(WATER LAPPING)
CHRIS: When I was young
I met this beautiful girl by a lake.
Ow! Hey! Whoa!
(GIRL LAUGHING)
Scusi! Scusi!
Dov'è la Svizzera?
No capisce.
No capisce? Où est la Suisse?
Switzerland?
Oh, Suisse. Yeah.
Yeah, Switzerland. Hi.
Oh, you're American?
So are you? ANNIE: Yeah.
Keep going till you smell money or step in chocolate.
Okay. Thank you.
Watch your head. You okay?
I'm fine.
Can I sit here?
Actually, no.
Two years ago, I reserved this specific area.
What if I say please?
That's the one exception.
Oh.
Careful there.
You find Switzerland?
Um... I did.
I claimed it for Missouri.
Planted my flag and sold beads to the natives.
They had sandwiches there.
I brought you some.
I'm Ann.
Collins.
(IN SWISS ACCENT) The lady who discovered Switzerland.
Read it all in the papers.
I'm Chris Nielsen.
How did you know I'd be here?
Um... I didn't.
(CHUCKLING)
(EXCLAIMING)
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
(DOG BARKING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
Let's make out.
(CHUCKLING)
(ALL LAUGHING)
You've got to eat something.
No, I don't. I can get something at school.
I know what!
Well, Mom, I gotta carb up, I got a game.
And a math test.
Yeah, I'm ready.
I'm cool.
Mom, if you get me,
I won't have to wait at his incredibly boring game.
Sorry, Marie, I have a meeting.
Angie's gonna pick you up
before she gets your brother.
I'll let her take the van.
I'll see your chorus thing tomorrow.
I thought you couldn't.
I don't wanna miss it.
We're late, guys!
I'll pull out the van.
Hey, ace it, okay? Yeah.
Love you.
Do you...
Do you want his breakfast?
(HORN HONKING)
(ENGINE STARTING)
You mother puts healthy stuff in.
Don't trade it... For chips and cookies. I know.
CHRIS: It was the last time Annie and I saw them alive.
MINISTER: When death claims the life of our children
we are left with too many questions.
How do we make sense of the feelings we're left with?
The Gospel according to Luke,
even the First Corinthians,
tell us of the extraordinary paradise that awaits us.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA SYSTEM)
Okay. The lucky winner is
Jacobs.
Stacey Jacobs.
Hello, Stacey, I'm Dr. Nielsen.
Hi.
Ah, too late.
Oh! Nice stream.
He's feeling better. He waited 10 years.
Stacey Jacobs!
What were you thinking?
It's all right.
My kid used to say, "What's the difference?
"You weren't looking anyway. "
You like rabbits?
Yes? Then go like this.
Good.
Ready?
(GRUNTING)
We've given her MRls and... Whoa!
Wild rabbit. Watch out.
And also a CAT scan, I believe.
Look at that. Stacey, you have more pictures than a supermodel.
Do you ever wear glasses?
No, she doesn't need glasses.
Does your head hurt a lot?
All the time.
I want you to do something for me.
Cup your hand, cover your nose and mouth like this.
And just breathe in and out.
WOMAN: (ON INTERCOM) Mrs. Nielsen on four.
That's my wife.
If you can do it longer than she can talk,
that's an achievement.
Christy, I've got a meltdown.
Okay, take a breath.
Eight pieces from Germany never arrived.
I've gotta choose replacements the night before the opening,
get them down here and re-hang them, re-light them and I...
(SIGHING)
Okay, focus.
It's our Double D- anniversary. I'm ruining it.
Double D, yeah.
I'm sorry, Christy, I can't leave here.
I'm sorry.
Tell you what, how about this.
How about the Hudson Rivers?
That gives us three.
And the Hollenbeck,
and the, uh, Hennik 16, 19 and 23,
and the bridge.
But they're in Fairfield.
I don't have anybody to send.
I'll drop by after work.
I'll get them and take 'em to the gallery, huh?
You'd do that for me?
Only if you're incredibly grateful.
Hey, that's a chance to show yours.
It's very sexy.
(BOTH BREATHING)
Okay, weirdo.
I'll be home late, but I'll be home.
I love you, Bella.
I love you, too.
Bye.
Stacey, do you like art?
My wife fixes paintings and also makes some.
To me, paintings are the most important interesting thing in the world
next to your brain.
You feel better, don't you?
(SCOFFS) Migraines.
I said, "I love you, Bella. "
I'll always remember that.
