I'm just wondering if my whole life's
been a series of mistakes.
You only have enough cash flow for the next three months.
- I'm not good at maths. - No shit.
The only real relationship I've ever had is ruined.
I undersold myself, in the settlement.
If I was to help, I would need a stake in the business.
I'm just trying to change things,
and make us better.
A tiny bit closer.
[George] Surrender, and submit.
You know, Simon's an osteopath.
Yeah, I know. I'm not interested.
I could have a look at your neck.
I'm guessing it's all coming from your hips.
[Evelyn] I don't know how to do it.
Do what?
Be a woman.
[electrical humming]
Pen? Penny! Can you hear me?
Help me, it's not working.
Just talk.
- What about? - Your thoughts.
No one wants to hear them.
I don't know. This was your idea.
[Evelyn] No, I just can't do it.
I should just stay in my office and write,
by myself.
Okay...
Anyway, it's time for the morning meeting.
Hop to! You're late, again!
[Paul] These tech bros treat this like a rumpus room.
This is disgusting! Helen, we need to get rid of them.
- Morning. - [Paul] Hey, Ev.
- [Paul] Ah, I'm sorry. - [Opal] I love these ones!
C'est bon! This is a fancy patisserie.
[Evelyn] So...
We have a new investor.
[all exclaiming joyfully]
It's not as much as I was hoping for
but they're willing to provide private equity
without day-to-day involvement.
Who are they?
They are a business associate.
A person people have associated with.
Anyway, the additional funds -
I want to set ambitious targets,
and expand on the podcasting.
I mean, how do we build a new audience?
Well, I've got some ideas.
And how can we monetise it?
Well, we need an actual studio,
or I'm moving into your office with you.
Or paying off our bills.
Helen, do you have to be such an accountant?
Have a drink. [knocking on door]
You guys done? We need the boardroom back.
So, Champ, I don't remember the boardroom
being part of your rental agreement.
[Penny] That's the face of over-invovled parenting.
The thing about Liam though, is he's very pretty.
He might be a hunk, but he's got a rotten spirit.
Get rid of them. We've got an investor.
Helen, they don't pay rent, so...
Yeah, the Acqua di Gio is giving me migraines.
I thought you liked them.
[Penny] Yeah, we like them in the same way
you like Sweet Jane.
Speaking of, what are we going to do about her?
Nothing. She's good for traffic.
- [Paul] She? Definitely a man. - Yeah, agreed.
A very masculine energy.
[Opal] We've also got 'Tart' stirring the pot.
Their latest - "Is 'Eve Life' dumbing down women?"
They called out Jeet.
Oh no. Oh, she's going to do that thing
where she smiles too much when she's upset.
Uh, where is she?
Late, again.
[Paul] Sorry, creepy courier alert.
Oh, that's not a creepy courier.
That's our investor.
- [Helen] Him? - Mm-hm.
Oh, Evelyn, he doesn't look like he has any money.
He's wearing a tracksuit pants.
[Penny] Yeah, he looks pretty gormless, Ev.
Are you sure he knows anything about publishing?
[Paul] Or anything about sisterhood?
- He has a stupid face. - I think he's cute.
Sorry to interrupt, but we really need to go.
Alex is at Viv's and Addy forgot her science book,
so we have to swing by school.
Should we take your car?
Oh, this is also my ex-husband.
[Evelyn laughs] Did I mention that? No?
- No. - Paul, you're in charge.
Clean up the mess.
Bye.
[Evelyn] Thanks for dressing up.
Did you just come from the gym, or...?
[Evelyn] Look at them. Why did he stay overnight?
- [Jon] Why do you think? - [Alex] See ya.
Shit.
- Hello, mate. - Hey.
I didn't really mean what I said about her family.
I mean, who am I to...
[Alex] No, we're not back together, Mum.
Oh, why'd you sleep over?
It was nothing.
[Evelyn] Well, it doesn't look like nothing.
Last week she destroyed your primary school photo.
That was my only copy.
I didn't raise you to treat women like this.
You're leading her on.
You should start thinking with your head, not your...
- Evelyn, please. - Mum! Come on.
Alright, let's go.
Go, quick, her mum's coming out!
[Evelyn] Her attention was more on herself.
[Sylvie] Yeah, and she set a poor example.
And you need to be mindful of that
now that Alex is in a relationship.
- Um, they broke up. - Oh!
- I'll tell you later. - Well, how's Addy?
Addy! Yeah well, I don't know. I...
Ah, anyway, Sylvie, I've got to go.
- I'm driving. - Okay, alright.
