父愛,不像母愛般溫柔,也不及母愛般細(xì)膩,但是這平凡樸素的愛就如山一般深邃而內(nèi)斂。本期《影視派對(duì)》即將講述的就是關(guān)于父愛的故事。
漢克是一名律師,為了賺錢,時(shí)常鉆法律漏洞給罪犯開脫。他的父親,帕爾瑪法官,在印第安納州供職42年,兢兢業(yè)業(yè)。母親的離世使?jié)h克回到家鄉(xiāng),卻不料父親卷入一場(chǎng)謀殺案中。在尋找事實(shí)真相為父親辯護(hù)之時(shí),漢克終于明白了他與父親疏離的原因,二人重修于好。
Palmer法官在妻子葬禮當(dāng)晚卷入了一場(chǎng)交通事故中,但他完全想不起來自己曾經(jīng)撞車。警方調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)受害人正是20年前被Palmer審判入獄的Mark Blackwell,是巧合還是蓄意謀殺?
Dale Palmer:Why were those people so mad? She spit on the window.
Glen Palmer:Look, Dads a judge, you know. Its, sometimes he has to make difficult decisions.
Hank Palmer:There was a girl.
Dale:What, what was her name?
Hank:Hope Stevens. There was a guy, Mark Blackwell, was his senior, like Glen. Hope was his girlfriend, just turned 16. He took a 38 to her house, shot the place up…
Glen:Can we talk about something else?
Dale:I dont get it. Why…why…
Judge Palmer:He shot out at her bedroom windows, angry over whatever kids get angry about when theyve been dating for…what? 6 months? Now you listen to me. He stood in court and wept like a lost child, said he was drunk, would never do it again. If he meant to hurt her, he would have. I believed him! I believed him. I believed him. I gave him the minimum, 30 days. I remember the morning he got out, Glen and I were in the backyard, tinkling with his breaking ball. But uh…God help us, while we did that…
Hank:Blackwell drug her down to a spill pond…
Glen:Its about 50 yards behind her house. He hauled her into 2 feet of water. He kneeled on her chest until he drowned her. Dad gave him 20 years, he got out in April.
Hank:Body recovered there. Figure the impact right here. The police report has him on a bike?
Judge Palmer: Yeah. I dont see any skid marks.
Hank:OK, hey, here it is. Lawyer to client. Did you recognize Blackwell?
Judge Palmer:I dont remember…
Hank:No, no, no.
Judge Palmer:I cant have.
Hank:Cant have?
Judge Palmer:Yeah.
Hank:Stick with that. Look, we both know you didnt intentionally hit him, right? But thats the way theyre gonna intentionally spin it. I mean, a few shots of Jack, just the right amount of axe to grind, thats what I thought…but you havent been drinking, have you?
Judge Palmer:No. Nope.
Hank:Are you sick, pop?
Judge Palmer:You might say Im sick, yes. Yeah, cancer in my plumbing…colon. Few more chemo sessions, itll be in…in uh…remission. Nothing I cant handle, nobody knows. Your mother knew, thats all.
Hank:They need attempt for murder, thats our case. We build on a diminished ability for defense due to the chemo. If we can gain some sympathy from the jury, theyd never convict you.
Judge Palmer:But wait, hold on.
Hank:Native son, public servant, for over 40 years.
Judge Palmer:No, back up. Back up! Look what that does to all the cases Ive heard for the last year.
Hank:Youve had this a year?
Judge Palmer:Everybody I sentenced will challenge the ruling.
Hank:Strangers? Who gives a shit? Youre gonna die in prison!
Judge Palmer:Id rather die in prison than be remembered like that.
Hank:Oh, boy.
Judge Palmer:An incompetent old man on the stand. No.
Hank:Oh, Im not letting you anywhere near the stand.
Judge Palmer:Now, listen, listen to me. Ulysiss S. Grant held this country together. Now whats he remembered for? Being a drunk! Ronald Reagan oversaw the fall of the Berlin Wall that ended the cold war, but any discussion of his legacy ends with jellybeans, naps and Alzheimers.
Hank:Reagan?Wow, with all due, Im gonna say this as professionally and gently as I possibly can: youre a civil servant in a corn belt, Bible-banging back-water. Nobody…nobody gives a rats ass about your legacy!
