[energetic percussive music]
♪ ♪
[children screaming indistinctly in distance]
[keys clacking]
- [exhales deeply]
- So are we still on for date night on Thursday?
Some mentally hot lasagna at The Roebuck?
- Yeah. Great, sure.
[screaming continues in distance]
[dramatic music]
Sure. Yes.
- You say sure, but you don't sound very sure.
You don't think we're making progress in these sessions?
- No--I mean, yes, we are.
Um...
well, I try, you know?
I have a problem,
and we've talked
about "strategies" to deal with it.
But sometimes, parents get angry with their kids.
Do you know what I mean? Like, all parents.
Maybe not as much as me, but they do.
That is just a fact.
- You put "strategies" in inverted commas.
- I did, yes.
I find most of this stuff belongs in inverted commas,
to be honest.
[dramatic music]
[screaming continues in distance]
That's just...
[screaming growing closer]
[exhales]
Jesus fucking Christ!
How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet?
♪ ♪
[inhales]
Hey, can you turn it down please?
- Sure.
[video volume lowers]
Is that okay?
- Yeah, thank you.
I'm working, so.
What birthday is this?
- Don't you know? - Yes.
Seven, I think.
- Eight. - Ah.
You're got a big one coming up, eh?
- No, I know, Dad. I'm me.
- Oh, you were eight.
Lukey, that was a good one.
Well, it was stressful and horrible,
but in retrospect, it was good.
- I look really happy.
- Big one coming up, right?
- Yeah. I just said that.
I remember my 13th birthday.
I got a really nice camera, SLR,
and tickets to see Echo and the Bunnymen
at Brixton Academy.
- What? Oh, my God.
I was at that gig.
- Shit, no. Were you?
- No, of course I wasn't, you plum.
'Cause I would've been six. - Oh, fuck off.
[all chuckle]
Such a twat. Such a twat.
I hate all of you. [all laugh]
Don't disturb me again.
[volume growing]
You should always remember your 13th birthday.
- Snogged Terry Russell.
- Sheesh. Well, sounds memorable.
- We need a memorable present too.
- Yeah. Well, I was thinking
what about a camera like I got?
- No one his age has a camera. They just use their phones.
- No, I know, but you get much better photographs
with a proper camera, don't you?
Or--or how about a guitar?
He had those few lessons.
- He didn't get on with it at all though.
- No, but that's because it was classical guitar,
and the bloke was making him hold it like a fucking lute.
I'm talking a Strat and an amp.
- Yeah, okay, maybe.
- He's about to become a teenager.
That is one of the most teenage-y things
or was--maybe still is?
- He'd really like a new phone.
- Another fucking-- - I know.
- You don't remember a new phone, do you?
It's just the latest in a long line of forgettable phones.
- If Luke gets a new phone, can I have his old one?
- Okay.
A: How did you get there?
And B: I hope you weren't earwigging
on those other present ideas.
- No, I only heard the phone. Honest.
- And three... - C.
- What? - C, not Three.
- C: No.
- No phones until big school, Ava, we agreed.
You're too young.
Hey, didn't we agree?
- Yeah, we did.
- Yeah, and don't say that everyone else has one
'cause they haven't-- Lily hasn't.
- She does now.
- Oh, Lily's parents caved?
Fucking cowards. No, I'm sorry, love.
You can spend the rest of your life on your phone
when you get to big school.
- It would mean you'd always know where I am.
It would give you peace of mind.
- Believe me, I won't have peace of mind
until some geezer in a black dress
is giving me the last rights.
- Sorry, Ava.
There is no room for negotiation
on this one, all right?
- Mm-kay.
[energetic percussive music]
♪ ♪
- Can I help you? - Hey, yeah.
I'm just wanting to browse some semi-pro rigs really.
Not full-on professional,
but not Fisher Price idiot machines either.
- Budget? - Uh, 400.
- Right.
- To 800-ish. Uh, a grand.
That--that sort of figure.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- So we got some room to maneuver.
- Yeah, it's for my son's 13th birthday.
It's the age I was when I got my first proper camera.
- Oh, right. You're a photographer.
- Yeah. Yeah, I am.
Sorry, no I'm not. No.
These days, it's--it's just-- snaps through the phone.
But I used to be pretty good.
- Yeah? - Yeah!
I had an eye for composition, you know?
When I got my first good camera,
I'd take a bus over to Richmond Park
and just sit there for hours on my own
photographing birds, wildlife...
Clouds.
Got a picture in an exhibition once.
- Okay. - Only local.
Thames News filmed it.
It didn't go out
because Prince Harry had just been born,
and the main news overran.
- An d your son's interested in photography?
- Not explicitly. No.
But I do feel it's something that he could really get into.