- Okay. Bye. Bye. - Bye.
So who's next? Your accountant?
Sorry, I couldn't cancel.
She charges like a wounded bull.
- Oh. - [Evelyn sighs]
Do you think Addy's had her first sexual experience?
Oh, God.
Can you please just ease me gently
into a question like that next time?
Not with a boy. With a girl.
Is this about her wanting to change schools?
She does?
Can't blame her.
You are dating the librarian.
That's got nothing to do with it, alright?
She just doesn't want to go to a private all-girls school anymore.
I think she's gay,
and I'm pleased about that. It's much safer.
If she wants to change schools, I'll support her.
Me, too. I guess.
[turns radio up]
["Sometimes Always" by The Jesus and Mary Chain]
# I won't get on my knees #
# Don't make me do that please #
# I went away but now I'm back #
# Don't be too sure of that #
# What makes you sure of that? #
# You went away You can't come back #
- [instrumental interlude] - [both humming along]
- [Alex] Please, stop! - [Evelyn laughs]
[guide] We'll head into the Reed Building
where your first-year lectures will be.
[Jon] I got drunk right there for the first time.
Over there, I shot a short film. New wave.
Fancy way of saying no budget.
Oh, Cameron Wiles vomited on that shrub there,
just after professing his love for me.
So much happened on that lawn.
I don't need to know any of this, alright?
["Mr. Milk" by You Am I playing]
Feel free to sign up to a club.
It's a great way to meet students
who have similar interests.
Communists, vegans, even metalheads.
Also, there's a special tour for mature-aged students.
A lot less walking involved.
Oh, we're not mature-aged students.
We're well-aged alumni.
[guide laughs]
Just try and broaden your mind.
Anything but the Young Socialists.
[mobile phone ringing]
Hi, Paul.
- Yeah, a few hiccups. - What's going on?
'Tart' posted something delightful.
Quick, quick, I'm at uni.
"Is Sweet Jane the troll we didn't know we needed?"
- [Guy] Sounds like they know who she is.
- Really?
[Paul] We have to turn the comments off.
[Guy] Or I moderate. Or trace her.
- That would be so easy for me. - Oh, would it, Guy?
So why can't you connect my laptop to the printer?
I don't know. Printers are tricky.
Just don't do anything 'til I get back.
Also, I think Jeet's going to retire.
- Resign. - [Evelyn] Retire?
Resign. I think Jeet's going to resign.
Jesus, Paul, I've been gone for three hours.
[Evelyn scoffs]
[professor] So, in a way, Heraclitus is the granddaddy
of Greek philosophy in general,
and of, I guess, what becomes determinism.
He's pre-Socratic, therefore, character is destiny,
and destiny is not predetermined
and it's not bestowed upon us by some outside force.
Rather, destiny is determined by your inner character.
Like Plato, Heraclitus believed that everything
about our destiny, everything about our future,
results from the choices that you make.
Nothing is fixed. Everything is in constant flux.
Nothing is permanent.
Now, at the other end of the spectrum, we have Parmenides.
Parmenides. P-A-R-M-E-N-I-D-E-S.
Parmenides is the bloke who asserted
that the one true statement is...
Anyone do the reading?
"It is."
Right, now, if I say that this is a stool,
what I'm actually asserting is that it is not a table.
-This stool exists, -[stool bangs]
and it cannot also not exist as it is not,
because that is what we call a philosophical contradict...
[mobile phone rings]
[students whispering and snickering]
I kind of wish that mobile phones did not exist.
- Hello? - Hello.
[professor] Hi. Say hello.
How long have you been here?
Oh, wow. What a question.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
I mean, how long have you been sitting in
on my riveting, stool-based lecture?
No, no, no, I was just walking by,
and I love all that Parmenides "it is" stuff.
Oh thanks. That's very flattering.
And, and out of interest,
do you think that it is ethical to gate crash
a lecture where everyone else is a full-fee paying student?
Don't they get Austudy or something?
Austudy? These guys are about 12.
- What are you, 12? - [students laughing]
Austudy is for over 25s.
You could probably scrape into Austudy - at a pinch.
- [Evelyn laughs] - Not that I'm making any assumptions about your age.
Yeah, can, do I have to leave?
I think we can probably briefly pretend that you "is not."
So, Parmenides, easy to remember,
because Parmenides is permanent...
[engine rumbling] [tyres crunching]
So what do you think, darling?
I like it, Mum, but, I just don't think...
Well, if you don't like the idea of dorms,
you can always live off-campus, like I did.
But on-campus is better for making friends in first year.