Judge Palmer:But I do, son, I do. I sat on the bench in that courtroom for 42 years. People in this community trust me. They trust the law. Now this…this accident is a legal iron ball Henry. You cant screw it up. So dont.
Dwight Dickham:10 years, hell do 7.
Hank:Insufficient evidence.
Dickham:Offer expires when you walk out that door.
Hank:Pack it up. Do you want me to fly you?
Dickham:Im glad to see youre on your game.
Hank:I like you too, but Im so bored.
Dickham:I have intent now! Premeditation. Ill paint your father as a “holier than thou” prick determined to see what he considers justice served.
Hank:My father is a “holier than thou” prick determined to see what he considers justice served. So its going to be a light day.
Dickham:Thats funny. I guess I cant fault you for not remembering me. I was just second chair for the prosecution. You defended that Milwaukee beer barons kid, the one that went slumming in Gary. 40 million in the bank, one dead prostitute. Yep. My god, youre good. Best verdict money can buy.
Hank:Everybody wants Atticus Finch until theres a dead hooker in a hot tub.
Dickham:Theres your bumper sticker.
Hank:So, in a nutshell, Youre following me down here to settle a score?
Dickham:Oh, good lord. No. I followed you down here because I knew if I didnt, it was likely somebody was gonna get away with murder.
Hank:My father is a lot of many unpleasant things but murder is not one of them.
Dickham:But he is a liar. Weve established that. A liar who thinks he can operate under the color of the law just like his son. Youre a shined up wooden nickel, Mr. Palmer. A bully with a big bag of tricks. But unlike you, I have one simple belief, that the law is the only thing capable of making people equal. Now, you may think Mark Blackwell was white trash and he may very well have been, but in the eyes of the state, his life matters. Im going to impale your client on a first degree murder charge and you get a front row seat.
Hank:Ill ask you again, undergoing any medical treatment? Yes or no?
Judge Palmer:Chemotherapy.
Hank:For how long?
Judge Palmer:6 months.
Hank:Chemo? Thats cancer?
Judge Palmer:Yes.
Hank:Prognosis?
Judge Palmer:Its advanced.
Hank:Did your doctor caution you against the potential side effects of chemotherapy?
Judge Palmer:Yes, he did.
Hank:What are they?
Judge Palmer:Nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite…
Hank:Delusions, fits of anger?
Judge Palmer:Yes.
Hank:Depression, memory loss?
Judge Palmer:No. But none of that applies to me.
Hank:Really? What would happen to all the cases youve presided over in the last 6 months if it were determined that your mental actuality was diminished?
Dickham:Objection! Counselor is trying to prejudice the jury.
Judge:Overruled.
Hank:All those trials, they would be declared mistrials, would they not?
Judge Palmer:Potentially, yes.
Hank:A stain on your reputation. Youd do anything to avoid that, would you not?
Judge Palmer:No, no, no! No, no…
Hank:Then, why dont you remember seeing Blackwell that night?
Judge Palmer:I remember him. I just dont recall, uh…h(huán)itting him.
Hank:What do you remember?
Judge Palmer:I remember he, er, opened his disgusting mouth.
Hank:What could he have possibly said?
Mark Blackwell: Hey, Judge. Sorry to hear about your wife. You know, seeing her buried no more than 15 feet from Hope, Im not gonna have to walk too far to piss on both graves.
C.P.:He got him.
Hank:No, doesnt add up. I dont buy it. It cant be the first time someones insulted you. Its your job. Why did you go easy on him the first time? Of all the judges in Indiana, the one with the tightest…You gave him 30 days. He threatened her, discharged a firearm at her residence. Thats 6 months, a year, easy. What was your reasoning? 180 days, thats solid, maybe to cool it off. Maybe he doesnt kill Hope, maybe well not here. Of all the years you sat on that bench, all the people that stood before you, the leniency, the understanding, the free ride, goes to Mark Blackwell? How do you explain that lapse in judgment?
Judge Palmer:I looked at him and saw you. The same willful disobedience, same recklessness. I looked at him and saw my middle son, my little boy, my little boy. I watched him cry right there. I wanted to put my arms around him and tell him it didnt have to be like this. I wanted someone to help him, like Id want someone to help my boy…if hed lost his way. It was my chance to be that someone, is that so much to ask? Maybe so, maybe so.