At least I got to say it.
(CAR HORNS BLARING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(GASPS)
(BABY CRYING)
You all right?
WOMAN: I think so.
(SHUDDERING) I'm a doctor.
Don't move.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(MAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
MAN: Chris?
CHRIS: Hmm?
Do you know what's happened?
Yeah. I had a bad piece of fish before bed.
(CHUCKLES)
(MONITORS BEEPING)
Who are you? A doc?
Are you operating on me?
Who are you?
Why can't I see you?
(BEEPING INCREASES)
(DOG BARKING)
CHRIS: Ginger, you see me?
MAN: (CHUCKLING) She does. Dogs are different.
Can you see me now?
CHRIS: Is that you, Doc?
Why are you so blurred?
I'll get clearer when you want me to, Chris.
Confused how you got home so fast?
Dreams don't deal in time. Time doesn't count.
(INDISTINCT MUTTERING)
You've died, Chris.
You have to be a dream, Doc.
Doc, if I were dead, would I need you to tell me?
I guess you do.
Everyone's different.
I wish everybody would go home. I know.
CHRIS: How come I see everyone?
Everybody but... I'm the one you don't want to see.
You don't wanna be dead.
ANNIE: The kids were so young at that time.
DOC: What you want to remember is your kids.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING) When they were still alive.
When she goes to the hospital, I'm going too.
Marie, Katie's not...
Katie's not going there to get better.
Sugar?
They're gonna give her a shot, and it's not gonna hurt,
and she'll fall asleep.
You're going to kill my dog?
I'm going to help her die, yes.
Honey, she hurts very...
Very badly.
And nothing can help her. I'm going to stop that,
because I love her.
You're killing my dog.
You get angry.
Death does that.
What'll happen to her?
Um...
She'll go where we all go.
And how can that be bad?
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
IAN: Oh, my leg!
(BOTH SIGHING)
IAN: Thanks for not listening to Mom.
About what? I don't know.
Just coming out here. This whole day.
She didn't want us doing this, because of
grades and stuff.
Your mother and I talked.
We always listen to each other.
So, I mean, what'd you talk about?
About taking you out of Head-Royce.
The school is wrong for you.
MINISTER: While this is a time...
CHRIS: Where are we now?
DOC: Where we all want to stay. This is your funeral.
(CHUCKLING)
What am I on? You're real fuzzy.
(MINISTER CHATTERING)
At least you're willing to see yourself.
You're losing your fear.
Fear?
Thought you disappeared?
You didn't.
You only died.
A woman, who lost her children just four years ago.
Every day in the Lord's Prayer...
Celia.
(CHUCKLING) Come on. Whoa.
(MINISTER CHATTERING)
(SHUSHING)
This one is a present for me.
It's our Double D-anniversary.
Kind of our special day.
It's her version of our place.
Your place?
Where we first met.
Where we were going to retire, I guess.
Live out our lives.
Be old farts together.
Right there.
That's our dream house.
That one's me, I guess.
The blurry one is Annie.
Looks a little familiar, Doc.
(LAUGHING)
The funeral is over. Why is this going on past the funeral?
ANNIE: Dear Diary,
I'm writing in your bullshit pages
because my shrink is crazier than me.
He thinks you're therapy.
He figures, if two babies can hammer me into a psycho ward,
what'll I do with this?
He's so stupid.
He thinks he pulled me through the breakdown
when it was only Christy.
Always. Only Chris.
Jesus.
I was looking through his postcards.
Paintings were his obsession.
He used art as another way to love me, to help me.
To keep us always together.
CHRIS: Annie.
I'm here, babe.
I still exist.
You're thinking of me.
Keep thinking of me.
Come on, with me.
You were always with me.
The people who finished each other's sentences. Remember us?
I still exist.
I still exist!
I still exist.
Just write it down.
Write it down.
"This is Chris. "
(ANNIE SIGHING)
"This is Chris. "
"I
"still
"exist. "
Read it.
(ANNIE SOBBING)
CHRIS: Christ, when does it end?
DOC: There's no rules, Chris.
It ends when you want.
Where were you?
Someplace else.
You think I'm a figment of your imagination?
It's real. She's real. You're real.
It's all real.
That's the point if there is one.
It's over when you stop wanting to hurt her.
(ANNIE SNIFFLING)
Forever.
Don't worry, baby.
I'm not leaving you alone.
I'm not going anywhere.
(SCREAMING)
(SOBBING)
Goodbye, babe.
