
            Downton Abby - a sprawling, lavish Edwardian mansion and park nestled in the lush North Yorkshire landscape - needs an heir. Dame Maggie Smith turns in a show-stopping performance as Violet, the charmingly stubborn Dowager Countess of Grantham, matriarch of Downton and the irrefutable authority on everything. Hugh Bonneville stars as her son, the stoic, unflappable Earl of Grantham; Elizabeth McGovern plays his far-sighted American wife, Cora; and a star-studded cast round out the glittering, gossipy, and beguiling men and women of this epic tale from Academy Award-winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park).After a tragedy at sea claims the life of the presumed heir, Lord Grantham is faced with the possibility that the house he's loved his whole life might someday belong to a distant cousin he's never met. But before he can worry about that he must deal with his scandalous daughter, Lady Mary - considered by many to be the rightful heir to Downton. Even the staff has opinions on the family's affairs. And while most are devoted to those they serve, there are others whose selfishness and scheming do more than simply disrupt the well-oiled inner workings of the estate. As the servants' mischief escalates, even the most faithful employees begin to imagine a different life.Pitting hundreds of years of British aristocracy against the tides of social upheaval and technical progress, under the looming shadow of World War I, will the fate of Downton and its family - above and below the stairs - be resolved? Or will life be altered so dramatically that its master no longer matters?
    

