Man in My Basement, The (2025)

[bunniefuu]

You better get through some kind of work.

You ain't got no job.

So you ain't got no money.

You know the bank will throw your a*s out.

It's that third loan that you're in,

man.

You should've just sold this out years

ago, brother.

I've raised you... for a second.

You need a job, man.

You're also right in need.

So now, boy, you can check the house and

you can put it up.

Does he?

That's why I'm working.

He'll be here tomorrow.

Just go ask him.

I mean, maybe he'll make beats.

Maybe you're some kind of friend,

don't have work.

I mean, you've been living ok until now.

But they will take this house from you.

You'll end up like old mad

mosquito sleeping in somebody's

garage and yelling at birds

and even bae' old friends.

She's a tough nut, m*therf*cker.

How many times have I told you not to call

me that?

Charles.

Claire, baby.

Are you trying to tell me I'm worthy,

Claire?

Oh, Claire!

No, stop it!

What the f*ck is wrong with you?

Come at him!

f*ck you!

Look at me, Claire!

What the f*ck?

Yeah, f*ck you!

f*ck you!

f*ck you!

Okay, okay, Claire!

Let's go home!

Hey, back there, let me see you.

Hey, stop!

I'm good, I'm good, I'm good.

You lazy, ungrateful n*gga.

I hope they take your g*dd*mn house.

Ow.

Mr. Charles Blakey?

Yeah, yeah, I'm Blakey.

You have a stand-up basement, sir.

A basement where a man can stand fully

erect.

It also has electricity and running water.

Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Charles isn't for sale.

I'm only interested in renting.

What if someone's help?

I'm sorry, Mr. Charles isn't for sale.

Don't forget me.

Aniston Bennett, I'm from Greenwich,

Connecticut.

I haven't in mind to rent your basement

for a couple of months, Mr. Blakey.

Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Blakey, but this

house ain't for sale or for rent.

But I'm sure there's some realtors in town

that'll help you write out.

Maybe this is a bad time.

Why don't you give me a

call when you have a chance

to think about and maybe

discuss it with your wife?

I don't have a wife or a roommate.

Okay, I live alone and I like it like

that.

Thank you very much for your time,

Mr. Blakey.

Well, call me if you have a chance to hire

me.

Everything okay, Charles?

Yeah, everything's fine.

What's he selling?

A mask.

I'm not buying it.

What are you doing here?

I just want to talk to you good.

I was at Wilson Reiter's new site this

morning.

And he's got construction like coming out

of his a*s, but no job for me.

He looked at me like I was a piece of

sh*t, Charles.

We've all been searching our hearts to be

caught since your long guard.

But you have gone too far.

I am so tired.

I'm sorry.

What's that got to do with what I'm

talking about?

You're for real.

You got what you ask, Mom.

Charles?

Yeah?

A man from the bank's holding company was

here last week.

They've had an offer to buy your house and

reclaim their debt.

They came for the best.

Hey!

Hey!

Aunt Peaches, how you doing?

How?

How's the family?

Everybody's on.

Well, that's good.

That's good.

It's been a while since I've seen you,

Peaches.

So, um, I just wanted to ask you

something.

I don't really have time, Charles.

No, no, no, no.

It'll just take a minute.

So, look, I have to borrow some money for

something important on the house.

And, um, well, I kind of need,

uh...

$2,500 for the back noise.

And I'm looking for a job right now,

but ain't nobody really hiring,

so...

Why do you do this to me?

What am I doing to you?

What?

I know that, Peaches.

That's why I want to keep the house and the

family so you just let me borrow the money.

My mother's dead.

Leave her to f*ck her mama.

Uh, hey, Mr.

Bennett.

Um, this is Charles Blakey from SAG

Harbor.

Mrs. Little Neckwood, what are you doing

back here?

Gardening, Charles.

In my yard?

Well, that makes all this mess,

but I can't save your mom's roses.

You really need to prove it before the

frost sets in.

Anyway, I'm done.

I have to go and make dinner for Chastity.

Uh...

It's like a tomb down here.

My uncle used to say ghostly down here.

Like they'd rise up out their graves,

come in, play cards all night.

It turned out it's just a lot of sh*t.