(SIGHING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(INSECTS CHITTERING)
(CHUCKLING)
(DOG BARKING)
Katie, it's you!
You're young again!
Katie!
Come here, Katie.
(LAUGHING)
Katie.
Come on, hey!
(KATIE BARKING)
Boy, I screwed up.
I'm in dog heaven.
A place where we all go can't be bad, can it, girl?
Maybe I'm not in your heaven after all, girl!
Maybe you're in mine!
(KATIE BARKS)
Annie!
(SQUISHING)
DOC: Chris, what the hell have you done?
That's not how you use a stethoscope!
Albert Lewis?
Last time you saw me I was 63, stretched out on a cardiac ward!
(LAUGHING)
You thought I was old and decrepit, huh?
Talking about "Ah, can't go on!"
Who wants to be 63 throughout eternity?
Look at you on the water!
Well, hello! Come on.
Walk along, feel the beat!
Dancing on water!
Smooth as ever!
And that was you,
just now, when I died.
I thought you recognized me, because you called me "Doc".
Me being your favorite doc.
Could you lend me a hand? I'm up to my ass in problems again, Chief.
Oh, Chris.
Come here.
You are still kinda ugly.
You taught me a lot, Chief.
Nice place you got here.
No, no. Nice place you got here.
Me?
Sure, you're making all this.
We're insecure at first, so we need safety and comfort.
We all paint our surroundings, Chris.
But you're the first guy I know to use real paint!
There's so much here she didn't paint.
Like that bird.
Annie gave you a start, like holding onto handrails.
You're creating a world.
From your imagination, from paintings you love, anything you want.
Why doesn't it move?
It will when you want it to.
(SQUAWKING)
Oh-hoh! You go, boy!
Can I make it dive?
You're the painter now!
It's your world.
(CHRIS SCREAMING)
(WHOOPING)
Look at it go!
How about turquoise wings?
Turquoise!
And a little mauve, all right!
(ALBERT WHOOPING)
I didn't do that.
No, I did.
When we're together it's like dual controls.
Can I make elephants fly?
Didn't Annie paint a house?
Yeah, it's our dream house.
Just a stroll across the water.
Let's take the shortcut.
Nice shortcut.
It's easy, look at me!
I'm gonna drown.
ALBERT: You can't. You're already dead.
Oh. Am I... Am I really here?
What do you mean by "you"?
Are you your arm or your leg?
Partly. Really?
And if you lost your limbs?
I'd still be me.
What is the "me"?
My brain, I suppose.
Your brain?
Your brain is a body part.
Like your fingernail or your heart.
Why is that the part that's you?
Because "I" is sort of a voice in my head.
The part that thinks, that feels.
That is aware that I exist.
So if you're aware you exist, then you do.
That's why you're still here.
(KATIE BARKING)
(LAUGHING)
ALBERT: No windows. What aren't you ready to see, I wonder?
Drink it. Think it's coffee and it will be.
(SIGHING)
Okay.
It's coffee.
Paint! Acrylic.
(CHUCKLING)
Why is it so hard?
What?
Your brain is meat.
It rots and disappears.
You thought that's all there was to you?
Like you're in your house now.
You're in your house, it doesn't mean you are your house.
The house falls down, you walk away.
But I rebuilt, huh?
You see your body because you like seeing one.
We're seeing what we choose to see.
Let me show you something.
Ha!
CHRIS: It's real. Where is the paint?
ALBERT: You don't need it anymore. This is your world now.
Thought is real.
Physical is the illusion.
Ironic, huh?
Where's God in all this?
He's up there.
Somewhere.
Shouting down that he loves us.
Wondering why we can't hear him.
You think?
Drink your coffee.
Needs milk.
Don't push your luck.
(BIRDS CAWING)
ANNIE: What do you think, Christy?
Right here.
Like this? You think?
They say we live in our minds anyway.
Having you with me, like this, keeps me happy.
Why do I believe you can hear me?
Why do I think you can see this?
CHRIS: What's that purple tree? I never saw that.
Let's take a look.
Think you can get there in eight seconds?
(EXCLAIMING) Eight seconds? Over there?
Yeah, I just need a little incentive.
(SIGHS)
Yeah. I can fly.
No!
Can't I do what I want?
I think you'd be more comfortable keeping it real.
Think of running fast, like the Road Runner, okay?
(SNICKERING)
I can handle this.
Adios, muchacho.
Oh, wait! Chris!
Annie!