Downton Abbey


            The story is divided among three distinct time periods: the early 1920s, the early 1930s and the year 1968. The story is also jumps back and forth between these times and is summarized chronologically here.In 1968, David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro), returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, NY following a prolonged absence. He has been called back to his old neighborhood under mysterious circumstances; he's received a notice from a local rabbi telling him that the cemetery in his old neighborhood is being closed and the remains of those buried there are being moved. He sets himself up in with a room in a bar owned by an old friend, Fat Moe (Larry Rapp), and begins to investigate the summons he received. Noodles is suspicious of the letter, thinking he's been called back to see to the reburial of his old friends, Patrick "Patsy" Goldberg (James Hayden), Philip "Cockeye" Stein (William Forsythe), and Max Bercovic (James Woods), who he used to be in a gang with. Noodles believes someone is seeking revenge against him.In the earliest time period, the early 1920s, the boys grow up in poverty in a Jewish neighborhood of the Lower East Side. They ostensibly work for a young local Irish gangster named Bugsy, however, Noodles and his friends Patsy, Cockeye, and Dominic, have ambitions to strike out on their own. One day, while attempting to "roll" a drunk, they are foiled in their plot by Max, who is just moving into the neighborhood with his mother. He keeps the drunk's pocket watch and leaves the boys to be harassed by a local policeman, Whitey (whom the boys call "Fartface") (Richard Foronjy), who constantly bullies them. Noodles finds Max later and demands the watch back. Whitey happens by and takes the watch for himself. Noodles and Max come to admire each others resolve and decide to be friends. Though Noodles and Max share the leadership of the gang, it is Max who is the more charismatic and makes most of the decisions for them.One day Patsy spies Whitey walking along the rooftops of the neighborhood and follows him. Patsy immediately realizes that Whitey is going to see their pre-teen (and physically matured) friend, Peggy, who prostitutes herself. The boys catch Whitey in the act and photograph him; Patsy quickly disappears with the film plate. Whitey acquiesces to their demands that, as the new gang in the area, he pay them as much in tribute as he does Bugsy and that he do some enforcement work for them. They also get their watch back from him and make him pay for Noodles and Max to have sex with Peggy.Noodles has long desired to be romantically involved with a girl, named Deborah (Jennifer Connelly), whose father owns the local kosher restaurant in the neighborhood. While using the men's room in the restaurant, David often spies on Deborah through a small hole in the wall while she practices her ballet steps and undresses afterward. Deborah, however, mostly ignores his advances, with the exception of an intimate moment they share when the restaurant's closed during Passover.The boys become something of a success in their neighborhood, thieving houses and stores and rolling more drunks and other weaker types for small earnings that are substantial for themselves. When Bugsy hears that there's another gang that isn't under his control, he and his thugs horribly beat Noodles and Max just outside Deborah's father's restaurant. When Noodles pleads with Deborah to let him inside after the vicious beating, Deborah refuses.Undaunted, the boys meet with a local Italian mobster, Capuano, and show him an invention of Noodles' that will allow Capuano to keep all the imported cargo he illegally deals even after his ships crews are forced to throw it overboard by harbor customs agents. The first time the boys use Noodles invention, it works perfectly and the boys are overjoyed at the cargo that floats to the surface. Max falls overboard and doesn't surface for a seemingly long amount of time. Worried that his friend has drowned, Noodles looks for him and is perturbed when Max finally appears.The invention is a success and the boys become very wealthy, receiving 10% of Capuano's earnings. They rent a train station locker and stash their cash earnings in a leather briefcase, promising that they will only withdraw or deposit funds from the locker when they are all present and that the key will be kept by Fat Moe. On their way back from the station, they're attacked by Bugsy, who this time carries a pistol. Dominic is the only member of the gang who is shot by Bugsy (being the smallest, he is unable to run for cover as fast as his companions) and dies in Noodles' arms. Noodles retaliates and stabs Bugsy with a switchblade several times before two mounted policemen tries to stop him. Noodles, still in a fit of rage about Dominic, stabs one of the policemen before he is arrested. He is sentenced to 12 years. His friends turn out to see him delivered to the juvenile reformatory.In the early 1930s, Noodles is released from prison and is picked up by Max. Max explains that he and the rest of the gang have set themselves up in an undertaking business. However, the mortician's parlor is a front for their real business, bootlegging liquor, which has made them rich. According to Max, they run the most popular speakeasy in the city; they hide the scotch they serve in the building's steam heating system. A party is held for Noodles on his return and Max introduces him to some new associates, Frankie Manoldi (Joe Pesci) and his partner Joe (Burt Young). Frankie and Joe want the gang to rob a diamond broker's they own in Detroit. During the heist, Noodles hits and rapes a woman, Carol (Tuesday Weld), who works there; she's a masochist who provokes Noodles into assaulting her; Noodles also does so despite a stern warning from Joe himself not to abuse her. The gang meets with Joe to give him the diamonds and kill him and his men on Frankie's orders. Noodles, unaware of the deal that Max made with Frankie to murder Joe, is quite angry with Max; his reasoning is that their gang should not be liable to anyone like Frankie and should operate independently. Also, Noodles is concerned that one day Frankie may want Noodles or Max to eliminate the other. Max assures Noodles it will never happen. As they drive away from the scene, Noodles foolhardily drives their car off a long pier into the bay.