I think I'll make this
the boys' room.
The master bedroom?
- Boys need, you know, space.
- How old are they?
- Steven's ten, Danny's seven.
- Lucky kids.
Lucky dad.
Is everything--
- It's my first house, and--
- Doyle, you're getting the loan.
I'm not sure I filled
everything out correctly.
You're approved. We'll have
it done for you tomorrow.
Come by, say, 12:30,
and we can sign off on this.
What about you?
- He bought all these instruments.
- Right.
Did you know that
he built this hall?
And a gallery...
a shelter and a hospital
in Mexico...
and a lot of other
really great things.
I met Simon Dunne
when I was in college.
I was tutoring kids
from the local school--
kids who didn't have
a lot of resources.
And one of the peopIe
I was working with...
said that her grandfather
liked to heIp children in nee.
Her name was Mina Dunne.
In fact, she's sitting
right over here.
So my friend and I went to
her grandfather and we said...
we have some kids
who need a pIayground.
We needed a thousand dollars.
He said, "I'll tell you what.
You can't have
a thousand dollars...
to build one playground.
You can have 10,000 to build ten.''
So we did.
- How long have you played violin?
- Six years.
- How about you?
- I feeI llke champagne.
I understand the idea
of ceIebration.
I see the bubbles in champagne...
as something good and beautiful.
Not part of my soul evaporating...
but-- but rising...
with--
with joy.
What I'm trying to say is...
I don't want champagne.
I am champagne.
It's great to be alive.
Thanks for lettin' me share.
Thanks for sharing.
- I'm Mike, and I'm an alcoholic.
- Hi, Mike!
I've been so ber for 15 days.
Mina, wait a second!
My grandfather liked you for some
mysterious reasons of his own.
Excuse me. That's the only reason
we allowed you to speak today.
Wait a minute.
Mina, we're friends.
We were friends a long time ago.
Mina, I owe you so much.
What happened to you?
What do you mean?
- I'll see you in court.
- Mina! Wait a second.
It's okay, it's okay.
Let her go.
Let her go.
George, Melissa. How are you?
- Hi.
- Good to see you.
...grant me the serenity...
to accept the things
I cannot change...
and the wisdom
to know the difference...
to keep coming back.
It works if you work it,
so work it. You're worth it.
- Good morning, Julia.
- Hey, Gavin.
Good morning, guys.
...use of the premises by lessee,
then lessor and lessee shall--
I don't deserve this.
I did absolutely nothing wrong...
and now she just decides
she's gonna hate me.
-Just a second, Tom.
- No, nothing.
Do your thing.
I just wanna tell you the news.
You know, I did
a bsolutely nothing wrong.
So what is it with
all this champagne stuff?
- Oh, that was-- That's just--
- It's a metaphor.
Yeah. But I'm not drinking...
and that's what's important, right?
Be careful with your metaphors.
Just one drink, right?
She's only mad at you because
she can't be mad at him.
He was your client. She's not.
Simon Dunne was your client.
She's still just incredibly
angry about this.
Those are her feelings, not yours.
- I know that, Steven.
- You got the documents all signed.
Get in and get out, Gavin.
- We didn't do anything wrong.
- Of course we didn't.
File the papers and get out.
- Okay?
- Right.
Okay, Mr. Warren.
What you want is term insurance,
but you're not sure about the cost.
What's important is that you be
realistic about what you need.
This policy is never gonna cost you
more than $15 a month.
That's right.
Ellen, call the courthouse
and tell them I'm gonna be Iate.
You know what?
Just call Kaufman's offllce...
and tell him that I called
to say that I'm gonna be late, okay?
""Your Honor,
I'm representing myself today...
because I want you to hear
the sincerity of my words.
Boys need their fathers.
Boys need their fathers.''
- You all right?
- Yeah. Are you?
Yeah. You got an insurance card?
Yeah, sure.
- We just got a call from the court.
- I had an accident.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- I'm fine. It's nothing.
- Nothing?
- Who's that?
- It's no one.
- This may be nothing to you--
- No, don't do that! Don't do that!
- I'll do what I have to.
- I'm sorry. Not you.
- I have to do this right, you know?
- I think so.
I do.
Yes, hold on a second!
- Clean in all my actions.
- Hold on for one second, okay?
- What do you want me to do?
- Tell the court I'm on my way.
Okay, tell them I'm on the steps.
Okay, thank you.
- It's only gonna take five minutes.
- I gotta be somewhere.
You really should keep your card
in your glove compartment...
- and not your briefcase.
- That's not what I'm looking for.
Come on! Shit.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Very nice of you.
Listen. Tell you what.
I'm gonna write you a blank check,
and you just get your car fixed--
- I don't want your check, man.
- You have an honest face.
- Don't worry about it.
- I wanna do this right.
- Come on! Please! I gotta go!
- I gotta be someplace else too!
It's important to me we do it right.
It should be important to you too.
That's it.
I'm sorry. I gotta go.
- You're sorry what?
- I gotta go, man. I'm late.
I've gotta be somewhere too!
Well, can I get a lift?
- I'm sorry.
- Where are you going, man?
- Don't leave me out here like this!
- Better luck next time.
Better luck--
Hey, you're leaving
the scene of an accident!
Your Honor, I'm sorry I'm late.
- I was in a traffllc accident.
- Are you all right?
- Yes, Your Honor.
- Was anyone hurt?
Then will Mr. Kaufman begin?
Your Honor, since its inception,
the Simon Dunne Foundation...
was managed by Mr. Dunne
and a board of trustees...
which included his granddaughter,
my client Mina Dunne.
Upon his death,
that board was disbanded.
We wanna know why.
Well, it was on instructions
from my client, Your Honor.