Hank:I have memories of us. You and me. Then I dont. How come? Why?
Judge Palmer:Why? Why? I looked at you and saw him.
戴爾·帕爾默:這些人為什么這么生氣?她往車窗上吐痰。
格倫·帕爾默:注意,爸爸是一名法官,你知道吧。有時(shí)候他必須作出艱難的抉擇。
漢克·帕爾默:有一個(gè)女孩。
戴爾:她叫什么?
漢克:霍普·斯蒂芬斯。還有一個(gè)人叫馬克·布萊克韋爾,比你大,和格倫一般年紀(jì)?;羝帐撬呐笥?,剛滿16歲。他拿著一把點(diǎn)三八口徑手槍到她的住處開槍……
格倫:我們能聊些別的嗎?
戴爾:我不明白為什么……為什么……
帕爾默法官:他朝她臥室的窗戶開槍了,氣急敗壞,那時(shí)他們約會(huì)了……多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間?6個(gè)月?現(xiàn)在聽我說。他站在法庭上,哭得像個(gè)迷失的孩子,說他喝醉了,以后再也不會(huì)發(fā)生這樣的事情。如果他有意要傷害她,他早已這么做了。我相信了他!我相信了他。我相信了他。我判了他最短刑期,入獄30天。我記得他出獄那天早上,格倫和我在后院研究著他的變化球。但是,呃……上帝,他為什么要那么做?
漢克:布萊克韋爾把她扔下污水池。
格倫:在她家后面大概50碼的位置。他把她拖入2英尺深的水里,用膝蓋頂住她的胸口直到她溺死。爸爸判了他入獄20年,4月他剛出獄。
Palmer法官聘請(qǐng)了蹩腳律師C.P.為自己辯護(hù),不料遭到兒子Hank的強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)。在調(diào)查庭上,C.P.的表現(xiàn)不佳,Palmer法官終于同意讓Hank為自己辯護(hù)。為了尋找真相,父子倆來到事故現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。
漢克:尸體在那兒發(fā)現(xiàn)的。估計(jì)在這兒撞的車。警方報(bào)告顯示他當(dāng)時(shí)正在騎自行車?
帕爾默法官:是的。我看不到任何車輪打滑的痕跡。
漢克:好的,嘿,聽著,律師和委托人的對(duì)話。你認(rèn)出布萊克韋爾了嗎?
帕爾默法官:我不記得了……
漢克:不,不,不。
帕爾默法官:我應(yīng)該沒認(rèn)出來。
漢克:應(yīng)該沒認(rèn)出?
帕爾默法官:是的。
漢克:咬住那一點(diǎn)。聽著,我們倆都知道你不是故意撞到他的,對(duì)嗎?但是他們會(huì)用此來擾亂視聽,我的意思是,幾杯威士忌(Jack即Jack Daniels,是世界知名的美國(guó)威士忌酒品牌),加上懷有私心,我本來就是那么想的……但是你一直沒喝酒,對(duì)嗎?
帕爾默法官:沒有。
漢克:你生病了嗎,爸爸?
帕爾默法官:你可以說我生病了,是的。是的,癌癥,在結(jié)腸上。再經(jīng)過幾個(gè)療程的化療,病情就能……能,呃……得到緩解。沒什么是我不能解決的,沒人知道這件事,只有你媽媽知道,就是這樣。
漢克:他們需要?dú)⑷藙?dòng)機(jī),那就是我們的情況。我們可以說,因?yàn)榛煹木壒?,防御能力開始減弱。如果我們能博得陪審團(tuán)的同情,他們就永遠(yuǎn)無法給你定罪。
帕爾默法官:但是等等,打住。
漢克:本地人,做了40多年的公務(wù)員。
帕爾默法官:不,往回看。往回看!看看過去一年我審理的案件會(huì)變成什么樣。
漢克:你去年有嗎?
帕爾默法官:我判決的每一個(gè)人都將對(duì)裁決表示異議。
漢克:那些都是陌生人,誰在乎呢?你會(huì)死在監(jiān)獄里的!