(A restored scene shows everyone except Noodles escaping the car and surfacing. After a few minutes, the guys are worried that Noodles may have been killed by a nearby dredging machine but he appears soon after, a reflection of Max tricking him when they were teenagers.)Some time later in 1933, the gang then begins to aid a local union leader, Jimmy "Clean Hands" O'Donnell (Treat Williams), who has made a career of standing up to corrupt labor leaders, particularly a man named Crowning (Gerard Murphy). After rescuing Jimmy from Crowning's thug, Chicken Joe (Richard Bright), who is about to burn him alive, the gang offers their assistance to Jimmy, who initially refuses their help, not wanting to deal with men who operate in bootlegging, drugs or prostitution.Next, the gang turns their attention to a local labor strike being engineered by a celebrity police captain, Vincent Aiello (Danny Aiello). Aiello is being manipulated by the factory owners into allowing his officers to protect the scab workers the owners have allowed into their factory. The gang concocts a brilliant and diabolical scheme to switch Aiello's newborn son (his family's only boy after four girls) at the hospital: Noodles calls him just after he discovers the switch (the gang switched his boy for a girl in the nursery) and tells him to call off his officers and let the workers and management work out the strike. However, when Patsy tries to remember which baby they switched Aiello's boy for, he can't; he's lost the switch list with the child's number on it. The mix-up doesn't faze the gang, however, and they agree to simply give Aiello the number of a random boy from the ward, coldly laughing over the fates of some of the children they'd mixed up.During the time that the gang is expanding their business dealings, Noodles rekindles his romance with Deborah (now played by Elizabeth McGovern). He arranges for a lavish vacation for them both at a posh resort in the Hamptons that is closed for the season. Noodles reveals his love for Deborah, however, she is still as reluctant to get romantically involved with him, and plans to leave for California to study acting. On their return trip in their limousine, Noodles rapes Deborah. Ashamed, he orders the driver to take her home. Some time later that day, Deborah boards a train to California; Noodles, from a distance in the station, watches her leave; she closes the compartment blind when she spots him.While calling Max and Noodles for assistance, Jimmy is nearly killed on the street by Chicken Joe in a drive-by shooting. The gang retaliates, shooting at Crowning outside his club, killing his bodyguards, including Chicken Joe. With a wounded leg, Jimmy is crippled for life but is able to continue his career. While they celebrate with Jimmy in the hospital, Jimmy's attorney, Sharkey, tells the gang that Prohibition may soon end and they should think about entering legitimate business with their large fleet of bootlegging trucks, with Jimmy acting as their front. Max seems to like the idea, however, Noodles is unconvinced, still adhering to his old mantra of not working for anyone but themselves. Max suggests that Noodles' idea of business is too archaic and that they need to expand to make more money, but Noodles still adheres steadfastly to his street code.A few months later in late 1933, Prohibition approaches its end, and the gang find themselves out of work. Noodles and Max take a vacation to Florida with their respected girlfriends. Not wanting to go into legitimate work, Max reveals an audacious plan to rob the Federal Reserve bank in Manhattan. Noodles thinks the plan is too outrageous, knowing that it almost certainly would get him and the rest of the gang killed. By this time, the woman Noodles sexually assaulted in Detroit, Carol, has joined the brothel that Peggy runs (in conjunction with the gang's speakeasy) and has become Max's girlfriend. She tries to convince Noodles to get Max to abandon his plan or tip the police to get Max arrested to give him time to think over the scheme's absurdity.Noodles plans to alert the police about a liquor exchange Max has planned with Cockeye and Patsy, which is set to take place a short time after the gang's party in celebration of the end of Prohibition. Noodles does so and, when Max joins him in the office, provokes Max into a fight by suggesting his friend is crazy; it is a vulnerable fact of Max's life that his father was mentally unbalanced and died in a sanitarium.Noodles shows up at the site of the liquor buy during a cold and rainy night and sees that Patsy and Cockeye have been killed and it appears Max has been burned beyond recognition. After returning to Fat Moe's bar and finding his girlfriend Eve murdered and Moe horribly beaten (depicted in the first scenes of the film), he retrieves the key to the locker at the train station. At the station, he finds that the money has been replaced with newspapers. Puzzled, Noodles buys a one-way bus ticket to Buffalo and leaves.During his sleuthing in 1968, Noodles finds out that his friends were moved to a different cemetery and an elaborate mausoleum was constructed for them. When the bronze doors to the mausoleum are opened, an automated recording plays the same Pan flute tune that Cockeye played when he was alive. He finds the key to the train station locker on a plaque inside that states Noodles himself put the plaque and key there to honor his friends. He goes to the locker and finds the same leather case and more money inside. A note inside the case says "Advance payment for your next job".According to news reports, a senator named Chris Bailey is under investigation for corruption; several witnesses set to testify against Bailey have all died under mysterious circumstances. Noodles suspects a connection between Bailey and the money left to him. Before visiting the senator's house under invitation, he talks to Carol who tells him that Deborah is once again living in the New York City area and is now a famous stage actress. Noodles visits her and the two have a lengthy conversation. (Note: Deborah has not seemed to age unlike Noodles and everyone else in contemporary 1968). Deborah's most important revelation is that she and Senator Bailey are together and have a grown-up son, also named David, who very closely resembles Max when he was younger.That evening, Noodles goes to Bailey's Long Island mansion and meets directly with the Senator, who reveals himself to be Max. It turns out that Max had faked his own death during the liquor exchange where he was "killed" and has, for the past 30 years, created the Bailey persona as a disguise. With the impending investigation for corruption, Max tells Noodles that he wants to be assassinated and that Noodles is the only person to do it (hence the money and the cryptic note in the suitcase). Noodles refuses the job offer, and he continues to refuse to acknowledge that Max is alive... still referring to him as "Senator Bailey". Noodles explains to Max/Senator Bailey that he feels betrayed and has felt guilty for the entire span Max was gone, which is punishment enough. He leaves through a secret passage; on the street outside Bailey's estate, he catches a glimpse of Bailey/Max standing by the road. A garbage truck drives by, the augers in the back clearly visible, suggesting but not concluding for certain that Bailey/Max has thrown himself into them to his death. As Noodles watches the red taillights of the garbage truck driving away, the lights magically turn white and they become the headlights of a convoy of cars from the 1930s driving by the Bailey mansion playing the Kate Smith song 'God Bless America' from the time in 1933 in the celebration of the end of Prohibition. Noodles then walks away into the night, alone.The film ends in the 1930s, with Noodles visiting a Chinese opium den. Laying down after a few puffs from an opium pipe, he smiles as the closing credits roll.[It has been suggested by fans, critics and some film historians that the 1968 sequences were all part of an opium-induced dream experienced by Noodles.]
    