Why would he do that?
These people were his friends.
They were wonderful people
who loved kids and music...
but they weren't qualiflled to manage
a 100-million-dollar foundation.
- That's why he signed--
- Your Honor, please.
Address the court, Counselor.
Simon Dunne signed
a power of appointment appointing...
Walter Arnell and Steven Delano
sole trustees of the foundation.
He was old
and he was taken advantage of.
You took advantage of him, Gavin!
Now you're charging a crime,
Miss Dunne...
and this is probate court,
not criminal court.
- Does your client understand?
- She does, Your Honor.
Your Honor, I'm not here
to debate everyone's opinion...
about Simon Dunne's intention.
I'm here to present
some papers to the court...
which are signed by Mr. Dunne.
They've all been notarized.
And furthermore...
they direct the foundation
to be administered...
in precisely the way
in which Mr. Dunne...
not his granddaughter, intended.
- Please the court?
- What do you got?
Trust agreement...
tax exemption...
power of appointment.
- Mr. Banek?
- Sorry.
Mr. Banek?
I made a mistake.
What mistake?
This morning, after the accident
by the side of the road...
we were exchanging
insurance information...
and I used the file folder...
to, you know, to--
you know, to--
No, I don't know.
To write my name on,
and address.
And I gave it to him.
I just wasn't thinking clearly,
I guess. Must've been the accident.
Did you get his name?
Did I get his--
Yes, of course I got his name.
Let's call him.
As I-- If memory serves,
Your Honor...
- I believe he's not in.
- How do you know?
He made some reference
to the fact that he was...
feeling hurried because...
he had to be at an appointment
of some sort.
- Call him and leave a message.
- Yes, of course. I will.
Your Honor,
may I make a suggestion?
I'm in no hurry,
and I know how bad...
a person feels after a--
a car crash, right?
Yeah.
Thanks, Terry.
No. Don't mention it.
So, Gavin, when the man,
whose name you don't know...
gets out of the meeting
that you say he's in...
would you call him at the number
that you think is in your car...
so that we can have the document
you assure us gives us the proof...
that the senior partners
of your law firm...
do control the money Simon Dunne
left to the children of New York?
Doesn't matter. He'll have a copy.
He'll bring the copy in.
A piece of paper with
an original signature on it...
still has great magical power.
Without that piece of paper
with the signature...
Miss Dunne can sue
that law firm for fraud...
and possibly send you and the other
members of your law firm to jail.
Mr. Banek, find your man...
and bring me back that file
by the end of the day.
- Thank you, Your Honor.
- Thank you.
- Hold on, sir.
- Put your hands up, please.
Wait. Hold on a second.
- Okay.
- Thank you, sir.
- Dad!
- Hey, guys.
- You're late. Mom went in already.
- What's in the bag?
- What bag?
- Daddy!
Oh, this bag.
It's a present for the judge.
I want a present!
I want a present!
- You shouldn't lie to him, Dad.
- Okay, okay.
I would never give a judge
such a cool present.
Happy birthday yesterday.
Listen to me, guys.
Everything's gonna be better.
I bought a house.
- In Oregon?
- No, in Queens.
- Mommy says we're movin' to Oregon.
- Now you don't have to.
That's why I bought the house--
so you don't have to move to Oregon.
Are you gonna live there with us?
See what the judge says, okay?
The court denies the motion
for joint custody...
and awards sole custody of
the children to their mother.
Wait!
Miss Gipson is moving to Oregon
to start a new job.
- Weekly visitations are impossi ble.
- So noted.
- File with the court clerk.
- Hold it! Your Honor--
Your Honor, I know I'm late,
but someone hit my car.
Now-- See, look here.
This is evidence-- new evidence.
I have a new plan for joint custody.
It's all right here.
Mr. Gipson, you are late,
and the hearing has been conducted.
- But I had an accident.
- Your Honor, are we free to go?
- I'm not done yet!
- The court ruled, Mr. Gipson.
- But I wasn't here.
- The court ruled.
Valerie, I--
I bought you a house.
- It's too late, Your Honor.
- No, it's not too late!
It's 20 minutes.
It's just 20 minutes.
Twenty minutes can't be too late.
Valerie, please.
Don't let 20 minutes stand in
the way of what I'm trying to do.
- Please don't start.
- Don't talk to him.
Mr. Gipson, would you please
approach the bench?
- Your Honor, can we leave now?
- Yes.
- Mr. Gipson--
- Valerie, can't we talk?
- Valerie, can we--
- Mr. Gipson.
Mr. Gipson, come here for a moment.
Please?
Emotions run high in here.
If this weren't a divorce court...
the way you just yelled
in my courtroom--
- I'm sorry.
- Of course you are.
You have children, Mr. Gipson.
Keep them in front of you.
I just wanted to tell my wife
I got her a house for the children.
- When?
- Well, I have it all right here.
That's my plan. I found a house
for Valerie and for the boys...
and they don't have to move.
This is what I wanted to say.
""Boys need their fathers.
The streets of this world are lonely
for boys without their fathers.
I have made mistakes,
and I have grown...
and I have recognized
those mistakes.''
What kind of a house?
It's not a big house,
and it's not in great shape.
But I can fix it.
I can make it work.
And there's a space for--
Well, if she'll have me back,
there's a place for me too.
But I'm not asking for that
right now. I'm just asking that...
she not take the boys and move
halfway across the world.
You can arrange visitations. Oregon
is not the other side of the world.
It is to me!
I want my family. I want my boys.
I had an accident.
This guy hit me on the FDR.
He cut me off!
I wanted to be here!
If this was my marriage,
I would've been here on time.
Everyone was here on time,
except you. Next case.
