thing.
Â
STEVE
Do you want me to bring you some ginger ale?
Â
SYLVIA
Iâm telling you, Iâm so mad at that guy.
Â
STEVE
At who?
Â
SYLVIA
At that stinking brother of mine.
Â
STEVE
Because he died?
Â
SYLVIA
Because he died.
Â
EXT. IN FRONT OF MORRISâS BUILDING.
Â
IRV and WALTER are standing together outside the house . ANNA stands next to her father holding his coat .
Â
IRV
Iâm going back to Manhattan now, Walter, but I just want to know how youâre feeling.
WALTER
Iâm angry, Irv.
Â
IRV
What are you angry at?
Â
WALTER
Iâm angry at you, Irv. You donât give a shit about me or any of your old friends. You left the Bronx and became a big-shot psychiatrist. I know you look down on all of us. You never call to ask how Iâm doing. Then you call me out of the blue to say that Morris is dead. You wanna know why youâre such an asshole, Irv?
Â
IRV
Why?
Â
WALTER
Because youâre a snob and a phony. Youâre a phony, Irv. You donât give a shit about any of us and you didnât give a shit about Morris.
Â
IRV
Walter, I know youâre angry at me, and I know you think Iâve done some bad things and I probably have. But I also think youâre angry about something else.
Â
WALTER
Youâre right, Irv. Iâm angry at myself.
Â
IRV
Look, anytime you want to come to my office and talk, just give me a call. I always have time for you.
Â
EXT. THE STREET IN FRONT OF MORRISâS BUILDING.
Â
ANNA and IRV are walking down the block to the car where the rest of the family is waiting .
Â
ANNA
Pop, why did you let Walter yell at you like that? This is your friendâs funeral. People should be nice to you.
Â
IRV
So, I helped him out a little bit. He canât hurt me. He doesnât even know who he is.
Â
INT. IN THE CAR GOING BACK TO MANHATTAN. SUNSET ON THE BRIDGE.
Â
ANNA
Hey, Ma. You never told me that cousin Leon is gay.
Â
RUTH
Heâs not gay. Heâs lonely.
Â
ANNA
Oh, come on. Get over it, Ma. You think in the whole family Iâm the only one?
Â
IRV
Anna is right, Ruth. Plenty of lonely people are gay.
Â
ANNA
Thatâs not what I said. Stevie, tell them.
Â
STEVE
Donât drag me into it.
Â
ANNA
This is so predictable.
Â
RUTH
Did you see that expression on Hilda Friedmanâs face? I thought she was going to jump into the grave right after him.
Â
IRV
She was always in love with Morris. For thirty years they used to go out for breakfast together once a month. Even last Wednesday they went.
Â
STEVE
You two are always thinking about what other people are feeling. I just found out in therapy that most families donât talk like this.
Â
IRV
All Jewish families talk like this.
Â
STEVE
No they donât. Do you think the people in the other cars are saying, âPoor Irv, this must be so hard for him?â No, theyâre saying, âDid you see that dress she wore?â
Â
IRV
( Very angry. Suddenly out of control .)
No theyâre not. Theyâre all concerned. Theyâre all concerned about how the other one feels.
Â
BARB
Pop, be careful, youâll have a heart attack.
Â
IRV
What are you talking about? Donât tell me not to die. You donât die. You donât die.
Â
BARB
Itâs a deal.
Â
IRV
This is no time for jokes.
Â
END
Chapter Seven
When Anna went home at the end of the session, Doc took out his old manual typewriter and began to write up the case. Obviously she was angry at her family. But she tried to avoid it by being superior, by being detached from their prejudice. It all broke down, though, in the last scene in the car where Anna made herself vulnerable to her motherâs homophobia for the millionth time. Thatâs when she finally felt intimate.
Doc was more interested in Annaâs
Michelle Betham
Peter Handke
Cynthia Eden
Patrick Horne
Steven R. Burke
Nicola May
Shana Galen
Andrew Lane
Peggy Dulle
Elin Hilderbrand