I bet you're thinking "Oh, shit!" now!
(SCREAMING)
Yeah!
Go, boy!
(GRUNTING)
(WHOOPING)
Go, Chris, go!
(EXCLAIMS)
Albert!
It's completely new.
The canvas was blank when I was alive.
How can I see this drawing after I'm dead?
For an expert you look pretty surprised.
ALBERT: You two. A long courtship?
No, actually.
From the first moment, it was like...
Soul mates.
It's extremely rare, but it exists.
Like twin souls. Tuned in to each other.
Apparently, even in death.
You're reaching each other through her painting.
It's nothing I've ever seen.
ANNIE: You can't see it, can you?
And you never will.
(SIGHING)
(CREAKING)
I love you!
(KATIE BARKING)
CHRIS: Whose footprints are these?
Don't ask me, you put 'em here.
(SQUAWKING)
Annie.
Annie!
ALBERT: Chris! Annie!
Fantasy is not what you need, Chris.
No, you're right.
I need Annie.
That'll change in time.
Oh, come on, Einstein!
Time's not on my watch any more!
Time does not exist here!
Wherever it went, it won't make me need Annie less.
You'll feel differently, and so will she.
Man.
You don't know us.
Wish I did.
CHRIS: Marie.
Marie!
Look, it's Tigger!
It's my daughter's!
Katie tore it up once, and...
She's here, right?
Where is she?
Chris, here is big enough for all to have their universe.
That's not why you haven't seen them yet, is it?
What does that mean, Buddha?
I wanna see my children, Albert!
When you do, you will.
Does that hurt?
Mmm-mmm.
That? Mmm-hmm.
How about that?
I'm gonna keep doing this till you tickle.
You've got a fever. It's going down, though.
Don't you have to go somewhere?
Wanna play chess?
I could teach you.
Would you teach me that?
Excuse me.
Albert has to work.
He asked me to meet with you.
Will that be all right?
Leona.
That's a very beautiful name.
He said you've been isolated.
Do you wanna see others? Perhaps a city?
I would, but travel makes me nauseous.
(CHUCKLING)
Close your eyes.
I didn't mean forever.
(LEONA LAUGHING)
What do you think?
I'm a little under-dressed.
You look fine.
Till now you've been painting your world. This is mine.
In our city across the river we have to have a common vision.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
So, there's work.
Mmm-hmm. I like that.
Albert, for example, is sort of a missionary.
He saves lost souls.
Like me.
Hardly. They are the ones who can't get here.
You mean, from hell?
In a way.
It's not what you think.
My work is with animals.
(BARKING)
Katie is an old friend.
ANNIE: Dearest Christy.
I don't know how this day unraveled on me.
I was so proud of how I held together through
this endless afternoon.
But, coming home, I began to lose it.
If I had walked out that night for our Double D,
you wouldn't have been in the tunnel doing me a favor.
A whole family lost in car crashes.
Enough to make a person buy a bike.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRIS: Where are they going?
LEONA: To help others be reborn on Earth.
Really? Reincarnation?
(PEOPLE SCATTING)
Albert says to cheer you up.
You have difficulty... Losing my wife, yeah.
And your children?
They died years ago.
That's why I'm worried about my wife.
They died in a terrible collision.
The nanny was driving.
It wasn't her fault.
And your wife?
My daughter had asked her to drive.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
It was a trucker's fault.
But my wife believed that if she'd been driving,
her protective instincts would have...
(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)
(SCATTING)
Are you okay?
Come on, Katie!
LEONA: Where were you just now?
Your mind's been wandering all afternoon.
Thinking of someone.
Your wife must have loved her children very much.
Very much.
But you don't have to break in half to love somebody.
Tell me a memory of your own.
Say, with your daughter.
CHRIS: Hey.
That's somebody else's art.
What's the difference?
You weren't looking anyway.
Your move.
Is this where we go when we die?
It's a dream, baby. It's a beautiful one.
But, you know, dreams... I know, aren't real.
I know.
It's after midnight. I haven't won yet.
It's your first time.
No, I like that I haven't won yet.
Means you're not cheating.
And when I win, I really win.
I wanna play till I do.
Unless you wanna stop.
No. Let's play till you win.
CHRIS: She died three months later.
We played every night.
It meant the world to me.
She never won.
I didn't look like this in the body, you know.
We flew to Singapore once.
And my daddy smiled at the flight attendant who
looked like this and wore this name tag, "Leona".