Thank you.
- Docket 718.
- Thanks.
Counselor, step up, please.
- How is everybody today?
- Good morning, Your Honor.
Nice to see you again.
It's not gonna help me pay
my phone bill, my electric bill.
I'm not making any money sittin'
in court. I'm goin' to court.
I've been sittin' in court every
day. I'm not making any money.
If you and I had gotten caught
before we stopped...
and my wife found out,
and I Ieft the law...
and you died in
a horribIe accident at sea...
I would be better off
than I am right now.
What happened?
He wouldn't take a check.
He said he wanted to be clean
in all his actions.
- The judge wouldn't take a check?
- The guy.
What guy?
- What day is today?
- Friday.
- Actually, it's Good Friday.
- Good Friday.
- What's good about it?
- Gavin, what's going on?
I know what's good about it.
My file's walking down the street.
Hey! Excuse me.
Listen, man, you don't know me.
I know.
And you don't have to believe me,
but that was not like me today.
And I'm just so grateful,
you know, to God...
and right here in front
of the Lord's house.
Come on. Hop in. Get in the car.
Get out of the rain.
My name's Gavin Banek.
- Doyle Gipson.
- Hey, listen, Doyle.
That is not what I'm like--
this morning.
That's not who I am.
I mean it. I'm a lawyer.
I should have never left
the scene of an accident.
I should know better.
My file-- did you fllnd it?
I had an orange file.
It was in my briefcase.
I thought may be it fell out
and you picked it up.
Do you have it?
Did you get it?
You said,
""Better luck next time.''
I said, ""Give me a lift.''
You said...
""Better luck next time,''
and just--
""Better luck next time''?
I said that?
Listen, sir, please.
I have no excuse for my behavior,
and I am sorry.
I don't know what I can do
to make it up to you, except--
I will buy you a new car.
Money. You think I want money?
What I want is my morning back.
I need you to give
my time back to me.
Can you give me back my time?
Can you give my time back to me?
Huh? Can you?
Whoa! Wait a minute!
Whoa! All right!
So she won't move to Oregon!
So she won't take the boys!
So they'll move into the house
so I can be a father!
Just 20 minutes!
Can you give me that?
I wish I could, man.
I wish I could.
I wish I could.
Wait a minute!
Wait. Do you have the file?
Doyle, you got the file?
Wait a minute! Doyle!
Wait a minute!
Doyle, do you have the file?
- I'm sorry!
- I don't have your file!
- I threw it away!
- What do you mean?
I threw it away!
- Hey, guys.
- How did it go?
Well, Kaufman did some tap dancing.
But once I filed the papers,
what was he gonna do?
The guy squeaked like a mouse.
I love it when they squeak.
We have the power of appointment,
so God's on our side.
Hey, I'm going over
to Southeast Harbor tomorrow...
to look at a boat.
Hinckley 51 .
Wow. Fifty-one footer, huh?
It's a tough life.
You are not quite ready
for a 51-footer yet.
Oh, right.
But as soon as
I take delivery on her...
I want you and Cynthia
to have China Bird.
- Steven, I don't know what to say.
- You don't have to say anything.
I'm saying thank you to my partner
and my son-in-law...
and my friend.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So I have a couple more interviews
I gotta bang out...
down the hall, so I'm gonna...
go back down there
and do some work.
Great.
All right, well, so long.
- See you.
- All right.
- How are you doing, Kate?
- Hey, Gavin.
- So, how'd it go?
- In and out. Easy-peasy.
- What kind of people have we here?
- This is Sarah Windsor.
Hello. It's a pleasure.
- Tyler Cohen.
- How are you? Who's up first?
- Miss Windsor.
- Sarah Windsor, come on down!
Have a seat, please.
- And who are you?
- Sarah Windsor.
Not the name tag. Who are you,
as in what have you been doing?
Why do you wanna be a lawyer?
Why do you wanna work here?
Well, I went to St. Paul's.
I did my undergraduate work at Yale.
And now, I'm finishing at Yale Law.
I clerked last summer for
the California State Supreme Court.
I chose law because my father was
district attorney of San Francisco.
Really?
I've always been interested
in the law and politics...
and I was an economics major.
This firm is particularly strong...
in municipal finance law
and public policy...
which is the area
I'm hoping to explore.
Although, I gotta tell you...
I do have an eye on public service.
I know how much this firm
supports pro bono work...
and I'd love to help on a
death penalty defense for the poor.
Why didn't I just
give him my insurance card?
I'm sorry?
I'm sorry. It's not your fault.
It's my fault.
Excuse me. Gavin?
This really weird fax
Just came in.
- I think you should look at it.
- Okay. Thank you.
Do you know what it means?
Michelle, I gotta talk to you.
Just a second.
What the hell--
Read this!
It's from the file.
He's got the file.
Help me.
Can I have a...
- bourbon, straight up?
- Sure.
Can I have a twist, please?
I'm not a partner here.
That actually doesn't bother me.
Partners have to bring in business.
I just gotta do my job.
If I don't like it here,
I can leave.
- What's not to like?
- Watching you become one of them.
I always thought you were cutting
a pretty big corner...
by convincing a dying old man
to sign a power of appointment.
- It wasn't like that.
- Are you sure it wasn't like that?
Of course I'm sure.
What?
He was in pretty bad shape
when I went to see him.
I mean, it was--
May be he didn't--
May be?
-May be he didn't understand exactly.
-Didn't understand exactly?
He didn't know exactly
what he was signing.
Walter and Steven said that...
Simon put too much faith
in his friends, and...
the board was in his pocket, and
it was better for the foundation...
if we could just help
control and manage the money.
Delano said that?