Maybe I should just burn it up.

Whoa, I'm a man.

Man, this kid is anti-quality sh*t.

Okay, white people?

They spent $500 on a whole broke-down

chair in a minute.

Like a yard sale or something.

Sucka sh*t, man.

You mean to talk to a real antique dealer?

I mean, there are some in East Hampton,

but...

Well, now you might cheat you.

What would you know about it?

Well, last summer, I fixed up this one

sister's antique store.

I'll bet if we brought her out here to

take a look at this stuff, she'd broke

through with other dealers, and you could

make out.

What was it then?

10%.

Okay.

Part of that 10% is helping me move all

this sh*t upstairs, all right?

Mr. Blank here.

Hi, I'm Marissa Sully.

Hi, call me Charles.

Come in, please.

Thank you.

Here we are.

Can I just...

Yeah, thank you.

Oh, wow.

It's a really unusual pine cone design.

It's at least 150 years old.

You kidding?

You think it's worth anything?

It's certainly interesting.

The architecture is really unusual for

this side of town.

Yeah, my family has been there for

generations.

Oh, explains the size.

Must be one of the original whaling

families.

Do you know anything about your family

after?

Let's get a check on the 10%.

I don't even know what it is.

Hey, Mr. Sully, you're working good.

Can I have your phone real quick?

Yeah.

You know, I've never seen a deer skin

cushion before.

It's not deer.

No?

No, it's still a weasel, more likely.

You can tell from the white fur and the

belly.

It's just different seams.

Oh, do you hunt?

No, no, no, no.

My father, he taught me about the animals

around here.

Okay.

Could we maybe get a coffee after I've got

a chance to look at a few things here?

I want to talk to you about your options.

Uh, yeah, sure.

Absolutely sure.

Um... Could you just

give me a quick shot?

You know, why don't you go back,

uh, right here?

Ricky.

Ricky.

Get off the phone, man.

Hey, listen, let me call you back before

I'm okay.

All right.

Run.

Here I am trying to promote something and

you all up in my face, man.

I need some money, man.

For what?

I just want us to go for coffee.

Oh.

Oh, I did it.

No.

No, no, no, no.

It's not like that, man.

It's just if I can't pay, she might want

to take advantage of the deal.

I will give you 10% on it.

Charles, did you come here?

Is everything okay?

Yeah, I just, um... I wasn't expecting to

find any of this here.

Charles, your ancestors probably brought

these over from West Africa.

Guinea, maybe Lolly.

These would be the first of their kind

found in this part of the state.

And they would prove something I've been

saying for the longest time.

Just that our people were here for a

moment.

Are you okay?

Yeah, um...

I was just thinking I probably would have

thrown all this away if it was for Ricky.

Are you sure you're okay?

Yeah, yeah.

Um... I'm sorry, I just...

I don't know much about these things.

I'm just... My first time seeing

half of this stuff anyway, so...

If I'm honest, I just... I really just

need the money.

Yeah, sure.

Uh, the paintings that they have...

Any artistic value could go from pretty

high.

The furniture is arts and crafts and

earlier.

So the whole lot with

the exception of the

mass could go anywhere

between 40 and 100,000.

Probably closer to 40.

Damn, 40's for no one who should shake

hands.

Hey, yo, you okay?

Yeah, yeah.

Should we go grab that coffee?

Oh, no, I have a dinner thing.

Maybe sometime next week?

Okay.

Uh, yeah, sure.

Um... Uh, so how do we...

I mean, how do we do this?

I'll come by and photograph and annotate

everything, and I'll list them in the

appropriate newsletters, and just come and

pick the pieces up if they sell.

Assume I see some money.

Yeah, well, the antique dealers usually

take about three months to respond to

museums closer to night.

I should really go.

Sure, yeah.

Yeah.

And Charles, you should keep these close

to you, okay?

I'll show you.

Bye.

Thanks for coming.

Okay, Charles?

Yeah.

Bentonine, you want to come over tonight,

you know what I'm saying?

See your cousin staying.

You know my mom.

Okay, sure.

Great.

Good.

I'll be right back.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, baby.

I'm gonna get us something to eat,

and I'll see you later, brother.

Come and step back to me.