(BOTH LAUGHING)
He said Asian women are so
lovely and graceful
and intelligent.
He didn't mean only. I know.
It was something he said.
And I thought, when I grow up, I wanna be that.
You still play chess?
I think I waited for my partner.
ANNIE: I swear that California is the strangest place.
They push you into it
so you can do it before your shrink commits you.
Thoughtful legislation there.
Mine is suspicious.
Another week, he might commit me.
For my own safety.
I had the husband I was meant to have.
Two spectacular children.
Blessings no one would dare expect from life.
And the truth is, simply
that it's over.
Just this one loose end to ravel up.
I didn't get to say goodbye. You're dead and I blew that.
I don't get to say goodbye.
But I'll tell you what.
Across whatever distance there is,
I send you my love.
Hey.
Where were you?
Far away.
I got called back. I was working.
There are no words to thank you.
For finding Marie.
(SIGHS)
Is she okay? She's fine.
You'll see her soon.
She sends her love.
Especially now.
We'll gonna go through something very hard right now.
I'm with you. You're not alone.
Annie is dead.
She killed herself.
It's nothing I ever expected.
Like I said, you don't know us.
Is that an occupational hazard of soul mates?
One's not much without the other?
But she's okay.
Because her pain is over.
You don't understand.
She won't cling like me.
When do I see her?
Never.
You'll never see her.
She's a suicide. Suicides go somewhere else.
Why are you punishing her?
It's not punishment. She's suffered enough.
There are no judges or crimes.
Everybody's equal.
That's the way things work!
And suicides go to hell?
No goddamn judgment in that!
You wanna fight?
You can hide from it or understand it.
What you call hell is for those who don't know they're dead.
They can't realize what they've done or what's happened.
Too self-absorbed in life, that they...
Self-absorbed?
That doesn't apply to Annie, all right?
No, it doesn't.
Suicides are different.
They don't go to hell because they're immoral or selfish.
They go for a very different reason.
Each of us has an instinct, and there's a natural order to our journey.
Annie has violated that.
She won't face it.
She won't realize, accept what she's done.
She will spend eternity playing that out.
You still say she's in hell.
Everybody's hell is different.
It's not all fire and pain.
Real hell is your life gone wrong.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
I'm her soul mate.
I can find her.
You don't understand how...
It's not about understanding!
It's about not giving up.
You said there are no rules.
And the purple tree?
You were pretty surprised then.
(CHUCKLING) Hey, if there are no rules,
how can you say all suicides are the same?
I can't, I can't.
Okay. Or she doesn't know she's dead?
I can't. Okay.
No one has ever seen a suicide brought back!
Stick around, Chief.
You ain't seen nothing yet.
Okay. You deserve your chance.
We'll find a tracker.
(MAN SINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(MAN SHOUTING)
(WOMEN SINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
ALBERT: Hey!
This the guy who doesn't give up?
Anyone tell you too much persistence can get stupid?
Constantly.
I hear the same thing.
I also hear I read too slow.
I don't need glasses.
Eyes being a figment of my imagination.
You'll hear a lot of smart stuff here.
It's usually right.
Don't let it screw you up.
I won't.
Your wife love you as strong?
We'll find her.
But when you find her,
nothing will make her recognize you.
Nothing will break her denial.
It's stronger than her love.
In fact, reinforced by her love.
You can say everything you long to say.
Including goodbye.
Even if she can't understand it.
You'll have the satisfaction that you didn't give up.
That has to be enough.
Get me there. I decide what's enough.
When do we leave?
Close your eyes.
CHRIS: Albert's a sweet kid.
TRACKER: He is that.
There's a tenderness I never knew in life.
I didn't know him when he was young.
Were you proud of your own kids?
Of course.
That's an easy bullshit answer.
Think about it.
I said "Of course. "
I like this sore point.
It's juice. Juice is strong. It connects.
Makes you a better receiver for Annie.
She's the transmitter, sending thoughts of you.
(GASPING)
What did you do when alive?
You mean the last time?
We can be reborn.
But only if we choose to.
Last trip, I did the same work...
You were a shrink!
Fairly perceptive.
Oh, my God.
You expected physical danger?
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
What could it do, kill you, huh?
No. In hell, there's real danger.
Of losing your mind.
(SCREAMING)
ANNIE: Because he's drowning, that's why.
He's 13 years old!
CHRIS: I know.
He needs to hang out with his friends. That's what he needs.
He needs to veg out in front of the TV,
he needs to read a fucking book he likes!