Once Upon a Time in America

Downton Abbey: A New Era

Freezing


            The film begins with a newsreel montage, depicting celebrities of the turn of the 20th century such as Harry Houdini, Theodore Roosevelt and the architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer), as well as life in New York City. The newsreel is accompanied by ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.).The millionaire industrialist Harry Kendall Thaw (Robert Joy) makes a scene when White's latest creation, a nude statue on the roof of Madison Square Garden, is unveiled. The model for the statue is Evelyn Nesbit (Elizabeth McGovern), a former chorus girl who is now Thaw's wife. Thaw becomes convinced White has corrupted Evelyn and humiliated him. On the evening of June 25, 1906, Thaw confronts and publicly shoots White during a show at Madison Square Garden, killing him in cold blood before several witnesses. Thaw surrenders to the police without attempting to run.Meanwhile, an unnamed upper class family resides in a comfortable suburban home in New Rochelle. The family's Father (James Olson) owns a factory, where his wife's Younger Brother (Brad Dourif) is employed as a fireworks maker. Their passive, sheltered existence is disturbed when an abandoned African American baby is found in their garden. The child's mother, an unmarried washerwoman named Sarah (Debbie Allen), is discovered, and brought to their home. When she learns that the police intend to charge Sarah with child abandonment and attempted murder, Mother (Mary Steenburgen) intervenes and takes both Sarah and her child into the home, despite Father's objections. Some time later, Coalhouse Walker arrives at the house in search of Sarah, driving a new model T-Ford automobile and acting in a brash manner unlike the subservient attitude expected of the African American community at the time. Realizing that he is the baby's father, he announces to a skeptical Father that he intends to marry Sarah.Younger Brother witnesses White's murder and becomes obsessed with Evelyn, leaving home for long periods of time to follow her throughout the city. Thaw's lawyer, Delphin (Pat O'Brien), bribes Evelyn with a million-dollar divorce settlement (which she accepts) to keep silent about Thaw's mental instability at his trial and to testify that White had abused her when she was a teenager to model in the nude for him.Passing through the tenements of the Lower East Side, Evelyn encounters a Jewish street artist known as Tateh (Mandy Patinkin) and witnesses him throw his wife (Fran Drescher) out of their home after learning of her infidelity. Tateh takes their daughter and leaves New York, taking with him the flip book he has invented, which he begins to sell successfully. Evelyn, who has become fond of the little girl, is troubled by their disappearance, but distracted when Younger Brother declares his love to her. She begins an affair with him as she begins to plan her return to the stage. He assumes that they will eventually marry and plans to introduce her to his family.A year-and-a-half later (in early 1908), Thaw is tried and found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity for White's murder. That evening, Delphin and his assistant counsel (Richard Griffiths) interrupt one of Evelyn's sexual trysts with Younger Brother and inform her that Thaw will be suing her for divorce on the grounds of infidelity, offering her a much smaller divorce settlement, which she takes. The affair ends shortly thereafter, leaving Younger Brother alone and adrift.A little later, trouble rears its head in New Rochelle when Coalhouse Walker is targeted by a crew of bigoted volunteer firemen, led by fire chief Willie Conklin (Kenneth McMillan), who refuse to allow his automobile to pass by their firehouse. After he leaves to find a policeman (Jeff Daniels), Walker returns to find his car's seat soiled with horse excrement. His protests end with the racist policeman placing him under arrest for parking his car illegally. Conklin is not arrested.After Father arranges for Walker's release on bail, they discover his car has been vandalized further. He pursues legal action against the fire company, but can find no lawyer willing to represent him. Father, who believes Walker has no legal recourse open to him due to his race, and Younger Brother, who supports Walker, have a confrontation in front of Sarah, who is informed by an infuriated Father that it is up to her to get Walker to see sense. She sneaks out of the house to attend a presidential rally, where she attempts to tell President Teddy Roosevelt about Coalhouse Walker's case but is pushed back and beaten by the racist guards. She is severely injured, and soon after dies from her wounds.After Sarah's funeral, a furious Coalhouse Walker assembles a group of African-American supporters where they ambush the volunteer firemen, killing several of them. He sends a letter to the police and newspapers threatening to attack other firehouses, demanding that his car be restored and that Conklin be turned over to him for justice. Father is disgusted at Walker's violence, but Younger Brother tracks him down and joins his gang, bringing with him his knowledge of explosives.Ostracized by their community and hounded by reporters over their involvement in a black man's issues, Father and Mother leave New Rochelle for Atlantic City, where they encounter Tateh, who is now a film director working on a photoplay with Evelyn Nesbitt. Mother is attracted to him, and she and Father quarrel.Meanwhile, Coalhouse Walker and his gang force their way into the Pierpont Morgan Library, holding the priceless collection of books hostage in exchange for Conklin and the car. New York City Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo (James Cagney) arrives and takes command of the siege. He sends men to retrieve Walker Coalhouse's infant child, but Mother refuses to give him up. This angers Father, who demands she turn the child over, and he returns to New York alone to assist Commissioner Waldo. In his absence, Mother checks out of their hotel.Local black attorney and NAACP activist Booker T. Washington (Moses Gunn) is called in as a mediator but fails to persuade Walker to surrender, as does Father in a meeting at the library. It is here that Father discovers Younger Brother among Walker's gang, wearing black-face makeup. Conklin, who has fled, is captured by the police, and forced to call phone Coalhouse Walker at the library and apologize. Commissioner Waldo is disgusted by Conklin and his racist attitude, who he calls "a piece of slime", and announces to Conklin that he will be brought up on criminal charges, but the Commissioner yet cannot submit to terrorist demands. Coalhouse Walker ultimately agrees to surrender if Waldo will permit his supporters to safely depart in his restored car. Waldo agrees after Father volunteers to stay inside the library as a hostage. Younger Brother and the rest of Walker's supporters escape in the car, and he drives Father out the library soon after. He prays, seeming ready to blow himself up, but instead surrenders to the police. As he steps out of the building with his hands raised, Waldo orders a sniper to shoot him dead.The film ends with another newsreel montage set a few years later: Evelyn dances in vaudeville and is a major stage and silent film star. Harry Thaw is released from an asylum. Harry Houdini escapes from a straight jacket while dangling several stories above the ground, while below him, the newspapers announce that war in Europe has been declared (the start of the first world war in 1914). Younger Brother returns to working at the factory, but now with idealistic and radical views on life and the races. In the final shot, Father watches from the house in New Rochelle as Mother departs with Tateh and Coalhouse's son.
    

Ragtime


            
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JFK Jr. and Carolyn's Wedding: The Lost Tapes

A Shock to the System

Racing with the Moon

The Chaperone

The Summer of Ben Tyler

A Name Without a Place

Daphne

Hawkins

Wings of Courage

The Bedroom Window

War of the Worlds

Three Moons Over Milford


            Petty career crook John Sedley (Mickey Rourke) is called Johnny Handsome because of his deformed face. His knack for observing and planning gets him and his friend into a robbery of a collectable coin store with Sunny Boyd (Ellen Barkin) and Rafe Garrett (Lance Henriksen) but the job goes sideways. Rafe and Sunny double cross the others killing everyone else in the job but Johnny. Johnny goes to jail and is warned that since this is his second time convicted for a felony, the next time makes him a third-time loser and he will be given the maximum sentence. In jail Johnny is accosted and knifed by two other inmates and sent to the hospital where he is visited by Lt. A.Z. Drones (Morgan Freeman) who tells him that Rafe paid to have him killed and urges Johnny to give evidence to take him down. While Johnny recuperates an enlightened Dr. Steven Fisher (Forrest Whitaker) believes that if he can repair Johnny's cleft palette and reconstruct his face he can change his life because the world will see him in a different more positive way. Lt. Drones tears down the doctor's ideas insisting that someone who is bad will continue being bad regardless of his looks'. Johnny agrees to the medical procedures and has his impaired speech and face changed and reenters society with a parole agreeing to continue psychological observation from the doctor. Johnny gets a job on a construction crew where he meets Donna McCarty (Elizabeth McGovern) who sees something special in Johnny but he pushes her away planning his revenge on those crooks that have double crossed him. He approaches Rafe and Sunny with a job to rob the construction site and things go along fine until suspicions cause curiosity.
    