[Evelyn scoffs]
Name two friends from first year.
Whatever, huh...
Anyway, if you all live here as students,
it's like you run the town.
It's very "Children of the Corn."
But with a lot less murder.
It's exciting, I agree, but I just don't...
It's perfect for you.
Because the city unis are privilege factories.
[mobile phone ringing]
Oh, hi. How's it going?
[Ginny] Great. But we're having sushi.
Sushi? I made a casserole.
Addy says she has a meat allergy.
And I've been a vegetarian from way back.
Thanks, Kym. Can you put her on?
- Hi, Mum. - [Evelyn] Hi, darling.
You're about as allergic to meat as Ginny is to wine.
I heard that.
Mum, did you know that Kym used to be a model?
[Ginny] He used to be on the catwalk, all those years ago.
I find that hard to believe.
And he used to live on the streets in Melbourne.
Oh, that, I can believe.
- Hey, I heard that, Evelyn. - Hang on, don't be rude.
[Addy] He was addicted to drugs and he lived in,
- like, a squat in St Kilda. - Jesus.
Yeah. No, he's, um, he's recovered now, I think.
- [Ginny and Addy laughing] - Kym's an ex-junkie, by the way.
- Oh.
- Well, he hasn't touched it in years, darling.
[Ginny laughing]
Good. Darling, Dad said you want to change schools?
Yeah, Kym was telling me about
this really fancy school in the bush.
You learn maths and how to start a fire.
It's a humbling experience
to spend time isolated in nature.
Humbling? Didn't Prince Charles go there?
- I love nature. - Since when?
Anyway, darling, let's talk about this tomorrow.
- Alright, good night. - [Ginny laughing]
- Bon nuit. - Bon nuit, Mum.
'Night!
[Kym] That's "good night" in French.
I can't work out whether Kym's a compulsive liar,
or a gold digger.
Ginny doesn't have any money, so...
Maybe he's just a really good human?
I guess that's possible?
Hi.
[sniffs] Kitchen's about to close.
Oh, it's only 7:00 PM.
Anyway, I'll have the veggie pasta, please.
[Jon] And two chicken parmas.
[waitress] Something to drink?
[Jon] Hmm...
Hello?
Bronwyn Armstrong.
Yeah. Yeah, you look familiar.
Yeah. Communications - print.
Ah. You never finished.
No. Well, I, ah - Evelyn Jones,
I was offered an internship at a women's mag,
and then two years later I became...
Any drinks?
What can you recommend from the wine list?
Uh, I like red.
Perfect.
And a Coke.
We just took Alex to open day.
He's going to do print and also a political science minor.
Hmm. I'll let the kitchen know.
[Alex] So, what? Addy just wants to change schools
and you guys are like, "Cool, you can go wherever you want,"
but I can't make my own decisions or just like,
leave anything to fate?
Oh, no, fate doesn't exist. I learned that today.
Listen to this.
"It's our decisions that determine our future.
"Everything is in a constant state of fuck." No, "Flux."
I can't read my own writing, I need glasses.
"Nothing is permanent".
[Bronwyn] There you go. Bon appetit.
Do you remember that gender studies lecturer, Jane Day?
Yep. She got fired for fondling a student.
Women don't fondle, do they?
Why not? Guy parts are fondle-able, aren't they?
[Jon laughs]
Don't come here, mate.
If you're half-smart, and you look half-smart,
then you'll get sucked in.
You'll stay on, and do your honours,
and then maybe your masters
because you've lost all sense of the outside world,
and then you'll be stuck here, overqualified,
and doing shitty jobs like pulling beers, phone sex,
waitressing in a dump like this.
All to pay off your monstrous HECS debt
while your friends are out there in the real world,
living a life.
- [Evelyn] Thanks, Bronwyn. - Good.
Oh, also,
there's a terrible meth problem ripping through the town.
Well, maybe we should tell Kym.
She was doing phone sex way before we finished uni.
She was.
He's happy. He's watching 'Big Trouble in Little China'.
[Jon groans]
[Jon sighs]
This was such a magical time for us, wasn't it?
Country air still smells the same.
Or is that the abattoir?
All I can smell is your cigarette,
which is definitely nostalgic.
Remember, we were just in limbo,
waiting for the internet age to erupt.
You were always more into it than I was.
- Uni? - No, the internet.
We met in the computer lab.
You got me to do that terrible film noir.
I got a high distinction for that script.
It was well-formatted.
- I couldn't act. - I had a crush on you.
[Evelyn scoffs]
I don't know why.
'Cause you were shiny and I wanted some.