He's at that age where he's into everything
and nothing, you know?
- Let's start with the Nikon D7500.
- Yep.
- Um... - And that's this one?
- That's this one, yeah. - Yeah.
♪ ♪
- PE tomorrow? - Potato peeler.
- No, Tuesday.
- Potato peeler.
- Good, because your kit isn't washed yet.
Bookbag? - On the table.
- Got it. Found the potato peeler.
I know you were worried. - [chuckles]
Right.
What's this note?
Fuck. - What?
- We owe £55 to After School Club.
- No, we don't.
- "Ava has been late leaving
every day this term."
These are late fees.
- Ava, has Luke been late picking you up?
- Has he?
- Sometimes.
M-maybe, I think.
- Well, I know he goes
to the park straight after school
'cause I follow him on my phone,
but he's under strict instructions to collect Ava.
- Luke!
Up here now.
Have you been picking Ava up late?
- Sometimes, yeah.
- Every bloody day, mate. Not just sometimes.
- I've got this.
It's gonna cost us £55 in late fees.
That is a lot of money.
- Why can't Ava walk home on her own?
- They'd let me.
They say it's fine 'cause I'm ten.
I don't need to be picked up.
- Yeah, it's not that far. - It is!
And it's through the Hedgefield Estate.
We want someone with her, and it's on your way.
I can't even believe that I am explaining this.
You will do as you're told.
- Not asked?
- No, mate. Fucking told.
You pick Ava up on time this week
Monday to Friday,
or you don't get your birthday present, understood?
Seriously, mate. Do you understand?
- Yes. I do understand.
I'll get there on time.
- So what are you doing in the park anyway?
Just hanging out with your mates?
- Yeah. - Doing what?
Mate, doing what? Talking?
- Talking, listening to music.
- Not smoking, not drinking, taking drugs?
- No, just talking. YouTube videos.
- You know you can bring you r mates back here if you want.
There's bread and cheese. You could have toasties.
There's tea.
- Sure, yeah. Thanks.
- Well, I'm meant to be cooking.
[intriguing music]
♪ ♪
- Christ.
How do they cook that lasagna
fucking hotter than the hobs of hell?
- He's a good boy fundamentally.
[gate creaks]
Paul: I know he is.
Ally: On time every day so far.
Paul: Yeah, I've been following him on my phone.
Little blue Luke.
Ally: It's like he's being tagged
by the probation service
but in a loving way.
- And we've not asked him to paint the moon.
It is a relatively simple task but still.
Ally: No, but it's significant.
He's doing what we asked.
He's accepted he did wrong,
and he's putting it right.
- Yeah. Yeah, he is.
Fair play to him.
♪ ♪
[door thuds]
- Hello. - Hi, Mum.
- Hi. - Everything all right?
- Right as rain.
On their screens.
I don't know why you need me to babysit these days.
They can look after themselves now.
- Well, when Luke's 13, then we can think about leaving them.
- What are you getting him for his birthday?
- Well, I'm thinking a camera.
- Oh! - Mm.
- Like you had.
- He won't want a camera, Paul.
He's never asked for a camera. He wants a phone.
- He's got a fucking phone.
- Right. I'm gonna go and find them.
Thanks so much.
- He's not you, Paul.
He's his own man.
- I know he's not me. I'm not saying he's me.
- But if he wants a phone, let him have his phone.
If there'd have been phones when you were his age,
you would've been doing that instead of
photographing wrens.
- It wasn't just wrens, was it? Why choose wrens?
- I should skedaddle.
Oh.
Would you be able to plumb our new telly in?
Jim had a go, but all you get is blue stuff.
- You mean porn?
- No, just...blue.
I don't know how else to describe it.
- Go on.
- Blue. - Right.
- It's all blue.
- Jim tried to set it up.
- Well, you should've waited for me.
- Oh.
We don't want to give in to technology.
We want to understand it.
We're not dead yet.
- Oh, that's open to debate, isn't it?
- Mm. - Mm.
Love ya. - [chuckles]
- So that's Lizzie there.
Green top. Now she's key.
We direct everything to her. - Okay.
- I think we're about 85% there,
so this presentation should just seal the deal.
- Great.
I'm a bit nervous.
- Don't be.
Just watch what I do; chime in if you want.
You've made real progress the last few weeks, mate.
Everyone in the office is very happy with you, Jake.
- Thanks, Paul. - You're all right.
- [exhales]
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, you're joking.
Where the fuck is he going?
Fuck! Right.
Sorry, Jake.
You are gonna have to wing this one without me, mate.
- Just me? In there?
- Sorry, mate. Family emergency.
♪ ♪
Luke, what the hell are you playing?
Fucking voicemail.
♪ ♪
- Oh, hello. Excuse me.
