. God, yeah.
You're not sharing, are you?
Oh, I am. Yeah.
Aw. That's... That's brutal, man.
Jesus. What do you do if you want to have a girl over? Or a guy.
Yeah.
That hasn't really been an issue so far, so...
THEY LAUGH
Hey, listen, there's some people I want you to meet.
Yeah? Do you want to..? See you later.
Sorry, man.
Down here somewhere.
Great party, right? Yeah.
Marianne?
Marianne, there's someone I want you to meet.
This is Connell.
Oh, right.
Hi.
Connell Waldron, from beyond the grave.
When did you take up smoking?
We were at school together. No way!
Gareth? Yeah, he's here.
What is it? Come here, man.
You're going to want to hear this. Back in a sec.
Well...
..how are you?
Yeah.
I'm all right.
Good.
Would you like a drink?
Gareth gave me this, so...
We can do better than that.
Nice.
So, how do you know Gareth?
Oh, classes together.
You two are going out?
Everyone seems to know him. Yeah.
He's one of these campus celebrities.
He'd love that.
I believe he's very active on multiple college committees.
SHE LAUGHS
I've missed you.
Yeah? Yeah, you too.
I was, uh... I was a bit worried when you left school and that. Uh...
I was pretty down about it.
Well, never hung out much during school hours.
Oh, yeah.
What about Rachel?
You still together?
How did you hear about that?
Through your brother? Saw photos on Facebook. Ah, erm...
No, erm...
..we broke up, actually.
Oh. Sorry.
I don't think we were that compatible, really.
Mm. What?
No, I just... I reckon I could have told you that.
Well, maybe you should have. Would have helped, actually.
You weren't really replying to my texts at the time, so...
Felt somewhat abandoned, Connell.
Yeah, I felt a bit abandoned myself, didn't I?
You disappeared.
The Rachel thing, uh...
..wasn't serious or anything.
That's not really why I left school.
Right. More of a last straw sort of thing.
Yeah.
I wondered if that was what it was.
Really? Mm, yeah.
Mm.
Maybe you're telepathic.
You know, I did used to think that I could read your mind
at times.
In bed, you mean?
Yeah.
And afterwards, but...
I don't know, maybe that's normal.
It's not.
You look really well.
I know. It's classic me.
Came to college and got pretty.
No, you were always pretty, very pretty.
You know, um, you're...
You're beautiful.
Oh?
Well, haven't heard that one in a while.
Does Gareth not tell you you're beautiful, no?
He's, uh... He's probably very busy doing amateur drama or something.
Debating, and you're being cruel.
Yeah, I clocked that.
I thought I was bad going out with Rachel Moore,
and your boyfriend's a Holocaust denier.
He's just into free speech.
OK, so we both failed on ideological purity. Yeah.
Are you dating anyone problematic at the moment?
No.
Not even anyone good.
Finding it hard to meet people here?
Mm-hm. It's...
..a bit different from home, I suppose. Mm.
Probably why I'm good at it.
I have some girlfriends I could introduce you to.
Oh, yeah? Yeah, I have those now.
CONNELL LAUGHS Ah, not sure I'd be their type.
What do you mean?
I don't know.
What's not to like about you?
That's a good question.
I don't know.
MUSIC: Dogwood Blossom by Fionn Regan
♪ Loneliness keeps you constantly awake
♪ What happens when the passage of time appears?
♪ You see yourself as a child and it brings you to tears
♪ You say that you're troubled and you always have been
♪ Uncomfortable in your own skin
♪ So you contemplate the riverbed
♪ Turn off the dark thoughts in your head... ♪
FOOTSTEPS
Coffee? In the pot.
GARETH SIGHS
COFFEE TRICKLES, POT CLINKS
Morning.
I'd literally kill for a place like this.
I'm so fucking jealous. Yeah.
Must be tough living in your parents' massive house in Blackrock,
Peggy. God knows how you cope.
You try living with my mother, then. That woman is a nervous
breakdown waiting to happen.
Does she not work?
She's a consultant oncologist.
Wow!
That must be incredibly stressful.
Money is fucking great, though.
What does your mum do, Marianne?
She's a solicitor.
Also good money.
Do you get on? Me and my mum?
Uh, we're not close or anything.
She's quite conservative.
Are you with yours?
Yeah, my mum's great. Sorry.
Sounds lovely.
Where's Gareth tonight?
I'm not sure.
Some society thing.