Johnny Handsome


            The film opens on a view of a desolate snow covered mountain scape with the words "Once upon a time in the recent future a country went wrong. The country was called The Republic of Gilead." A woman (Natasha Richardson), her husband, and their child (Blair Struble) are driving up the mountains in their car towards the border of the Republic of Gilead. They approach the border on foot as they get nearer, but are spotted by guards from the Republic before they can cross. Kate's husband is shot while trying to distract the guards so his family can escape, and she is captured and separated from her daughter.The scene cuts to a city street, where women (including Kate) are being unloaded from a back of a large truck and herded into a building. Other trucks are unloading as well, although some are full of men or black people (note: the term African American is not entirely appropriate in this context as this is not "America"). The people are organized by race, gender, and among white women, their fertility. As the women's fertility results are read aloud, one "negative" women protests and is forcefully carried away. The infertile women are forced into a large truck with the original label "livestock" crossed out and "116 female" written over top. As the truck pulls away presumably headed for the colonies, the women's arms can be seen waving for help through the slats. A group of blacks attempt to escape but are stopped and led away.The fertile women are met by Aunt Lydia, (Victoria Tennant) one of the "rulers" of the Handmaids, per say, and board a bus headed for the Red Center. The windows are painted over, but Kate can see women wearing face masks and gloves shoveling dirt and rocks (presumably contaminated) along the route through a scratch in the paint. The woman Kate sits next to, Moira (Elizabeth McGovern) asks her how long she was "in", but Kate replies she doesn't know. Kate and Moira briefly exchange reasons why they were imprisoned and we learn that Moria is lesbian, an offense which could mean being sent to the colonies, but as Moira puts it "They don't send you to the colonies if your ovaries are still jumping." The bus stops at a convent, where several nuns are forced to board as they plea with the guards that they "can't make me break my vows."At the Red Center, 3 bodies hang from the wall for crimes unexplained: one handmaid and two men. Inside the Center (which is really a converted school), the fertile women are preparing for bed in the old gymnasium by singing a hymn ending with the words "leave us empty to be filled." The women pray for God to make them fruitful, and one of the women resists by throwing her cot at one of the Aunts. She is dragged from the room screaming while the rest of the women continue the prayer. Once in bed, the women are constantly watched by cameras and patrolling Aunts. They quietly whisper their names and Kate has a flashback to the last time she saw her daughter. The next morning at breakfast the women are given a cup of pills, but Moira encourages Kate to dump the pills down her sleeve rather than take them. Later, they are banded with metal bracelets with a bar code on them. The women are given "history" lessons of their country. Aunt Lydia explains that the air was too full of chemicals and as a result only 1% of women can still bear children and those who choose not to were "lazy women, sluts". The next scene is night in the gym again, and two aunts approach the cot of a woman and escort her out. The following morning at breakfast, her screams are heard as she is led into the dining hall. Kate sees that her feet have been badly beaten (in the book it was explained that this beating was done with metal cables). Aunt Lydia says that she "hate(s) to punish her, but she abused her body." It is implied that this women masturbated, because Aunt Lydia explains that "men can't help it, but we are different. We have self control." Kate is riding in the back of a car with Aunt Lydia through the city to a potential Handmaid assignment. Aunt Lydia explains that Kate should not think of herself as equal to a Wife and it would be a great honor if she is chosen. A truck full of blacks drives past, offering a Holocaust-like scene of the rounding-up of "filthy" people. Kate is introduced to Serena Joy (Fey Dunaway) who explains the relationship between Wives and Handmaids. Serena tells Kate that she has to truly want to have a baby in order for the situation to work and that they "could help each other."Back at the Red Center, the women engage in a cruel pseudo-therapy session. Aunt Lydia asks Janine (Traci Lind) to explain why the past was horrible. Janine recounts a story of how she was gang raped at a party at the age of 14 and had an abortion as a result. The women gasp in shock/ horror at the thought of an abortion and Janine explains that "it wasn't my fault, my mother wouldn't let me have the baby." It is evident that the women have already been at least partially brainwashed to believing the Republic of Gildead's philosophy on pregnancy and abortion. The Aunts ask the group of women who's fault it really was, and who led the boys on to which they respond "her fault!" and "she did!". Those few in the group who are not already adamant in assigning blame to Janine (including Kate and Moira) are prodded until they agree. At the end of the session Janine breaks down into tears and says she "didn't mean to do it" and that she "deserves the pain." Kate observes that she's "going crazy" and Moira says they're "in a loony bin."Kate and Moira meet in the bathroom, where Moira reveals she has a plan to escape by pretending to be sick and bribing the ambulance attendants with sexual favors. Kate and the other women receive their official Handmaid clothing: red dresses with black socks and a red veil. While they are dressing, Janine believes she is back in her old life as a waitress and keeps asking if anyone would like coffee. It