You're saying he doesn't wanna let me down?
No, it's worse.
He's so into you, he feels he's letting himself down.
You say he can do something and he can't, he thinks he's shit.
How sick is that?
How can you take me out of school?
How can you?
This is my life!
Don't you think I can make it?
If I really dig in...
You have to show me more!
Come on! You're blowing it, Ian!
I'm not you!
(MOANING)
Shipwrecks.
What is this place?
The gateway to hell.
How are we doing? Picking up any signals?
Actually, not a ripple.
That's because I was thinking of somebody else.
It's a slap in the face when you see kids taking a test
and they're just breezing through it.
And for you it just kinda goes.
Every day I see
how I'm not as good as you and everyone else.
But that doesn't mean I give up.
ALBERT: Hey.
(CLANGING)
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
(MEN GRUNTING)
ALBERT: Cerberus, the guardian.
How do you feel?
More than I want you in or out of some school,
I want to know how you feel when you go to bed at night.
Real scared.
I know I believe in you.
If I was going through fucking hell,
I'd only want one person in the goddamn world with me.
(CHOIR SINGING)
There's a man
Ian never got to know.
The man
he was growing up to be.
He's a good-looking, clear-eyed young fella,
about 25.
I can see him.
He's the type of guy men want to be around.
Because he has integrity, you know?
He has character.
You can't fake that.
And he's a guy women want to be around, too.
Because there's tenderness in him.
Respect.
Loyalty.
Courage.
And women respond to that.
Makes him a terrific husband.
I see him as a father.
That's where he really shines.
See, when he looks in his kid's eyes,
and the kid knows that his dad really sees him,
he sees who he is.
Then that child knows that he is an amazing person.
He's quite a guy
that I'll never get to meet.
I wish I had.
Let's do it.
ALBERT: Come on, she could be in there!
(MEN GRUNTING)
(MEN SCREAMING)
No!
Don't! Don't!
Don't do this!
Your mother's not in there, Ian!
Your mom is not in there, son.
(SOBBING)
There's not another man I'd go through hell with.
Elevator to hell. Going up.
Come on.
So long. Wish us luck.
I'm going with you.
I'm not giving you a choice.
CHRIS: What are you saying?
Since you suspected Albert was your son,
you lost your wife's signal.
I'll concentrate harder!
You don't know how. You're all mouth and no chops!
All you're good for is she loves you.
Your boy is a decisive distraction.
Damn shrinks!
You love shoving people around!
We're going down to the bottom. His last chance.
He's never been in such a place.
You haven't. It's better watching one than two.
You want him clear?
Screw him, Ian. He doesn't know us.
He's not family!
No! I'm not leaving him.
If he never sees her?
Never says goodbye?
We do it without him. We do it together. She's your mother.
Let's go!
Dad, no. Listen to me.
When you get there, don't listen to him.
You find her
and you bring her back.
You can do it.
I believe in you.
Do you ever think why I chose to be Albert?
He was the only guy you ever listened to.
Listen to me now!
Think about Mom!
Think about what happened when we died!
Think about what you said to her to bring her back!
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
ALBERT: Think about Mom.
Think about when we died.
ANNIE: I'm teaching myself to smoke.
The doctors call it an affirmation of life.
Well, it beats the statue thing.
You said "divorce".
You got my attention.
I think that we're too different
to stay together.
I mean...
Well, for one thing, why aren't you in here?
Why didn't you go crazy?
Your children died.
I remember.
I remember the silence in the house.
I thought I was supposed to be strong.
For me? For me.
For us.
Just on general principles.
I loved them, Annie.
But they're gone.
You've got a choice.
Life either goes on
or not.
And you choose life.
Sometimes, when you win, you lose.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
MAN: This hasn't been a good day.
(MAN CHATTERING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TRACKER: C'mon. It's our private deck.
(MAN YELLING)
(WOMAN YELLING)
WOMAN: I never took more than 30% from any clients.
This must be it.
WOMAN 1: Mister! I'm here!
MAN 1: Incoming!
(PEOPLE MUTTERING)
MAN 2: Watch where you're stepping!
Sorry! Excuse me!
(MAN 3 HUFFING)
(MAN 4 GROANING)
MAN 5: Anybody got a cure?
No, man!
Excuse me.
(INDISTINCT MUTTERING)
(GROANING)
Sorry.
Welcome. Welcome, son.
Papa?
Son.
Papa?
You're close. Welcome.