Oh, yeah, Mr. Bennett.

You're ready to rent me your basement.

Oh, well, I'm ready to talk about it.

Well, I'll pay you a thousand dollars.

What?

Did you say sixty-five thousand dollars?

Not ill*gal, right?

Um...

Uh, yeah.

So we have a deal, then.

Thank you.

I'll see you November 1st.

Get your boy!

You crazy, you know that?

They smell good.

I'm starving.

So you got Tommy?

Only from what Ricky told me.

You were tired and had to get upstairs and

go to sleep.

Uh-uh.

I'm paying to see you and these two

sausages, too.

Ricky always went into a real subjective

area.

Okay, alrighty.

Charles?

You awake?

Sorry.

What about you watching?

I just wanted to remind Ricky was

sleeping.

And I was thinking about you.

You know what?

And how come it's been so long since I saw

you last?

One thing after another.

What happened, Charles?

What do you mean?

Why are you still here?

You were here, too?

I used to walk up and down test this house

trying so hard to make you guys look.

I must have worn the damn hole in my shoes

after I found so hard.

You noticed?

When?

You noticed.

Why do you say anything?

Your mom kicked me off the lawn,

man.

I'm from you.

The cursing in here feels wrong, like part

of me still worries you might tell my dad.

I was just surprised when Ricky said you

were still here.

You know, I thought you'd be gone and

living off the rim.

And I had to take care of my uncle.

Yeah.

You heard that mean son of a b*tch,

too.

Thank God.

Sorry, I know I shouldn't say that.

None of you.

Right again.

He wasn't.

I don't see people much.

After Brent, I...

I just got stuck.

You can't leave?

I couldn't move.

We gonna go out for breakfast,

ladies?

Wanna come?

Yeah.

Just a second.

You want some Ricky?

Yeah?

Come over here for your basement.

You got some paperwork?

Just this.

Morning, Miss Little Nut.

How you doing?

Just a little too sick for me to smoke at

the house.

Climate... You're doing

my best now, okay?

I'm sorry, Charlie.

You are sorry.

You know what I mean?

You're just a sorry-a*s

mother-f*cking-town.

The bank has given you plenty of

opportunities to do that.

Shut up.

You know, you poisoned the whole f*cking

town against me, Tom.

You gonna die?

Regardless of what you think has happened.

The bank will have to propose on your

house.

And that's a substantial payment is paid

by the end of the week.

Mr. Reggie.

Mr. Bennett.

It's all here.

Um, I must have forgot those.

Not to worry.

I'll get them out of here.

In my apartment?

Uh, you?

Why don't you give us some glasses?

Okay.

How do you like it?

Why do you like it?

My dad used to say white men are so cold.

Take a bath in ice water, still take their

whiskey on the rocks.

You prefer it neat?

Yeah.

Your house?

I am, that's smooth.

I took it up in Osaka.

Say what you want, but there's nothing the

Japanese don't know about whiskey.

That's real.

Tell me about yourself, Mr. Reggie.

But you are not.

Whatever you're willing to give away.

Well, you know my name, and you know where

I live.

And that's what the most strangers know

about me.

How did you?

Come to be in Sag Harbor, Mr. Blakey.

I never left.

Oh, not really.

Your family here?

Yeah, they're all in the yard out back.

No Blakey's left a lot besides me.

You're looking at the last Bennett.

So I'm just curious, what is it exactly

that you do?

Reclamations.

Uh, suppose you know there are riches in

the ground under someone else's house.

And let's say diamonds.

Let's say you're the only one who knows

they're there.

Well, only you can realize their

extraction.

There is just a... No.

The diamonds only exist for the man who

has imagined them.

They only exist for the man who knows how

to and can realize their extraction.

That's where I come in.

I locate the wealth and acquire the

property that contains it.

And then I receive a stipend based on the

value of my reclamation.

So it belongs to someone else's opinion.

Took it.

We need a way to slice it.

It's just stealing.

Nowadays, it's called globalization,

outsourcing, the cost of doing business.

Speaking of which...

25,000.

That's really great.

Oh, uh, yeah, okay then.

I'll get started on these boxes.

Take the bottle.

It's a gift.