isn't until Moira physically slaps her that she realizes where she actually is. At the church, the Handmaids stand while the Wives sit. The clergy man tell the Handmaids that they are going out to "fulfill their lives for the greater glory of God." He recounts the "widespread folly of womenkind" including "sexual promiscuity, widespread abortion, birth control, test tube babies, and genetic engineering" Moira turns around to look at Kate, then collapses to the floor, apparently unconscious. As the Handmaid's are covered with their red veils, the clergy man says "the Old Testament shall be our sole and only constitution." Here Kate has another flashback to the moment her husband was shot.In the car on the way to her placement, Kate makes eye contact with the Commander's driver, Nick (Aidan Quinn), though she is not supposed to look at other men. At the house, Kate is shown her room, and Serena explains that Kate's new name is Offred (Fred is the name of the Commander (Robert Duvall), so her name is "of Fred") In the room, the lower plates of window glass have been painted over, and the mirror in the bathroom is as well. Once again, Kate sees her daughter searching for her in the snow at the border.Kate and Serena watch the news while waiting of the Commander to come home. The news explains how the war is going, and that fertile women are the Republic's "most precious resource." The news anchor says "we are weeding our the traitors. We are weeding out the Godless. We are winning God's fight."The Commander arrives and performs the ceremony with Serena and Kate/Offred. He reads from the book of Genesis chapter 30. It is here that the true purpose of Handmaids is revealed; husbands have sex with them in an attempt to conceive where they could not with their own wives. Kate lies on a bed between Serena's legs while the Commander has sex with her. (The idea being that a husband is not being unfaithful to his wife if she is present) The actual sex is emotionless for the Commander, painful for Kate, and emotionally difficult for Serena.Once back in her room, Kate strips off her clothing and splashes water on herself in the bathroom. She climbs on a chair so that she can see out of the un-painted part of the window. Nick, who lives in the carriage house across the way, sees her naked body in the window and warns her to "get out of there."Kate goes shopping of the household with Ofglen who lives nearby. The food is purchased with ration cards, and Ofglen is excited to see oranges at the store. Apparently getting food from California and Florida is difficult due to rebel interference. On the street, a Wife and her pregnant Handmaid Ofwarren (formally known as Janine) are applauded.One night Kate finds it difficult to sleep and goes downstairs, where she find a pair of scissors in Serena's knitting basket. Just as she picks them up, Nick comes into the room. The two begin to kiss earnestly, but then Nick tell her that she is supposed to go to the Commander's office the next night and abruptly leaves. The next morning, Kate passes Nick as he is washing the car. He greets her pleasantly, but she doesn't say anything to her. Kate asks Ofglen what happened to the previous Offred, but Ofglen never met her.The Commander asks Serena how Kate is working out, and tells her that he wants her to be happy. That night, Nick escorts Kate to the study, where surprisingly the Commander explains that he only wants to get to know her better by playing Scrabble. It is revealed that Kate was a librarian in the time when women were still allowed to work. The Commander then says that he'll be gone for a week in which time Kate will return to the Red Center.Serena says she could find out what happened to Kate's daughter, under the implication that Kate successfully conceive. On the drive back to the Red Center, Kate and Nick make eye contact in the review mirror again. Kate is examined to see if she's pregnant and the doctor suggests that the Commander is sterile and offers his help to get her to conceive. It is also revealed that the ceremonies haven't been occurring during the time when Kate is most likely to get pregnant. She is told that she has one more month before she is up for reassessment.In the gym, Janine talks about her pregnancy (she is now called Ofwarren). Kate sees Moira, who's plan to escape didn't work. That night, Moira tells Aunt Lydia that one of the toilets is overflowing and she overpowers Aunt Lydia while Kate helps her steal her clothes and bind, gag, and blindfold her. Moira ties Aunt Lydia to a toilet puts on her clothing, and walks away. Aunt Lydia never actually saw Kate, so she isn't blamed for the kidnapping.Back at the Commander's house, Kate beats Fred at cards and he gives her Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazines. Kate is confused as to why the Commander has them, seeing as they're banned, but he says that he's "mature" enough as to not be "confused" by them. Kate asks him for lotion for her hands, and he agrees.
At the next ceremony, the Commander acts affectionate towards Kate, leading Serena to be suspicious. Kate later pleads with the Commander not to put her in danger, but he doesn't seem to care for her situation even though they've been spending time together. The Commander reveals that the last Handmaid couldn't conceive so she hung herself.Serena suggests that Kate try to have a baby with Nick. Kate goes to Nick's room above the carriage house that night, and they joke about how she's "come to do her duty for the fatherland." Nick kisses her and carries her to the bed where they undress each other and have, for lack of better words, far more passionate sex than the sex in the ceremony. Meanwhile, Serena watches an old video of herself singing on a television program. Kate tells Nick her real name (he only knew her as Offred).The next morning, Kate is in a happy mood for once. She greets the maid Rita (Lucile McIntyre) with "Good morning" and says "it's a