- Doesn't that sound reasonable?
- What's that supposed to mean?
- Doesn't that sound reasonable?
- What's that supposed to mean?
That means that
without this file...
you'll be in more trouble than
your father-in-law and his partner.
You're the attorney of record.
You could actually
go to jail for this.
You need that file.
What am I gonna do?
There's this guy.
He helps out
with things that need...
helping out.
Like what?
Like things. Like...
getting people to do things
you want them to do...
when they don't necessarily
want to do them.
Where is he?
I need help.
Did you really believe
that it served Simon Dunne...
to sign those papers when
he was too weak to read them?
I wouldn't have done it otherwise.
Yes.
- Yes, I did.
- Do you want what's right?
Of course I do.
And what's right is your job,
your wife...
your life?
Where is he?
Don't go anywhere.
- Hey, where are you going?
- I'm going out.
I'm in a bar.
You want company?
That champagne feeling
gave you a hangover.
Are you drinking?
What happened in court today?
I'm in a bar.
What's that tell you?
It tells me that you're really
angry, and that anger...
has gotten you into the one place
in the worId you shouIdn't be.
Come on.
Leave that bar.
Come on.
Leave the bar.
I'm sorry.
Can I have a Coke, please?
Come on in.
Look, you tell Roberta...
that I said one cookie
before lunch is okay.
Get better.
- Mr. Banek.
- Are you Mr. Finch?
- How are you?
- How are you doing?
- You look nervous.
- Yeah, a little bit.
Don't be.
Have a seat.
Who's your God?
- Now, or hall of fame?
- Whenever.
Well, I'd say it's the guy
who did the Volkswagen ad.
The one where the cop is giving the
speeding ticket to a guy in a Bug.
Classic.
Doyle Gipson.
Shouldn't have told you
he was in insurance.
Makes it too easy.
I tell my clients...
""Never tell anyone anything
a bout yourself.''
Yeah. Here's his
state insurance license.
And that gives me
his social security number...
which gives me everything.
- You don't fucking know.
- I do know.
- It's the one with the little kids.
- The little kids, yeah.
He's sittin' around, you know.
I don't know what he is.
Like, an Indian kid?
Cute little black kid.
Like, ""I'm Tiger Woods.''
""I'm Tiger Woods.''
You had a fender bender,
and the other guy's going postal.
- That's not the way to do things.
- I don't wanna kill any body, you know?
I've just...
never done this kind
of thing before.
What kind of thing is that?
I just want my file back, you know.
You'll get your file back.
How, exactly?
It's like the dog collar that
gives a little electric shock...
when the dog barks.
You don't kill the dog. You just
want the dog to settle down.
Now we're torturing an animal?
I mean--
We're all set.
May I?
Is there any other way to--
Well, sure.
Call him up
and just be nice to him.
All right, do it.
- Are you guys in advertising?
- Yeah. You too?
No. But--
I hope you don't mind, but I was
intrigued by your conversation.
I just thought
you were in advertising.
I wanna give you my dream version
of a Tiger Woods commercial, okay?
- By all means.
- Go ahead.
There's this black guy
on a golf course.
And all these people are trying
to get him to caddy for them...
but he's not a caddy.
He's just a guy trying
to play a round of golf.
Then these guys give him
a five-dollar bill...
and tell him to go to the clubhouse
and get 'em cigarettes and beer.
So off he goes, home...
to his wife and little son...
who he teaches to pIay goIf.
We see all the other little boys
playing hopscotch...
while little Tiger practices
on the putting green.
We see all the other kids
eating ice cream...
while Tiger practices hitting
long balls in the rain...
while his father shows him how.
And we fade up...
to Tiger winning
four grand slams in a row...
and becoming the greatest golfer
to ever to pick up a nine iron.
And we end on his father...
in the crowd on the sidelines...
and Tiger giving him the trophies.
All because of
a father's determination...
that no fat white man--
like your fathers, probably--
would ever send his son
to the clubhouse...
for cigarettes and beer.
I'm sorry.
What did you say about our fathers?
- You better go.
- Mr. DoyIe Gipson.
You is now bankrupt.
And you owe me $5,000.
- Come on.
- Where'd he go?
Where is he?
- Hello?
- It's me.
- So you really bought a house?
- Yeah.
- Wanna play a round of golf?
- Really? You actually own it?
It's not a mansion on the hill.
It needs a lot of work,
but it'd be yours.
- It'd be your house.
- Here we go!
- Gonna hit the ball!
- Oh, God.
What? This line's going dead.
I can't hear you. I can't hear you.
ObviousIy, it wouId be better for
the boys to be near their father.
- What?
- To have you nearby.
- What?
- No, we didn't like it.
- I'll call you back.
- Talkin' to your daddy?
- Oh, God! You hit me!
- I'll hit you again! You like it?
Mister, please!
- I got kids, man!
- Yeah? Well, so do I!
DoyIe Gipson.
This is Gavin Banek calling.
I have something that
I wanna tell you.
First of all,
I wanted to shake hands, all right?
I wanted to start over.
I gave you a chance.
And you did this. Fine.
I have just turned off your credit.
You are now a spirit
without a body, all right?
Now, I can go on and on...
pulling your llfe down
around your ears.
You can turn it off. You can
go back to the way things were.
Just give me my file back!
Just-- Today.
I mean,just--
I mean-- Thank you.
Give me my file back, get the credit
turned back on. Okay? Today.
Thank you.
- Has he phoned yet?
- Not yet.
- Look at this.
- What?
- What is it?
- It's the life of Doyle Gipson.
His whole life.
We have his bank...
his wife, kids--
two boys, Danny and Steve--
their birth dates, the school
they go to, credit card balances...
health records.