Okay, thanks.

Uh, Mr. Blanky, could I trouble you for

coffee in the morning?

Uh, sure.

Black, please.

Do you really need a blanket or something

just in case you need a rest?

Don't worry.

I don't sleep much.

We can check in this place for months and

it still smells like lilacs.

Why don't you sit down, Mr. Blanky?

I don't need to sit down.

Please, let's not.

No, no, you need to start explaining.

Can I get my coffee first?

You can come out of there and you can get

it yourself.

Please.

Just sit down.

I've rented your basement

because I intend to

be locked in this cage

for the next 65 days.

During that time, I will

need you to bring me my

meals and see the general

upkeep of the environment.

You want to be locked up?

Yes.

What the... I'm not your f*cking servant,

man.

This is weird.

It's really not.

Throughout history, there have been men who

have isolated themselves from the world.

They go to mountaintops and sit in caves,

meditating for months at a time.

They flagellate themselves and refrain

from having sex.

You paid to rent my basement?

No, I'm doing some S&M prison.

No, you... you tricked me.

I didn't.

You didn't ask.

You know as much as you needed to accept

my offer, nothing wrong with that.

Now, you come down of there right now.

Why?

Come on.

You stupid or something.

If the police came down here

and found a white man, locked

in my basement, they will

find a man willingly here.

Let me make a deal with you.

Let's go ahead, as planned.

And then, in two weeks, if you still want

me to go, I'm gone.

But, if you agree to let me stay, I will

double the final payment deal in cash.

What are you planning on doing down here,

man?

I'm just reading, thinking, maybe writing.

You can't just go to a hotel.

In my world, I'm pretty

well known, and some

people think I'm

important for their money.

I don't... this time is my own.

Yeah, okay, okay.

Thank you.

You used this to me.

Why should this?

You're a genius.

Mr. Breaking, could I trouble you to pass

me one of my books?

Which one, what?

The first volume of the story of

civilization.

You seem tense, Mr. Breaking.

My mother used to say, Ada was not even

new, I'm not a son.

She was right.

This right here is something new.

It's not so bad, is it?

I'm not the one locked in the freezer

basement.

Corbett, the spiritual journey.

You are renting a room and locking the

door.

That's all.

I'm just trying to set an example.

An example?

I mean, nobody know you down here,

right?

When I'm trying to make way.

Okay, well, you enjoy your spiritual

journey.

Charles?

Oh, hey.

Hey, you even allowed out the house,

man?

What are you doing here?

You don't need some books from the

basement.

Okay, what are you doing when you're done

with Charles, man?

Hey, uh... Claire said he

saw you at the train station.

Hey, uh...

Yeah, you had a crazy look of your arm,

man.

I don't know, I do think I got to get out

of here, man.

For good.

Will you use that arm?

Maybe.

I don't know, excuse me.

It's confusing.

Well, I want you to be confused about it.

You been to college, don't do a hard job.

How's Bethy?

Man, that girl got something cooking in

me, man.

Thinking about starting

some kind of serious

business, making a

life for myself, for us.

Bethy talking about wanting to move down

south.

Your family out in Atlanta, I want a

beauty bottle with a cousin.

I don't know about moving, but it feels

good when she's talking about us.

Will we throw in a party at Claire's place

in a couple of weeks?

Everyone around has called me and Raylene

is cooking.

You come, right?

I wasn't going to be a party without my

boy.

I'll let you already let down by then.

I will try.

I'll try.

Lawrence is coming.

Man, she knows something about you.

You just don't even see it.

Mr. Bennett, call me Aniston.

I think we're past from Amity's.

Okay, Aniston.

How you finding your state?

To be honest, it's not what I expected.

It's strange being locked up down here.

It's great for reading and drawing from

memories.

No sense of days passing other than when

you come down those stairs.

I don't know what's going on in the world.

I don't know about the Renaissance,

because it'll get happening this morning.

Well, maybe we'll be wondering about you.

Does anybody wonder about you,

Charles?

We all disappear sometimes, right?

We go to work down the street from bed.

It might take five minutes.

It might be overnight.

Sometimes you forget to call or have to

stay an extra day.

Sometimes you fall in love with someone

else or have an accident.