I'd peaked. I was plateauing, and you were running.
You were just a baby, Jon.
You always had to talk yourself down.
You weren't shiny
because you were doing that whole Ethan Hawke thing.
It was sexy, just not shiny.
[Evelyn exhales]
Let's raid the mini-bar.
Yeah. You might find some long-life milk in there.
[exhales]
Look, six-pack. Scored! [Evelyn laughing]
And it's the full-strength uni beer.
Students? They'll be back, for sure.
Oh, it's ours now. [bottles clinking]
- [beer fizzes] - [bottle cap clatters]
I sat in that uni lecture today,
thinking about all the ways I'd failed myself.
Uni, Fontaine... our marriage.
Sylvie thinks that I can't sit in the discomfort.
She says that every time I feel excluded, I exclude myself.
I get in there first.
She's right.
The Greeks were always right.
Should we have tried harder?
At uni? In our marriage?
Why would you say that?
Because I don't think our kids know how to love.
Alex doesn't know how to treat women.
Addy's first crush is with a 75-year-old vagabond.
[sighs]
Everything about me irritated you.
Uh!
No, it's true. Everything. Like, my driving.
- Beard shavings in the sink. - Yeah.
The way I start a story and never finish it,
the way I talk in movies, clear my throat.
- [Jon clears throat] - Don't do it.
You didn't want to be with me.
You had needs I could never satisfy. You said that.
- I didn't say it out loud. - You said it. You texted it.
I still have the texts.
I never bought you the right birthday present.
Oh, not the trowel again.
I thought gardening would be good for you.
I never told you enough how beautiful you were.
Are. How beautiful you are.
You make me sound like a nightmare.
Oh, I don't, I don't mean to. I...
You were right, about all of it, okay?
You say you stopped paying attention. Well, I did too.
And worse than that, I took you for granted.
- [door rattles] - [Evelyn] Were we wrong?
[Jon] Hey, I'm pissing here! Out.
- [toilet flushing] - Did we...
Did we break up over a garden trowel?
Why are you doing this to me?
I just never questioned my intuition - until today.
I've always done everything through feeling.
I've always felt everything,
and the thing is fate doesn't exist.
Instincts are just instincts.
Please stop, Ev.
It's not going to last with Erika.
You know what? You're right.
Everything you've ever done is through feelings.
Your feelings, not mine.
Just tell me... tell me we broke up for the right reasons.
Oh my, God. You just need to stop.
Why won't you just fucking stop?
- Just tell me. - Stop!
Whatever reason our marriage ended, it ended alright?
So it was right. It's over. Okay?
How do you know?
How do I know? How do I know?
How do you know? How do we know?
We need to talk about...
Okay, I'll tell you how I know,
because I had an affair when we were still married.
Alright? I slept with someone.
I fucked another woman...
because we were already broken.
[Evelyn laughs] You are joking.
- No, I'm not. - You don't have that in you.
You're not the type. You, you...
- I had an affair. - You don't have the guts.
I'm sorry. It happened years ago.
It only happened once. I still feel sick about it.
Ev...
I'm sorry.
- [door slams] - Fuck.
[Jon sighs]
You remember when you wanted us to go on date night?
And so you, you signed us up to that local book club.
But then you never came.
It was just me and six women.
You were always working late.
She was going through a divorce.
We stayed back one night, drank, talked about it.
Then she started messaging me, texts and emails.
At first I didn't respond, but it didn't matter.
She kept messaging.
She said she liked me, said I was handsome.
It felt good. You know, it gave me a buzz.
You know I've always had issues around this kind of stuff.
I didn't lose my virginity until uni, until you.
Women never went for me.
They never flirted with me. I never felt wanted.
And, and she wanted me.
When you didn't.
[Jon sighs] Say something.
Please?
What was the book?
I can't remember. It doesn't matter...
[Evelyn] What was the fucking book?
- "Open". - What?
[Jon] "Open" by Andre Agassi.
[door thuds]
A fucking autobiography that he didn't even write?
You know, through that whole speech,
you just blamed everyone but yourself.
She was persistent. I'm too ambitious.
[Evelyn scoffs]
I worked too hard. You felt rejected.
Okay, well, maybe I didn't want to make the school lunches
every day while you were working 12-hour days...
Why not?
I didn't want to book the dental appointments
- and the violin lessons. - Fuck off.
You know, when we were here at uni,
I wanted to be a filmmaker.
I sacrificed my own work to support yours.
Everything you didn't do is your fault.
You rely on others to do the work.