His cholesterol is high,
but his blood pressure is normal.
I'm 29 years old.
That foundation has
107 million dollars in it.
My bosses are the trustees.
So why didn't they
come to court with me?
I don't know.
Mina Dunne hates me.
I assume there's a reason. Why
am I always the last guy to know?
What's in those files
that I haven't seen?
- Can you get me a messenger?
- What for?
I found something. I wanna give it
back to the person it belongs to.
Is there a reward or something?
- Yeah.
- What is it?
Doing the right thing--
giving it back.
- That's it?
- That's it.
- That's the reward.
- How about that?
Yeah, how a bout that?
Mr. Gipson, it's Ron Cabot
at Queen's RoyaI FederaI.
There's something I need
to taIk to you about.
If you can give me
a call today...
or if it's convenient to stop by
the bank, I'd appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- DoyIe Gipson.
This is Gavin Banek calling.
I have something that
I wanna tell you.
I lied to you this morning.
On my way to the court,
I stopped off at a diner.
I took the files out,
I looked them over.
When I was leaving,
I put them back.
At least, I could've sworn
I put them back.
When I got to the court, the
power of appointment was missing.
And the court has given me
until the end of the day...
- to produce the original.
- Did you call the diner?
I did. All the trash has been
picked up, but we're tracking it.
I think we'll probably get it back.
I just wanted you to know.
Why did you lie to us?
I'm really sorry.
You're sorry?
Who the fuck gives a shit about
the struggles of your character?
Get out of here,
you son of a bitch!
If you have to go through every
fuckin' gar bage bag in this city...
you fllnd that file, or you're gonna
be the disaster of my life!
Wait a minute.
We might get the file back.
But if we don't, we have
to adopt a strong position.
- I need to see those files.
- You're not gonna see the files!
- Why do you wanna see the files?
- Who not? He's my goddamn client!
Hey, what are you gonna do?
Give me a lecture on law?
Why did you send me to the court
by myself? I'm your son-in-law!
- I hired you, you little shit!
- Steven, calm down!
- Quiet, please.
- What are you doing?
- There's a way out of this.
- What are you doing?
A way out? By letting him
bring the files into court?
Calm down and stay with me here.
Okay.
We had a signed document,
right? Didn't we?
- Yes.
- Okay. Now.
The power of appointment...
is eight pages.
The living will, which also has
his signature, is ten.
The living will, which also has
his signature, is ten.
So we can reformat
the power of appointment...
and using the signature page
from the living will...
attach it to the new printout
of the power of appointment.
And code the header
to match the document.
- What do you think? Will it pass?
- Yeah, this could work.
I didn't ask you, all right?
Gavin, will it pass?
We forge it?
We just forge a document?
You screwed this up.
You lost the fuckin' file.
No body's asking you
to get yourself out of it alone.
We're willing to put ourselves
on the line for you with this.
Making a file is fraud.
A new file is fraud.
Do you understand that?
And we're saying we're gonna put
our own careers on the line for you.
That's what it means
to be a partner.
We're not inventing. We're not.
We're not inventing.
We're just reproducing something
that already exists.
Look, Gavin, you take this
into the court...
and, buddy,
we can go on with our lives...
like this never happened, huh?
- Let me think about it.
- What are you gonna think about?
Your high school ethics class?
What choice have you got?
You wanna go to jail?
No, I don't wanna go to jail.
Get out of here!
Leave it!
Leave it! Go!
Leave!
What does it say?
It says they pay themselves
a million and a half dollars...
each, out of the trust.
Out of the income of the trust.
Jesus Christ!
Which is why they got rid of Mina
Dunne and the rest of the board.
- It's probably not even illegal.
- It's probably just disgusting.
I did this.
- I did this.
- No, you didn't.
- I did this.
- No, you did not.
What do I do?
You give me the file,
and I'll take it back.
- Take it back?
- What?
You didn't know
who these people were?
You married into it.
Since breakfast, I've left
the scene of an accident...
I just bankrupted a guy
I don't even know...
lied to my bosses...
pulled a false alarm at work...
discovered I'm a party
to defrauding a charity.
And now I'm sitting here...
seriously contemplating forging
a power of appointment.
Hey, mister!
Mister, hold out your hand.
- What?
- Hold out your hand.
How many hands you got?
Two.
Thanks.
- Oh, God.
- It's the file.
Shit!
- Wait. No, look, it's--
- It's not the power of appointment.
- It's a notice to appear in court.
- Where's the kid?
Look at this.
It's a phone number.
- Who's that you're with?
- Is that your business?
- Is she your secretary?
- No, she's a lawyer.
- Not your wife?
- No.
Guy Ieaves the scene
of an accident.
- Guy cheats on his wife.
- Can I have my file back, please?
It'll take me half an hour
to get to my bank.
If my credit's not on by the time
I get there, I destroy the flle.
- That's the deal.
- Okay.
Understood. Okay.
- That was pretty fast, huh?
- It was great.
Listen, I need you to turn it back
on as fast as you turned it off.
Amazing, wasn't it?
Two hours!
- Two hours!
- Yes, it was great.
It was terrifllc. I need you
to turn it back on right now.
Thirty minutes, okay?
Can you do that?
That's a llttIe harder.
Please, man.
Don't tell me that.
Please, do something.
Do something for me here.
You gotta do something, man.
I'll do my best.
- Hey, ba be, how's it going?
- I need to see you.
Well, it's not a--
a great time right now.
- I need to see you right now.
- Is something wrong?
I just need to see you.
Meet me at Refugio's in ten minutes.
- I'll be right there.
- Don't be Iate.
- Okay, fllne.
- Okay, honey, thanks.
All right.