No.
Welcome, welcome.
You're not my dad, sorry.
It's all right. They never come.
Don't worry. It's only a matter of time.
(WOMAN GROANING)
(ANNIE LAUGHING)
You don't think it looks like a dog?
Sure. You always take the easy ones.
That one looks like a 24-piece dining set.
With a soup tureen.
Yeah. Or a bunny rabbit.
A very complex bunny rabbit.
Or a Rubenesque breast.
You always think they're breasts.
All kinds of breasts.
I love them. Yours.
Oh, we'll be late for the dance!
What's the rush?
I know what you're doing.
This is all just a stall.
I know why you don't wanna go.
Busted.
Why don't you dance just once?
Other husbands are as clumsy.
Oh, thank you.
It's just that when everybody's dancing
I feel like I'm alone
in a sea of faces.
(SOFTLY) Annie.
(INAUDIBLE)
(SCREAMING)
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
(ALL SCREAMING)
(GASPING)
Angel Falls.
(WHISTLES)
It's a little expensive, yeah.
But it's our first Double D.
Shouldn't it be incredible?
I've never seen anything like it.
That's my role.
To bring adventure to your life.
You taught me
the one thing, the only thing I should always remember.
Which is?
I forgot.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah...
It was, never give up.
Never give up.
Never.
(GASPING)
TRACKER: She's here.
You found her.
(CHRIS PANTING) Impressive.
That jolt of fear for her. It connected.
CHRIS: My God, is that our house?
(CRACKING)
(EXCLAIMING)
It's like our home.
TRACKER: Don't think that.
It's an illusion.
The whole place. Her illusion.
Suicides can get tortured,
committed to punishing themselves.
Don't push her that way.
You want to see her.
Tell her what's in your heart.
And then go.
No pressure.
Wait! Wait! Wait.
I knew you'd find her.
You're a competitor with a big ego.
How do you know the first thing about me?
You called your son Albert.
Who is that?
First doctor I interned under.
He was like a father to me.
His words were gold. A brilliant mind.
What did he practice before turning to pediatrics?
Child psychia... Psychiatry.
And he was always a slow reader.
But these used to be rimless.
And the rest of me
used to be black.
You know why we chose to look different? Me, the children?
Package doesn't count? One's as good as...
No. The old roles of authority.
Who's the teacher, who's the father
gets in the way of who we really are, to each other.
(SIGHING)
I've waited for years for a chance to watch out for you.
And I'm watching out for you now.
But this isn't like the rest of hell.
You've got no defense against Annie.
If losing yourself or being swallowed by hell itself
could save her, I'd be there cheering you on.
You've got your children back now.
They need you.
Three minutes. Any more, you could lose your mind.
CHRIS: How can you lose your mind?
TRACKER: Once her reality becomes yours,
there's really no way back.
ALBERT: Think about Mom.
What you said to bring her back.
Hello?
(ECHOING)
Your door is open.
(WOOD CREAKING)
(GASPS)
Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.
(STUTTERING) Who are you?
I'm your neighbor.
I bought the Gormans' place two months ago.
I just moved in.
I never heard they sold their place.
You're Annie Nielsen, right?
They told me a lot about you.
Like what? What did they say?
That you're a very talented artist,
and work for a museum, right?
And you're a widow.
Mrs. Gorman admires your roses
very much.
They were so handsome.
But now there's no water pressure in the neighborhood.
There's no electricity and no gas.
There are other things missing, too.
Like clean clothes and books I want to read.
And, um,
some of my favorite paintings I have to work on.
(RUMBLING)
(SCREAMING)
What is it?
They're everywhere now!
I got it!
It's gone.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You say your paintings are missing.
Some of my most precious panels.
The ones that remind me.
Remind me of my husband and my children.
That's why I never leave.
Because they might return?
I hope that's true with all my heart.
It's not, you know.
When you're dead, you disappear.
My wife committed suicide after our children died.
After I...
She was the loveliest person.
Don't you think that's sad?
Don't you have to leave?
No. But if you want me to go...
I do. All right.
The last day I saw my wife it was our anniversary.
Aren't you leaving?
In a minute.
I was sticking around in case there was another problem.
It wasn't a wedding anniversary.
It was a very special kind of day
no one else knows about.
(ANNIE HUMMING)
I need to talk to you.
And you don't have to respond.
This is a one-way ticket
for me.
My hanging around here is not helping you.
And it's killing me.
Today is kind of a D-Day.