beautiful day" rather than with an accepted Gilead greeting, as though having a normal (by our current society's standards) sexual encounter made her question other aspects in her new life. Her good mood is dimmed however, when she learns that her daughter is alive and well, but that she can never see her. That night, she goes to visit Nick and explains that she doesn't know what to do about her daughter, and he attempts to console her.Ofwarren is going into labor, so the birth mobile comes to take Kate and the rest of the Handmaid's to the birthing ceremony. At the ceremony, a band plays and the wives dance while the Handmaids do breathing exercises with Ofwarren. The wives talk rudely about the Handmaids, calling them tramps, and hoping the birth will hurry up because they "haven't got all night." Kate sees a group of young girls about her daughter's age and reveals to Ofglen that her daughter is "living with people like these." While Ofwarren gives birth, the Wife is sitting next to her and when the baby comes, the Wife hold Ofwarren down so that she can't see the baby. The Wife walks out of the birthing room with the baby while Ofwarren is left alone. Kate helps console her, as Ofwarren is clearly upset. Ofglen tells Kate that she isn't alone, and to study the Commander in order to find out more about him.Kate asks the Commander why he does what does, and he says that the country was in a mess because all the "garbage had risen to the top, blacks, homo, people on welfare, women. We had to clean it up because nobody knew how to feel anymore."The next scene is a "salvaging". A group of Handmaids get off a bus looking excited and walk towards a field in front of a church. The Wives and maids are there as well. A scaffold is across fro the church and the handmaids kneel next to a rope leading up to the scaffold. Aunt Lydia explains that the Handmaid on the scaffold has been found guilty of seduction and fornication with a member of the medical staff. A bag and then the noose is placed over the woman's neck and the Handmaid's pull on the rope, effectively killing her. The Wives and maids sitting in the bleachers nearby give a standing ovation. Aunt Lydia commands the Handmaids to form a circle and a badly beaten man is brought onto the field. Aunt Lydia explains that he raped the Handmaid, and the Handmaids become animal-like and literally tear the man apart. Neither Kate nor Ofglen take part, and Ofglen explains that the man was actually a political member of the rebel group. Ofwarren/ Janine walks by with blood on her face carrying a piece of the man's scalp. She has reverted to her waitress past once again, and tells the women to "Have a nice day." Ofglen reveals that she too is part of the political group and that Kate may be called on to kill the Commander.One night, the Commander gives Kate an old-time dress (seductive rather than religious) and a boa. He takes her to a club of sorts, where there is banned music and women dressed in far more seductive outfits than Kate's. The Commander orders drinks for Kate and himself (alcohol is supposed to banned as well). He says the women used to be professionals and that they chose to work as prostitutes rather than "the alternatives." Kate sees Moira and the two meet in the bathroom. Moira explains that she got caught at the border trying to escape and that she was given the choice of going to the colonies or working at the "club". She tries to pass it off that she doesn't find it there; free drugs, free booze, having sex with other women again, but Kate notices that Moira's left had is prosthetic. Moira explains that she was "worked over a little bit" and reminds Kate of Gilead's theory that women don't need their hands or feet. The Commander tells Kate that she's better as a "lucky ducky than a dead ducky." Then he takes Kate to a room where they have sex.Back at the house, Nick is mad with Kate for going with the Commander, but she explains that she didn't really have a choice. Kate tells him that she's pregnant with his child and begs him to run away with her, but he doesn't give her a straight answer. In her room, Kate finds a note that says "10 pm tomorrow" along with the switch blade, presumably from Ofglen. The next morning she finds that Ofglen has been replaced and she's not sure how to kill the Commander. Serena confronts Kate about the previous night because she finds the boa that Kate wore to the club. Kate knows Serena could have her sent to the colonies so she decides to go through with the plan of killing the Commander.Kate goes down to the Commander's study and begs him to help her, but he claims it's out of his hands. When he tries to kiss her, Kate slits his throat with the switch blade. As the Commander bleeds to death, Kate runs upstairs to her room but a van full of armed guards comes to the house. They escort Kate downstairs, but meet Serena in the hallway. She is slightly suspicious that they are they because she says she didn't call for them. Nick implies that Kate has killed the Commander and hauls her out of the house.In the van, he explains that the "guards" and he are actually part of Mayday, a rebel group. Nick removes Kate's tracking bracelet and tells her that the men will take her to a safe place. She wants him to come with her, but he says he has to stay. The scene cuts to a news broadcast, which explains that a 24 hour curfew is in effect and that door to door searches are being done to find the assassin (Kate).Several months later we see a very pregnant Kate living in a trailer in the mountains. Her voice over ends the movie "I don't know if this is the end for me or a new beginning but I'm safe here in the mountains held by the rebels. They bring me food and sometimes a message from Nick. And so I wait. I wait for my baby to be born into a different world. I still dream about Jill. About them telling her I don't exist. Or that I never existed. But I know we're going to find her. She will remember me."
    