Isn't it so much better when he's not here, though? Stop it!
Come off it. We both know he's not worthy.
No, but then, who is?
CHATTER
♪ The way you draw... ♪
Hey, guys.
How are you doing? I'm good.
I'm pretty good. Where were you now? Why weren't you in that lecture?
I deviated. Did you deviate now?
INDISTINCT CHATTER
We got a noise complaint.
No way? Yeah.
First of three, apparently. It was fun, though.
Who was that guy you were talking to in the kitchen for ages?
Connell?
We were at school together.
He's in my English class.
He's a really good guy.
Why? Do you like him, Teresa?
I mean, what's not to like? Why don't you give her his number?
Would you like it?
Yeah, why not?
Sure. Of course.
Wouldn't life be great if you could paint like that? Would it?
Yeah. I mean, I know they say it's hard to be a genius,
but I reckon it must give your life some kind of sense of purpose.
You'd never have a normal life, though.
Yeah, but who wants a normal life?
I do.
No, you don't.
Maybe.
I don't know!
I don't know what I want.
Yeah, that's all right.
Is it?
I mean, you already know what you want to do, Joanna.
You already know what you're going to do your dissertation on.
You're all set.
Yeah, but that is not normal and shouldn't be copied.
I think most people don't have any idea what they want,
or what they want to do with their lives.
You're just being nice to me. No.
I reckon half your friends from school probably have no idea
what they want to do.
I didn't really have any friends in school, as such.
I was a loner.
Really? Mm.
Oh.
What about that guy from the other night?
Connell?
He wasn't, like...
..a friend, exactly.
Mm.
It's disclaimed there's no such thing as the truth.
I just find that very destructive.
I'm sorry, I don't think that's a fair reading.
Something is either a fact or it's not.
It's either true or it's not.
How do you put that aside? I don't.
But understanding how we decide which facts are disseminated,
how we assess different planes... So basically gravity
is a social construct?
Sorry, excuse me, but Marianne was still speaking.
Carry on, Marianne.
This isn't about negating the existence of fact.
Like, obviously, gravity is real,
but it's still valuable for historians
to study the development of discourses around gravity,
so we can learn how knowledge is produced
and by whom and within what structures.
That's all.
So he's bullshitting about how gravity isn't even real,
and Marianne absolutely annihilated him.
It was like a cat playing with food.
I bet it was.
I mean, no, it wasn't.
The tutor had to step in so I could
make my not very ground-breaking point.
There was zero annihilation.
You emasculated him, Marianne.
He's going to be your enemy for life. That's not what happened.
She'll have the white.
Uh, can she not decide for herself?
I don't know. Can she?
Yeah, she definitely can.
White, please.
It's this fucking game they play.
I hate making decisions. Really? And I'm good at knowing
what she wants, and what she wants is a glass of white.
And when she's finished, she's going to have another glass of white.
And then she's going to have a cigarette. Maybe.
Anyway, that guy sounds like an idiot. He is.
He's not an idiot. Well, I am constantly amazed at how many people
in college just aren't that smart.
Come on, mate. I'm serious.
I mean, I think that might just be your experience on your course.
Cos it's certainly not my experience.
Because you're doing English and it's not that hard to waft
an opinion out of your arse about a book.
Nice, nice. Whoa, all right. Let's leave it.
I'm just going to go and check on... No, we can talk about it.
Why can't we talk about it? All I'm... All I'm...
MURMURING
Sure you don't want some?
I'm all right, thanks.
I won't tell Joanna.
I'm still all right.
I'm going to go meet Christian. The one with the girlfriend.
What are you going to do
when you're the sensible girlfriend and your boyfriend's off fucking
and taking drugs with students?
When am I going to be the sensible girlfriend?
That's a fair point, Peggy.
Sure you don't want to come?
I'm going to stay. I'm exhausted.
OK. Thanks so much again.
I'll see you tomorrow. See you.
I'll stay with you. Help you clear up.
No, honestly, it's fine. You go.
Right, come on. Pubs are closing.
OK.
See you later. See you.
Night, Marianne.
CHATTER, DOOR SHUTS
PHONE BUZZES
MUSIC: Undertow by Lisa Hannigan
♪ I wanna swim in your current
♪ Carry me out, up and away
♪ I wanna float
♪ On every word you say
♪ Want to be underneath your weather
♪ Every cloud and ray of sun
♪ I wanna float
♪ In between every one
♪ In between... ♪