Are you locking up?
- I am locking up, yeah.
- Ava Worsley?
- Ava left about 15 minutes ago.
She didn't wanna get her late mark.
- [stammers] Who was she with?
- She said her brother was outside.
But she's allowed to leave on her own.
She's ten. - No, I know how old she is.
- All right.
Could you maybe call her phone?
- She hasn't got a phone. - Really?
- What do you mean, "really?" What's that?
- Oh, no--nothing. It didn't mean anything.
- Well, then don't act like I'm aggressive.
- Sorry. I'm not.
- And don't say sorry like you're placating some nutjob.
Fucking hell.
[sighs]
Hey, hon. Listen.
Luke has deliberately gone down to the park with his mates,
so Ava's making her own way home.
I'm gonna drive the route that I think she'll take.
See if I can spot her.
Uh, yeah. I'll see you at home.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, no. I--I don't know.
He's a fucking liability is what's up with him.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
Ava!
Ava, love.
- Hi. - Oh, Christ.
When did you get home? - About ten minutes ago.
- We've been worried sick. We didn't know where you were.
- I didn't want to get another late mark,
so I came home on my own.
I was fine.
- Yeah, well Luke should've met you.
- Don't be angry with Luke. I was absolutely fine.
- Ava! - It's okay.
It's okay. She walked home.
- By herself? - Mm-hmm.
- Through that estate? Where's Luke?
- He's in the park with his mates.
You know this is a test. He's testing us.
- It is. It is a test.
- Yeah, well he's gonna find out the fucking result.
- Ava, was this a deliberate thing
to scare us into getting you a phone?
- No. - Don't lie to me.
- I'm not a liar.
- I'm not calling you a liar.
I am saying that you might be lying.
- You were angry about late fees,
so I left on time
so you wouldn't have to pay a late fee.
Now you're angry about that.
- I am not angry.
PAUL: I'm angry.
If you're looking for someone who's angry,
I'm fucking angry.
- So Ally's more in control of her anger?
- Um...mostly, yeah.
But sometimes I have to be good cop.
- Do you ever feel that out of the two of you,
you are required to carry the burden of anger--
- Can I just say--I'm sorry.
I think anger is healthy.
I--I really do believe that.
- Yeah, but what we're exploring here
and what I believe you explored
with your previous therapist...
- Mm.
- Is how uncontrolled anger
can interfere with healthy relationships.
- My dad will die of some kind
of burst stomach ulcer guaranteed, right?
There is no history of that in my family,
but I'm convinced that's how he'll go.
- Because he controls his anger?
- No, because he suppresses it.
He refuses to show it, but it's still there.
It's eating away at him
like some fucking stomach
fucking squirrel.
And I am not gonna be like that.
I've spent a lifetime trying to not be that.
- You never wanted to be your father?
- No. Never.
Jesus, it-- who wants to be their father?
[percussive music]
♪ ♪
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Do you realize how angry I am?
- You wanted to test us? Great.
This is what happens. No birthday present.
- Okay. - We mean it, Luke.
No birthday present. - All right.
- What? You don't care?
- I don't know. - Well, you will care.
You left your sister to walk home alone.
Anything could have happened.
- She's fine though. She's ten.
- That's not your decision to make.
You deliberately went and hung out with your mates.
You defied us willfully and deliberately.
- No present, seriously.
- Don't really want a present anyway.
- Well, fine. You're not gonna get one.
- Dad, don't. - Ava.
- This isn't about you.
- Are we done then?
- Oh, man.
- Don't you fucking dare give us that attitude.
"Are we done then?"
Don't you dare talk to me like that.
- Mate, you really need to just--
- No birthday at all.
None.
You won't have a 13th birthday.
Just a normal Saturday.
We are forgetting it.
Screw you, Luke, and this fucking attitude.
No birthday.
- Okay. - Go to your room.
- Don't have a room.
- Well, then go to your fucking area then.
Just go now!
- Ava.
No birthday?
- Did you hear his fucking tone?
- Yeah, I did. It was unforgivable.
But no birthday? - Yeah, yeah.
And no backing out. No sneaky quiet birthday.
No Anne Frank birthday up in the attic.
[breathes deeply]
- Agreed. Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'll do us some pasta.
Jackie: No birthday, Paul?
That doesn't sound right.
- I don't wanna swear
or make light of mental illness, Paul,
but that is fucking mental.
- Nope.
We set a boundary, and Luke crossed it.
Is there a picture yet?
- No. - Okay.
How about now?
- No. It's blue still.
- You can't cancel Luke's birthday, Paul.
Cancelling a child's birthday?
Are you in a fucking Roald Dahl book?
- He pushed us too far, Dad.
Ally and I both agreed on this.
- No, you're not.