You wanted to catch me? So I could help you? Make you shiny?
Well, you couldn't keep up.
Because you never slowed down.
You never waited for me. You didn't need me.
When are you going to fucking slow down?
Why are you making this about me?
You had an affair during our marriage!
You were leaving us anyway.
You! I was leaving you!
Not the children. You.
I loved you so much.
- Shut up! - [shoe thuds]
[shoe thuds]
- I loved you. - [Evelyn sobbing]
I did. I'm sorry.
I loved you so much. [Jon sobbing]
[Evelyn sobbing]
[gentle music]
- [door knocking] - [Alex] Mum?
[Evelyn] Hmm...
No, darling. What?
[Alex] Mum!
Oh, shit, shit, shit. Jon!
Wake up.
- Are you serious? - Go! Quick!
What? Oh, shit. Shit, shit.
[bodies thudding]
[Alex] Ah, where's Dad?
[Evelyn] Uh, I don't know. Gone for a run?
- [Jon] I'm in here, mate. - Fuck!
Why's he in there?
Um, because he,
he got really sick last night
and he didn't want to throw up in your room, so he, um...
So he came in here, and then he vomited and fell asleep.
He fell asleep.
Why is he in his underwear?
He was having night sweats.
Must have been the chicken parma. How are you feeling?
Do you want to vomit?
Oh, I do now. Gross, Mum.
- [birds twittering] - [engine rumbling]
[Alex] I don't want to go to that uni.
I want to make my own decisions.
I don't want to retread your steps or relive your memories.
This is my life.
It's not a chance for you to relive your stories.
Yeah, fair enough, mate.
But, I didn't get to finish my story, Alex.
You see, I quit uni. I never finished.
That lecturer, Jane, the fondler, she bullied me.
I had to see a therapist. I couldn't sleep.
I stopped eating. I developed bulimia.
[sombre music]
She really destroyed my confidence,
made me feel insignificant.
Picked on me for wearing lipstick.
Said that I was part of the problem, not the solution.
She was a real cunt.
So I left, but I really wish I hadn't.
I wish I had stayed and worked it out,
because ever since then,
I've been trying to prove myself,
and that sense of self has come through accomplishments
and external validations.
I was so scared of making mistakes.
I really betrayed myself.
Does that make sense? Al?
Hmm? What'd you say?
Nevermind.
- [Evelyn] Bye, sweetie. - [Alex] Bye, Mum.
[car door slams] [birds twittering]
You know, I've been thinking,
ever since we stopped at McDonald's,
that my career is the only thing
that I've ever had that's truly mine.
And I'm not willing to let that go.
So, I don't want you to invest, I don't want your money.
I'll sign the divorce papers and I'll lodge them.
Promise.
Soon as I can find them.
You know, I didn't know about the bulimia.
If I had, I would've tried to get you some help.
Held your hair back, or something.
[engine revs]
[keyboard clacking]
[mobile phone rings]
- Jeet? - [Jeet] Hi, Evelyn.
- Hi. - Um...
I'm so grateful for everything that you've taught me.
- I've learned so much here. - But?
[Jeet] I just don't recognise myself anymore.
I find myself drifting away from the stories that matter,
just so I can be number one on the leaderboard.
And I don't want to compete with dumb reality TV stories.
I want to write in-depth stories that matter.
Jeet, sorry. Where are you? I can hear reverb.
- I'm in the office. - I'm in the office.
Your position on the leaderboard
doesn't reflect your writing.
There are stories that have mass appeal
and some that don't.
It's usually the wrong way around,
but the mass appeal ones pay the bills,
the wages, the snacks, the organic tampons.
[Jeet laughs] I'm not a good cultural fit.
And I don't want to be.
I know that.
I just don't think I get the recognition I deserve.
I think I'm leaving 'Eve Life'.
[sombre music]
["Guilty Party" by The National playing]
Promise me that you won't exclude yourself by giving up.
Don't quit journalism
just because it's not as idealistic
as you imagined it to be.
You're not going to yell at me? Or try to make me stay?
- I want to yell at you. - [both laughing]
But I know it won't make you stay.
I'll miss you.
I'll miss you, too.
[Evelyn sighs]
- Evelyn. - Hi. Hi.
Sorry about the other night. I was, I was acting weird.
And it's just, it's been a long time since, you know?
I'm just going through a bit of stuff though, at the moment,
I'm, I'm trying to work through.
I just, I must seem crazy, but I'm not.
I'm doing really well.
[elevator doors rumbling]
Do you, want to get a drink?
Yes.
["Guilty Party" by The National continues playing]