"D" for decision, I guess.
About divorce.
That'd be two D's, wouldn't it?
I stand corrected.
Look what happens when you don't say anything for a month.
Cindy called.
She said everything is waiting for you.
The artists and curators will see you when you're better.
And I told her
it was the museum and one of those meetings
that kept you from driving that day.
And if you went back, it'd mean you weren't sorry,
you weren't wrong and you'd be betraying your children.
She called you crazy, and I called her a soulless bitch!
And I hung up!
That didn't go very well!
What's true in our minds is true.
Whether some people know it or not.
That's when I realized I'm part of the problem.
Not because I remind you.
But, because I couldn't join you.
So I left you alone.
Don't give up, okay?
Okay.
It's okay.
ANNIE: So you reconciled?
That's very romantic.
She still killed herself.
In the end, she gave up.
There's nothing wrong with it.
Her husband thought so.
He was a coward!
Being strong, not giving up,
that was his place to hide.
He pushed away the pain so hard,
he disconnected himself from the person he loved the most.
Sometimes, when you win, you lose.
When he saw his children again...
I thought your children were dead.
You can see the dead.
In your dreams. If you want to.
I wanna see Christy.
I can show you.
It's not hard.
All you have to do...
it's like painting a picture.
We do it together.
Just close your eyes.
Please don't be afraid.
Remember where you were married?
Christy!
Christy...
Who else would you be marrying in your dreams?
I missed you so.
Annie...
This is real.
The man in the garden.
It's me.
No!
Whoever you are,
did you think you could take him from me?
I'm sorry, babe.
There's some things I have to say.
I've only got a few moments left.
I'm sorry for all the things I'll never give you.
I'll never buy you another meatball sub with extra sauce.
That was a big one.
I'll never make you smile.
I just wanted us to be old together.
Two old farts laughing at each other as our bodies fell apart.
Together at the end.
By that lake in your painting.
That was our heaven, see?
There's lots of things to miss.
Books, naps,
kisses... and fights.
Oh, God, we had some great ones!
Thank you for those.
Thank you for every kindness.
Thank you for our children.
For the first time I saw them.
Thank you for being someone I was always proud to be with.
For your guts,
for your sweetness.
For how you always looked, for how I always wanted to touch you.
God, you were my life.
I apologize for every time I failed you.
Especially this one.
Didn't you think I'd make it?
You were in there a while.
Took me a while to realize you were right.
Nothing you can do could help her.
This trip was for you.
Did you come close...
To losing it?
Oh, yeah.
Pushed it right to the edge.
That's why I had to come out now.
I'm giving up.
Not the way you think.
Go home, Al.
Will you tell my children I love them?
And I won't leave their mother.
Thanks.
Where are we headed?
In one minute I won't know you
any better than you'll know me.
But we'll be together.
Where we belong.
Good people go to hell
because they can't forgive themselves.
I know I can't.
But I can forgive you.
For killing my children?
And my sweet husband?
No.
For being so wonderful, a guy would choose hell over heaven,
just to hang around you.
Not because I remind you,
but because I couldn't join you.
Sorry I left you alone.
Don't give up, okay?
Christy?
Christy.
What happened to this place?
It's cold.
(CREAKING)
(CRACKING)
Christy?
God, no! No, no, no, no!
Don't give up! Don't give up! Christy!
Don't give up! Don't, don't give up!
Christy!
(FADING) Christy, don't give up...
Christy.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Hey!
Remember me?
Sometimes, when you lose
you win.
How did we get here?
Travel here is like everything else.
It's in your mind.
You only have to close your eyes.
If you know where you're going...
Looks like we did.
Where you were...
I tried everything. Nothing worked.
Until
you tried joining me.
What some folks call impossible...
is what they haven't seen before.
TRACKER: Excuse me, lady.
Ready for that surprise I promised?
Yeah.
That's not the surprise!
Mommy?
ANNIE: I want us to grow old together.
Can we do that here? Mmm-hmm.
I want it all.
As long as it's with you.
It will be.
But what about going back?
Being reborn?
That's the one thing we can't have here.
Finding each other all over again.
Falling in love.
Make different choices.
Try again.
Yeah.
Avoid sharp objects.
Don't worry about the kids.
They'll be here.
They want us to go.
A human life is just a heartbeat here.
And we'll all be together.
Forever.
How will I find you?
I found you in hell.
I'll find you in Jersey.
CHRIS: When I was young I met this beautiful girl by a lake.