- What do you fucking know, Uri Geller?
- I know you two are decent people, loving parents.
You got pushed into a corner,
and you couldn't back down.
But now you're both feeling horrible and weird about it.
- Thar she blows!
- Euston, we have a picture.
- Oh, God. It's Houston, Dad.
Not Euston.
This is a fucking huge telly by the way.
- Well, our eyes are not what they were.
I mean, they've always been eyes.
They just don't work as well as they did.
- So we wanted to get the latest TV.
Embrace technology.
We're not giving in to old age.
We're not surrendering. - Oh, good.
Oh, by the way,
would you two be able to pick up Ava for the next few days
while we sort something out?
- Yeah, of course. - Thanks.
- You don't think... - What?
- Don't get cross.
- You know I can't guarantee that.
- Well, you don't think you and Ally are scared
of Ava growing up,
so you're still treating her like a child?
- She is a child.
- She's very mature for her age, Paul.
Very sensible.
- So you think she should walk home from school by herself?
- Yes. I do.
And have a phone.
- I thought your generation all thought phones were evil?
- Like we said, we want to embrace technology.
Phones are useful things.
All human knowledge in your pocket.
And Scrabble.
I do like this.
- Yeah.
- Every parent wants their child to stay a child
a little bit longer, Paul.
It's understandable.
I'm just saying.
- It's the bigger picture.
- No, I know, Dad.
It's our feelings, her feelings.
- No, man. That's why I like this telly.
Much bigger picture.
[indistinct television dialogue]
[pensive piano music]
♪ ♪
- You all right? - Fine.
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
He looks so...
- No, I know.
[dramatic music]
- No, Paul, I'm really not asking you to do that.
- Well, maybe not, but it feels like it, okay?
It feels like you are telling me
that I need to give up a whole part of myself--
not just the raging,
but the bigger thing that the raging comes out of
which is a sense of order and fairness
and how polite we should be
and the discip-- the self-discipline
that we all need.
Am I making sense?
- I think so.
- I'm not prepared to give that up
or to compromise it 'cause I value it.
So I'm saying this is who I am.
And it is what it is.
And I'm sorry to have wasted your time.
And the previous therapist's time.
And the one before that.
- Well, I hope it wasn't all time wasted.
- It mainly was, but thanks anyway.
[pensive piano music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, great. A phone.
Thank you. - You're welcome, mate.
Happy birthday.
- Happy birthday.
- Oh, thanks.
A phone case. Thanks, Ava.
- Yeah, I hoped you might get a phone.
- Should we get a nice birthday takeaway?
- Ooh, yeah. - For about 7:00?
- Great.
Is it all right if I head down to the park for a bit
with my mates before we eat?
- Sure.
- I'll be back on time. - Okay.
Have a good one, mate. - Thank you.
[door opens]
- Oh, man.
- Will he remember this birthday, do you think?
- Yeah. - Fuck.
- You mustn't remember this birthday, Ava.
All right? Forget this one, love.
- You should pick him up from the park, Dad.
Have a talk.
I'm worried about him.
- Yeah. Yeah.
That is a very sensible idea.
- Very grown up.
t chatter, laughter]
[intriguing percussive music]
♪ ♪
- Luke!
What are you doing?
- I'm just sitting here.
- Uh-huh.
Are you okay? - Yeah.
- Okay, well, peddle back.
I'll take you home for your dinner.
Jesus Christ, man.
So you've not been hanging out with your mates?
- I don't have any mates. - You've got mates.
- Not really, Dad. - No?
Not even a best mate?
- Especially not a best mate.
- Okay.
So anyway, you've just been sitting and staring
every day after school?
[distant siren wailing]
- It's the only part of the day
where I can just do nothing.
No one's telling me what I need to do
or where I need to be.
Just me alone outside.
Does that make sense?
- Yeah.
Yeah, yes.
We're similar like that.
It's important to be alone sometimes.
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
The reason Christ went into the wilderness
for 40 days and 40 nights
is just so he could get a bit of fucking peace.
Photography, fishing, bird watching.
All that, it's just excuses.
Alibis, isn't it?
♪ ♪
Just gives you a reason to be on your own
and have a big old stare.
- It'd be good to be shepherd, wouldn't it?
- Ah, mate, it'd be fucking brilliant to be a shepherd.
Lighthouse keeper would be good too.
It's all automated now.
- Thanks for my new phone, Dad.
- You're welcome.
I love you, mate.
- I love you too.
What should I do with the old one?
[upbeat music]
Ally: Everything right so far?
- I'm still alive, Mum.
Ally: Good. Keep it that way.
See you later.
Ava: Love you, Mum. - Love you.
♪ ♪
[birds chirping]
[camera shutter clicking]
- Did you say I could return this?