帕爾默法官:我寧愿死在監(jiān)獄里,也不愿意被人們那樣記著。
漢克:哦,天啊。
帕爾默法官:說我是聽證席上一個(gè)不稱職的老人。不。
漢克:哦,我不會(huì)讓你淪落到聽證席的份兒上的。
帕爾默法官:現(xiàn)在,聽著,聽我說。尤利西斯·辛普森·格蘭特將這個(gè)國(guó)家團(tuán)結(jié)在一起,現(xiàn)在他在人們心中是個(gè)怎樣的人呢?一個(gè)酒鬼!羅納德·里根永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)想到柏林墻的倒塌會(huì)導(dǎo)致冷戰(zhàn)的結(jié)束,但是最終留下的關(guān)于他的討論無外乎里根糖、打盹和老年癡呆癥。
漢克:里根?哇,恕我直言,我會(huì)盡可能以專業(yè)并平靜的口氣這樣形容你,你是在玉米種植帶、有基督教信仰之爭(zhēng)的閉塞之地的一個(gè)公務(wù)員。沒有人……根本沒有人在乎你的留名。
帕爾默法官:但是我在乎,兒子,我在乎。我坐在那把長(zhǎng)椅上,當(dāng)了42年的法官。這個(gè)社區(qū)的人們信任我。他們相信法律。現(xiàn)在這……這場(chǎng)事故是個(gè)實(shí)實(shí)在在的法律鐵球,亨利。你不能搞砸了。那就別搞砸了。
Hank從醫(yī)生處得知,父親已經(jīng)是癌癥晚期,已經(jīng)接受化療的他會(huì)伴有多種副作用反應(yīng),而記憶缺失就是其中之一。與此同時(shí),警方在調(diào)取監(jiān)控視頻時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn),Palmer法官并沒有說出真相。Hank在質(zhì)疑父親的同時(shí),又遭到了控方律師Dwight Dickham的挑釁。
德懷特·迪克漢姆:本該判10年的,我會(huì)讓他只坐7年牢。
漢克:證據(jù)不足。
迪克漢姆:你走出這扇門,就沒這好事兒了。
漢克:住嘴。你想我開飛機(jī)送你出去嗎?
迪克漢姆:很高興看到你接受挑戰(zhàn)。
漢克:我也喜歡你,但是我覺得這很無聊。
迪克漢姆:我現(xiàn)在知道殺人動(dòng)機(jī)了!是預(yù)謀,我會(huì)把你父親描述成假仁假義的混蛋,非得要看到他心中的正義得到伸張才罷休。
漢克:我父親就是個(gè)假仁假義的混蛋,非得要看到他心中的正義得到伸張才罷休。所以開庭那天你肯定挺清閑的。
迪克漢姆:你真逗。我想我不能怪你不記得我是誰了。我是起訴方的第二律師。你曾替密爾沃基啤酒大亨的孩子辯護(hù),那個(gè)在加里市探訪平民窟的孩子。銀行里有4000萬存款,一個(gè)死掉的妓女。天啊,你太厲害了,花錢能買到想要的審判。
漢克:人人都想成為阿提克斯·芬奇這樣的律師(Atticus Finch是小說《殺死一只知更鳥》的一名律師),直到在浴缸里發(fā)現(xiàn)了那個(gè)妓女的尸體。
迪克漢姆:這就是你車上保險(xiǎn)杠的貼紙口號(hào)吧。
漢克:那么,總而言之,你跟著我到這兒來就是為了報(bào)復(fù)我嗎?