The Handmaid's Tale

She's Having a Baby


            In December 1939, 19-year-old African American Bigger Thomas (Victor Love) wakes up and rouses his younger brother Buddy, sister Vera, and mother, Mrs. "Mama" Thomas (Oprah Winfrey), in their tenement bedroom on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. When Mama screams at a rat, Bigger pounds it with a skillet and drops the dead rodent off the back porch.Mama reminds Bigger that county welfare officials have set up a job appointment for him that afternoon with Mr. Henry Dalton (John McMartin), a wealthy white man. After leaving his home, Bigger meets his friend, Gus (Willard E. Pugh), and as they walk, Bigger's girl friend, Bessie Mears (Akosua Busia), asks why he did not visit her the other day. A passing car splashes Bigger with dirty water, and he laments that something awful is going to happen.At a pool hall, Bigger, Gus, Jack, and G. H. discuss robbing a white storekeeper and agree to meet at three in the afternoon. Bigger sneaks into his apartment to get a pistol, then joins his friends at a movie theater to watch a high-society comedy called 'My Man Godfrey'. They wonder if white folks really live like that. Returning to the pool hall, Bigger fights Gus for being late and blames him for having to postpone the robbery.Bigger takes Chicago's elevated train to Henry Dalton's mansion. Peggy (Geraldine Page), the Daltons' Irish housekeeper, ushers him into the living room, where Henry Dalton and his blind wife, Elaine (Caroll Baker), greet him. Asked how far he went in school, Bigger admits he has only an eighth-grade education. Elaine hopes he can return to school while he works there. Peggy feeds Bigger and tells him the Daltons are generous, liberal employers. Their daughter, Mary (Elizabeth McGovern), has just returned from Europe, Peggy informs him, and worries her parents because she hangs around with Communists. Peggy shows Bigger how the furnace works and how he needs to regularly remove ashes. Bigger puts his gun under the mattress of the bed in his new room.Later, dressed in a chauffeur's uniform, Bigger drives Mary to her school, but Mary instructs him to take her downtown instead and asks him not to tell her parents, because she is on the "same side" as Bigger. Mary introduces Bigger to her boyfriend, Jan Erlone (Matt Dillion), a local left-wing activist who demands to drive the car and show Bigger they are social equals. The two privileged white teenagers talk about a coming revolution, and act as if Bigger is in collusion with them. They browbeat him into taking them to Ernie's Kitchen Shack in the black section of town, where the black staff and clientele are dismayed by the presence of white people, and Bigger is embarrassed. When Bessie Mears enters, Bigger ignores her. As he reluctantly answers questions about his life, Mary and Jan are shocked that nobody was punished for his father's lynching in the Deep South 12 years earlier.On the way home, Jan and Mary drunkenly sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." When Bigger drops Jan at a train station, the young man gives him Communist pamphlets. By the time Bigger returns to the Dalton mansion, Mary has to be carried to her room. As Bigger lays her on her bed, she clings to him. Suddenly Elaine Dalton enters the room, calling to Mary. Bigger places a pillow over Mary's face to quiet her until her blind mother leaves, but when he removes the pillow, Mary is dead. Aware that he will not receive justice for this, Bigger carries her body to the basement and burns it in the furnace, then walks to the train station and goes home to tell his happy mother he got the job.Returning to the Dalton home in the early morning, Bigger finds Peggy in the basement, ready to put coal in the furnace, so he volunteers to do it instead. Peggy tells Bigger he has to take Mary to the train station for her trip to Detroit, Michigan. Bigger hurries to his room, vomits, and hides Jan's Communist pamphlets in a drawer. Though Peggy cannot find Mary in her room, she tells Bigger to drive her trunk to the station, and then he can take the day off. Bigger returns to his neighborhood and visits Bessie's apartment. She is angry that he ignored her at Ernie's, and hints at her fears about his angry outbursts.Later, at the Dalton house, Peggy instructs Bigger to retrieve the trunk he left at the station because Mary never arrived in Detroit. In the basement, Mr. Dalton introduces Bigger to Mr. Britton, a private investigator. Britton asks Bigger when he took Mary to school, then smashes a piece of wood against his chair when he fails to speak up. Bigger confesses that Mary ordered him to drive to the Labor Defenders office on Lake Street to pick up her boyfriend Jan. After driving around, they got drunk at a place on the South Side and Bigger took them home around 2:00 a.m.Later, the detective brings Jan Erlone to Bigger's room. Jan admits being with Mary, but says they were not drunk, and he did not bring her home. Henry Dalton offers to pay Jan for information about Mary's whereabouts, but the young man walks out. After the others leave, Bigger gets his pistol and walks to the station, but Jan stops him on the way and asks what Dalton and Britton said to make Bigger turn against him. Bigger draws his gun and tells Jan to leave him alone.Bigger runs to Bessie's apartment and prints a ransom note to let the Daltons know Mary is safe. Bigger slides the note under the Daltons' front door. Peggy finds the note and gives it to Mr. Dalton, who gathers several reporters in the basement for a press conference. Peggy informs Bigger he needs to clean the furnace because the house is getting cold, but when he opens the furnace, it is choked from ashes and smoke pours out. The reporters find bones and an earring inside, and Bigger flees the house.On the street, he hears radio reports that police are combing the South Side for a Negro "rapist" and murderer. Fleeing to a rooftop, Bigger is trapped by vigilantes, knocked off a water tower by a fireman's hose, and thrown in jail. After several days, Jan Erlone visits Bigger's cell and asks why he killed Mary. Jan admits having no idea how socially "far apart" they were when he and Mary forced themselves on him. Jan offers to introduce Bigger to Max (John Karlen), an attorney friend from the pro-Marxist Labor Defenders who wants to represent him in court. Then, the racist assistant district attorney Buckley (David Rasche) enters the cell to tell Bigger he has enough evidence to put him in "a dozen electric chairs."At the inquest, the Daltons ask Bigger to confess who helped him kill Mary. Mama gives Bigger a crucifix and begs him to "go to God." She humiliates Bigger by kneeling and pleading with the Daltons to stop the law from killing her boy. Buckley tries to soften Bigger by telling him he knows how it feels to be a "colored man" cut off from society, but when the assistant district attorney mentions rape, Bigger yells that he did not rape Mary. Bigger insists that Jan had nothing to do with killing Mary or writing the ransom note. At night, a lynch mob of white men outside Bigger's jail burn a cross and scream racial slurs.The next morning, Max enters Bigger's cell and asks about the murder, Bigger explains that Mary's death was an accident and he did not rape her. However, he admits to hating the rich young woman because she presumed to be his friend. Max tries to explain that Mary was naive and innocent. Max explains that all Bigger had to do was let Mrs. Dalton know at the time that he was bringing Mary to her room, but Bigger claims he was "dead" the moment he stepped into that room.During the trial, the district attorney tries to implicate Jan by saying his Communist pamphlets inspired Bigger to rape and kill Mary. In her testimony, the racist Peggy blames Mama Thomas for improperly raising her son. In his testimony, Bigger tells Max in open court that he blames society for the way it treats Negroes. During a break in the trial, Jan privately apologizes to Bigger for patronizing him and not appreciating who he really was. Predictably, Bigger is found guilty of murder by the racist all-white jury and immediately is sentenced to death.A few days later, Max pays Bigger a visit to his cell on Death Row where he thanks Max for treating him like a man and a human being. Bigger claims he now sees himself and others as they are, and knows the racist white people who convicted him hated him as much as he hated them. Bigger feels all right now, because he understands and no longer afraid of death. He asks Max to let Mama know he did not cry, and to tell Jan "hello". Max leaves the condemned man's cell.
    

Elizabeth McGovern

Elizabeth McGovern Movies or Tv Shows (upto Dec 2024) - Watch Online

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