I gotta-- I gotta go.
Okay? I'll see you in a bit.
You're gonna tell me my credit's off
and I can't get the loan approved.
- Right.
- Check it.
Well, right here.
Well, that was strange.
You're right. Your credit's back on.
So?
Oh, this is so weird.
There you go. That's what I thought.
I knew I saw that.
I knew it.
- I can't help you.
- What do you mean?
- You just saw.
- There's still a problem.
No, no, no.
It's all taken care of.
It's all been solved.
Look in the computer.
It says you're bankrupt.
This is a mistake.
If it is a mistake...
then clearing it up shouldn't
take more than three months.
Ron, I've been having a bit
of a tussle today with someone.
It doesn't matter who.
But what does matter...
is that he got into my records.
I don't know how,
and that doesn't matter either.
- It's true, but--
- You've seen what he did.
He's got some kind
of a computer voodoo.
I don't know,
but he's got it, doesn't he?
Someone sure
caused you some trou ble.
I need this loan, Ron.
I need it for my life.
Now, nothing has changed
between yesterday and today.
I'm still the same guy.
I wasn't bankrupt yesterday...
and I'm not bankrupt today!
I'm sorry, Mr. Gipson.
The computer says you are.
Now it doesn't!
Are you okay?
What's wrong?
Did you know that my father
had a mistress for 20 years?
Don't lie.
I didn't know it was 20 years.
My mother knew about it.
Why didn't she leave him?
Because she loved him so much.
She decided it'd be hypocritical to
leave a man for cheating at home...
when the expensive life
she enjoyed so much...
was paid for by a man whose job
was based on finding ways to cheat.
Is that your opinion of the law?
What do you think
the law is, Gav...
at this level of the game,
at my father's level of the game...
at your level of the game?
It is a big, vicious rumble, Gavin.
The peopIe who founded
this law firm...
and the people who sustain it...
understand the way the world works.
If you wanna continue to live
the way we've been living--
You have to steal.
I could've married an honest man.
I could've lived
with a professor of...
Middle English, for example...
if he was a moraI man
and had tenure at Princeton.
But I didn't.
I married a Wall Street lawyer.
Which means I married someone
who lives in a world...
where when a man comes to the edge
of things, he has to commit...
to staying there and living there.
Can you live there, Gavin?
Can you live there with me?
You're not gonna do
anything stupid like leaving me.
You've had fantasies, I'm sure.
So have I.
But we're married.
I knew about Michelle.
I knew when it was happening,
and I knew when it was finished.
And I know you love me.
You do love me,
and I love you too.
I'm your wife,
and I wanna stand beside you.
Just let me help you, Gavin.
Let me help you with this.
What do you want me to do?
Take the signature page from
the living will and attach it...
to the newly formatted copy
of the power of appointment.
Bring it to the courthouse,
and then meet me for dinner tonight.
We're going out
with Karen and Carl.
I forgot about Karen and Carl.
And I remembered.
We're a team, Gav.
We're partners.
- Deal's a deal.
- The credit's back on?
- I used my MasterCard just now.
- Sir, we don't allow cell phones.
That was fast.
Okay, one second.
They turned my credit back on.
Now I owe you something.
Thank God you did not
throw that away this morning.
- So how you wanna do this?
- One second.
- You wanna come to my offllce?
- No.
- Why not?
- You got your car?
- It's at the office, yeah.
- How about the courthouse?
You do have to turn this thing in,
don't you?
- Right.
- See, I'm thinking about you.
Okay, listen, Doyle--
Look, please. You aren't gonna
get all soft on me, are you?
I just want you to know
that I'm sorry, and I just--
I'm just glad this thing is over.
Don't get too close.
Hey, my hero.
My champion.
It's all over.
He called me.
He's giving me back the file.
Really?
- What do you mean?
- Because there's--
- There's one thing I couIdn't do.
- What couldn't you do?
This damn bankruptcy
has a llfe of its own.
What couldn't you do?
I couIdn't undo the bankruptcy.
Sorry.
Shit.
Are you drunk?
Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure.
It's nice.
Show me the house.
On which was hung
the Savior of the worId
Come
Let us worship
This is the wood of the cross
This is the wood of the cross
On which was hung
the Savior of the worId
Come
Let us worship
Do you know why
I took the job in Oregon?
To...
get as far away from me
as possible.
I looked at a lot of cities, and...
Portland...
has thousands of nice, dull,
bearded guys.
And I thought, you know,
guys like this just--
Guys.
I could find one.
A better version of you, Doyle.
A version of you,
but a better version of you.
What I always...
wanted you to be,
and what you were for a little...
when I met you.
In the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
I don't-- It's all right.
I don't want confession.
I just-- All the seats
were full out there...
so I came in here
Just to listen to the song.
There's some seats up front.
I'll show you.
I don't want that.
Thank you.
Are you a Catholic?
It's beautiful.
No, it's not.
But it could've been.
I don't know
what's gonna happen, but...
I don't blame you
for wanting to leave.
Oregon.
The boys...
it'll be good for them.
I know how hard it must be
for you to say that.
I'm sorry I was late today.
We should've waited.
I came here for some meaning.
I'm trying--
I want you to give the world
meaning to me.
Why does the world need meaning?
Why does the--
Because the world's a sewer.
Because the world's a shithole
and a gar bage dump.
Because my father-in-law
got me to screw a good man...
a decent man,
out of his money.
And my wife cheers me on.
Because I got into a fender bender
with this guy on the FDR.
I had a flight with him. I tried
to do everything to settle it.
- But this guy just won't let it go.
- Why?
- Why wouldn't he let it go?
- I don't know why!
I don't know why.