迪克漢姆:哦,天啊。不。我跟著你到這兒來是因?yàn)槲抑?,如果我不這么做的話,很可能真正的殺人兇手又要逍遙法外了。
漢克:我父親做人很差勁,但是他不是殺人犯。
迪克漢姆:但他是個(gè)騙子。我們已經(jīng)證實(shí)了那一點(diǎn)。一位認(rèn)為自己可以把法律玩弄于股掌之間的騙子,就像他的兒子一樣。你沒什么本事,帕爾默先生,充其量不過是一個(gè)滿腦子花招的惡棍。但是和你不同,我有一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的信仰,那就是只有法律能讓人人平等。你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為馬克·布萊克韋爾是一個(gè)白人渣滓,他還活著的時(shí)候的確如此,但是在這個(gè)國(guó)家看來,他的性命至關(guān)重要。我會(huì)讓你的客戶背上一級(jí)謀殺的罪名,你就等著瞧好了。
Palmer法官突然想起了事故當(dāng)晚發(fā)生的事,在法庭上承認(rèn)了自己的犯罪事實(shí)。Hank無法接受,再次為父親辯護(hù),試圖以他的病情博得陪審團(tuán)的同情。在問詢中,他終于明白了父親為什么一直以來如此嚴(yán)苛地對(duì)待自己,也明白了父子倆為何漸行漸遠(yuǎn)。
漢克:我再問你一次,你是在接受藥物治療嗎?是,還是不是?
帕爾默法官:在接受化療。
漢克:多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了?
帕爾默法官:6個(gè)月了。
漢克:化療?那是癌癥嗎?
帕爾默法官:是的。
漢克:診斷結(jié)果是?
帕爾默法官:是晚期。
漢克:你的醫(yī)生是否提醒過你化療潛在的副作用?
帕爾默法官:是的,他說過。
漢克:有哪些呢?
帕爾默法官:惡心,疲憊,食欲不振……
漢克:產(chǎn)生錯(cuò)覺,容易動(dòng)怒?
帕爾默法官:是的。
漢克:抑郁,記憶喪失?
帕爾默法官:不,那些癥狀沒發(fā)生在我身上。
漢克:真的嗎?如果化療會(huì)使你的精神狀態(tài)出現(xiàn)衰弱,那么這對(duì)你過去6個(gè)月所審理的案件有何影響呢?
迪克漢姆:反對(duì)!辯方律師一直試圖使評(píng)審團(tuán)形成偏見。
法官:反對(duì)無效。
漢克:所有那些審判,都會(huì)被宣布錯(cuò)判,不是嗎?
帕爾默法官:有可能,是的。
漢克:這是你名譽(yù)上的一大污點(diǎn)。你會(huì)盡力避免那樣的情況發(fā)生,是嗎?
帕爾默法官:不,不,不!不,不……
漢克:那你為什么不記得那晚看到布萊克韋爾了?
帕爾默法官:我記得他,我只是回憶不起來,呃……我撞過他。
漢克:你記得什么?
帕爾默法官:我記得他,呃,張開那張惡心的嘴。
漢克:他大概說了些什么?
馬克·布萊克韋爾:嘿,法官。關(guān)于你妻子的事,請(qǐng)節(jié)哀。你知道吧??吹剿嵩陔x霍普不到15英尺遠(yuǎn)的地方。我就用不著走太遠(yuǎn)到兩個(gè)墓上撒尿了。
C.P.:他想起來了。
漢克:不,這不合情理。我不相信。這不可能是第一次有人侮辱你。這是你的工作。你第一次為什么對(duì)他如此輕判?你是印第安納州所有法官中最嚴(yán)厲的法官之一。你判了他30天。他恐嚇?biāo)谒淖∷_槍。應(yīng)該是6個(gè)月,或一年的刑期,這很容易判決,你的理由是什么?肯定應(yīng)判180天,或許他就能冷靜下來,或許他不會(huì)殺了霍普,或許我們也就不會(huì)在這里了。這么多年來,你坐在那個(gè)位置上,所有的人站在你面前,仁慈、諒解導(dǎo)致了你對(duì)馬克·布萊克韋爾的寬大為懷?你如何解釋你的判斷失誤呢?
帕爾默法官:我看著他,想到了你。一樣叛逆,一樣輕率。我看著他,想到了我第二個(gè)兒子,我的小兒子,我的好孩子。我看著他在那兒哭。我想伸出雙臂擁抱他,告訴他事情本不該如此。我希望有人能幫助他,就像我希望有人能幫助我的孩子一樣。如果他迷失了自我,我有可能成為那個(gè)幫助他的人,那很過分嗎?我不覺得,我不覺得。
漢克:我還記得我們之間的回憶,你和我,然后沒有了,怎么會(huì)這樣,為什么?
帕爾默法官:為什么?為什么?我看著你,就想到了他。