Sometimes, God likes to put two guys
in a paper bag and just let 'em rip.
Thank you.
Thank you for letting us go.
Are you saying
he's a threat to his chlldren?
He's toId friends that
if his ex-wife got custody...
he would kidnap his sons
and take them out of this country.
- And she got custody?
- We were in court this morning.
I don't know for a fact
that he's coming here, but--
- Doyle Gipson? Really?
- Really. What does that mean?
He comes to every play they're in,
all the teacher conferences.
So a guy comes to a school play,
you trust him?
Doyle Gipson is a man
of no honor at all!
A low man.
But that's okay, because
no body else has any honor either.
That's what makes life
so hard for people--
is that we're taught
this fairy tale.
The good and well,
and the bad and poorly.
- Do you believe that?
- I'd like to.
He's coming here.
Be ready for him.
Is he in?
Hello. Is he there?
Well, I just need
to leave a message for him.
I'm calling from
his children's school.
Yeah. I'm afraid
there's been an accident.
- How are my sons?
- Who are your sons?
Danny and Steven Gipson. I received
a call that said they were hurt.
- Danny and Steven Gipson?
- I haven't heard anything.
I wanna see my sons!
- Mr. Gipson--
- Miss Miller, how are the boys?
I think you should leave
before we call the police.
Mr. Gipson,
don't make me call the police.
- So, they're fine?
- Yes, your boys are fine.
- And all of this is just a mistake?
- Yes.
I'm sorry.
Call the police.
Daniel Gipson! Stevie Gipson!
Can you hear me?
- Can you hear me?
- Call their mother.
- Gipson boys, where are you?
- Daddy!
- Come back here.
- Daddy!
Get off me!
Get off-- Danny! Stevie!
- Daddy! No!
- Calm down!
They said you were hurt!
You haven't been hurt or sick today?
We're gonna pick you up
nice and slowly.
- All right? Got it?
- Okay.
- Don't hurt my dad! Please!
- Okay, let's go. Up.
Nice and easy.
Come on.
See that?
I tried to make peace with you.
You know what I can do to you
for trying to kill me?
You know who I am?
You know who I am?
You see what I can do to you?
You try to kill me?
Motherfucker.
What's up now?
Shit.
Empty your pockets, sir.
Keys.
Change.
Wallet. Pager.
File.
Hey, how you doing?
I'm looking for a Ron Ca bot.
- Count your money, sir.
- What?
Count your money.
Mr. Cabot,
I am DoyIe Gipson's attorney.
I don't wanna talk about him. Since
we're closing, I don't have to.
I understand that. Mr. Ca bot,
I just need you to help me--
Seventy-seven dollars.
I'm asking you to try
to help me help Doyle here.
He needs it.
He has had about
the worst day of his life.
He had this credit problem that was
not his fault. It was caused by--
Someone who hacked away
into his records. I know.
How can we get this whole thing
straightened out? What can I do?
Nothing.
Okay. Mr. Ca bot.
Ron, let's try this
another way, okay?
Let's say there's a different man.
You don't know this guy.
And he has some credit problems
that are his fault.
And then another man--
you don't know him--
he wants to help
the fllrst guy, okay?
Now, what does he have to do to help
the second guy take out a loan?
Come on. What do I do? Just cosign?
What's the thing? What's the deal?
Can you please tell me
what I gotta do.
I'm asking you what I have to do
to make this thing work.
You know this has nothing
to do with you. It's this guy.
- He's been at me all day.
- Some body you're fighting with?
You had a fight with some body
who hit your car...
and then you spent the day
in some kind of battle with him.
Then he went to the school
to hurt you as hard as he could.
You believe me?
Thank God. Thank God.
This guy, this lawyer,
Gavin Banek--
Doyle, stop! Stop, Doyle!
I don't care.
Whatever this little drama
you've gotten yourself into...
it's just the kind of thing
that always happens to you.
And it never happens to me unless
I am in your field of gravity.
You went crazy like you always do,
like you always will go crazy.
Drunk or sober, it doesn't matter,
'cause that's you.
A person can be loving...
and a person can be crazy
all at once.
That's life. But this is not
Just my life now or yours.
It is the life
of two children...
and I have to protect
those two children.
Is that a misunderstanding?
Is it?
Is it, Doyle? I mean,
is that this guy's fault?
At least let me say
good- bye to them.
I'm takin' those boys away,
and you will never see them again.
You will never find us. Do not try
to come after us. Do you hear me?
It is over!
- Where's Ellen?
- She went home.
Why are you still here?
You told me to wait.
Well, come on in.
Have a seat.
- So why do you wanna be a lawyer?
- I believe in the law.
I believe in order and justice.
I believe that people are,
by nature, good.
I believe that historical forces
push us into conflict...
and without the law
as a buffer between people...
we would have
a world of vendetta...
a world of violence,
a world of chaos.
The law--
The law keeps us civilized.
- I'm sorry.
- I don't think it's--
- I'm sorry.
- I don't think it's funny.
That's why I am gonna
give you this job.
Because I wanna hear what
you have to say about the law...
after you've worked here
for five years...
or three years, or a month...
a week, a day, an hour.
I'm hired?
Don't I have to see...
a committee or something?
- You made bail.
- Who?
A friend.
"To the Honorable
Judge Frances Abarbanel.
I have been unable to recover
the power of appointment...
signed by Simon Dunne.
But even if I had been able to
produce the power of appointment...
I want the court to know that
the document was a fraud.
I induced Mr. Dunne
to sign a document...
when his mental status was
diminished and he was incapable...
of making an informed decision.""
They set you up! They made
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- And they're gonna make more.
- And I made partner...
and a bonus that could've paid
for 200 pianos.
You don't say anything about them.
You're taking everything
on your shoulder in this letter.
Why? You could send 'em to jail.
They gotta write their own letters.
Let me go.
Should've left me inside.
You're too important to me.
Come on. Let's go to a meeting.
No, no, no.
I went to one yesterday.
- Well, that was yesterday.
- Yeah, one day at a time, right?
Yeah, one day at a time,
and do the next right thing.
Let's go.
There's a meeting at 6:00.
""God, grant me the strength...
to accept the things
I cannot change.""
It's an admirable gesture,
but it's unnecessary.
It's unnecessary because
you've already filed...
the power of appointment
with the court.
A bonded courier delivered it
to the judge just before 5:00...
and her bailiff signed for it.
Your note of apology was contrite,
but it was absolutely professional.
Everything's taken care of.
- You filed a forgery.
- Bullshit.
I filed what I had to file.
What happened to--
You just disappeared.
Time was up.
Come on.
You scared the hell out of us.
I didn't know what to do.
So you finally hit rock bottom?
Today you almost killed a guy.
Tomorrow you might go all the way.
Keep doing the next wrong thing,
you could start a religion.
Convince the so ber to drink.
Don't tell them...
to keep each other alive with hope.
You saw today that everything decent
is held together by a covenant.
An agreement not to go bat shit!
- You broke the contract!
- I didn't have a drink!
Well, wow!
Thank you for sharing!
You didn't have a drink today!
What an inspiration!
That's the point, isn't it?
God!
You know, booze isn't really
your drug of choice anyway.
You're addicted to chaos.
For some of us, it's coke.
For some of us, it's bourbon.
But you,
you got hooked on disaster.
Fuck!
Here's what you shouId do.
You get up Monday morning...
and you get yourself
on a plane to Texas.
Take that letter with you.
When you get to Texas...
you get on the defense team
of somebody on death row.
And then put all your energy
into saving a man from execution.
And then come on back here
in a few months.
You still wanna confess, go ahead.
Come on.
How the hell do you think
Simon Dunne got his money?
You think those factories
in Malaysia...
have day-care centers in them?
Wanna check the pollution levels
of his chemical plants in Mexico...
or look at the tax benefllts
he got from this foundation?
This is all a tightrope.
This is all a tightrope.
You gotta learn to balance.
How can you live like that?
I can live with myself
because at the end of the day...
I think I do more good than harm.
What other standard
have I got to judge by?
I have to thank you.
For the house?
I understand what
you were trying to do, but...
my wife's moving,
she's taking the boys.
The house is a little bit
too much for me right now.
I'm sorry.
I was a horribly unstable father.
And Valerie says
I'll never see them again.
But you know what?
I will.
I'll see 'em in a year or two...
may be three.
I'll go to Portland,
I'll call her...
and I'll find a way
to be their father again.
How about you?
Well...
I have the file...
but I don't need it anymore.
It's been taken care of.
You know.
It never happened.
But it did happen. Right?
Right.
So, now what?
I'm going to dinner with my wife...
her parents.
And this weekend,
I'm gonna go look at a boat.
And then on Monday, I'm gonna
come back in here and go to work.
And then...
magically this whole...
incredible day just somehow...
becomes a memory.
It's like you go to the beach.
You go down to the water.
It's a little cold.
You're not sure if you wanna go in.
There's a pretty girl
standing next to you.
She doesn't wanna go in either.
She sees you.
And you know...
if you just asked her
her name...
you would leave with her.
Forget your life,
whoever you came with...
and leave the beach with her.
And after that day...
you remember her.
Not every day, every week.
She comes back to you.
It's the memory...
of another life...
you could've had.
Today is that girl.
I'm sorry about what I did.
Me too.
You brought the file back.
When you're done, there's a lovely
little place on the hill where--
where you can get a--
- Cappuccino.
- Yes, that's right, dear.
They're lovely cappuccinos,
and it's clean and it's cool.
They have these prints on the wall.
They're really quite lovely.
I don't know who they're by.
They're by that artist--
- Chagall.
- Right. They're Chagalls.
There's three of them.
They're early Chagalls.
I think he painted them
when he was visiting there.
Am I missing something this evening?
- What is this?
- This, my dear--
This is Simon Dunne's...
power of appointment.
- I got it back.
- No, you didn't.
- Yes, I did. This is it.
- Please.
This is behind us, isn't it?
Haven't we put this behind us?
I was thinking about
what you said to me.
About the end of the day--
about doing more good than harm.
That is what you said, isn't it?
- Don't you fuck with me.
- I am not fucking with you, sir.
- Don't you fuck with me.
- I am not fucking with you, sir.
Can you imagine how unpleasant
it would be...
if the judge
got ahold of this file?
That's not gonna happen.
That's not gonna happen, Gavin.
I think I might order the snapper.
I'm gonna hold onto this file. I'm
gonna keep it in a very safe place.
But I'm not going to Texas.
I'm gonna come back
into work on Monday.
I'm gonna start doing that pro bono
work that you recommended that I do.
But I'm gonna do it
from our office.
The first thing we're gonna do
is help a man buy a house.
- Gavin, can we please not do this?
- And I think...
I would like to be the one
to call Mina Dunne.
I'm gonna tell her
that you and Walter...
are gonna give back the three
million dollars you stole...
from her grandfather's foundation.
You were right.
I can do this.
I found the edge.
Can you live there with me?
Can you?
I haven't had a fucking thing
to eat all day, and I'm starving.
So what are we gonna eat?
- Mrs. Gipson?
- Yes?
My name is Gavin Banek.
What do you want?
Five minutes, ma'am.
I owe your husband twenty.
Hell...
I'm only asking for five with you.