One day you just don't come back.

And people are worried at first.

They make calls to the police and

hospitals.

They live asleep.

Some people are so close to their loved

ones that they die without them.

But most of us don't.

Most of us adapt.

People die every day.

You aren't dead.

You're alive.

You aren't lost.

You're in a hole in the ground,

reading books and farting out cornflakes.

Touch.

Will he's a man to lock himself up for

fun?

This isn't fun.

Well, if it ain't fun, it sure is

expensive.

Money ceased being interesting to me a

long time ago.

Only people who got a lot of it can talk

about that.

And I sincerely hope you're enjoying

spending my money, Charles.

I mean it.

Have you ever been to Africa?

I have.

What are you making of this?

What did you get?

You've been in my family for a while.

I'm just trying to figure out where from,

what they mean.

Think of myself.

You've got a pocket knife.

You're welcome.

John.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey, it's just a... I just thought I'd

drive by.

That's a great suit.

It's my father's.

Why is the cut?

He had a lot of

them, so... For what?

No, no.

He was a butcher and a self-empty,

so...

I just... I think he wore them,

so he could feel good.

Maybe I...

Maybe I'll work as a young man.

Well, that's a good look.

I just made some coffee.

Do you want some?

Yes, sure.

Thank you.

I was actually meaning to call you today.

I can't stop reading those diary letters

in your house.

They're just incredible.

Real people's history.

They could be in an entire room.

They should be.

I've been studying these masks,

and...

It's almost like they've been...

It's almost like they're trying to tell me

something that I know, but I...

I don't forgot.

Sure.

No, I'm okay.

Thank you.

Well, I haven't learned much more about

them, unfortunately.

There's not much more in the diary.

I've had some feelings happen, so...

That's okay, because that's why I'm here.

Can I just put...

Yeah, I can, too.

Okay, thank you.

So...

I've been thinking about how my mom,

she...

She always used to talk about how her

family of people, they were never sl*ves.

Right.

And I just used to think it was just talk

about it, okay?

But...

What do you...

What do you think it means?

Sure.

You... You think maybe...

It means we can get some more money for

it, or...

I got a bit of a proposition for you.

So... All this stuff from

the basement, right?

The Blakeys, we have no family that's been

here since the start, right?

Most people here are just like me.

I mean, we look... We look at this

stuff and we think it's just junk, right?

So... What if...

You and I were...

Partners, right?

And... I got a car.

I got a car.

I could get a van, and then

we could like... I don't know.

We could drive around and offer our

services to folks around here,

and go through this stuff, and just cost

it.

And then we could take a cut.

You know, I think you would have been

better if you phoned it all away.

Um...

Because that way you wouldn't turn your

heritage into merchandise.

Well, I thought that you... Listen, I'll

let you know when the evaluations come back.

Thank you, Miss Northern Fire.

Excuse me.

Are you...

My friends thought you were...

I'm... I'm Aniston.

Aniston Bennett.

I'm in the import-export business.

What do you import?

That you need.

Where were you?

Caught you.

I'm in Shaptubov.

You can't leave me down here all day

without a meal.

That's not what I paid you for.

I was busy.

I should throw you out of here right now,

man.

f*ck your money.

That's big, given you've already spent it.

You know, if I want you out of here,

I will pay you back.

No need to get hated.

Everything's fine.

No.

No, no, everything is not fine.

You need to tell me why you're hiding down

here, man.

I need to be here.

Why?

Why?

It's not bullshitting, man.

I know you're some kind of...

I know you're some kind of criminal.

Is that why you're here?

Yes.

Are they looking for you?

No.

I swear.

Now, you've been trying to dress this sh*t

over me every which way.

But if you just down here hiding from the

law and they're about to come crashing

through my front door, so help me God,

I will drag your a*s out of here right now.

Charles, I swear by your

God that nobody, no arms

to the state is going to

come here looking for me.

And even if they were,

the hypocrites on our

benches will never stand

in judgment over me.

So what do you think you were above the

law, huh?

Not at all.

That's why I'm here.

Just tell me what you did.

You don't need to know that.

It won't help anything.

Next time, you pick up some p*ssy and kick

your drum out of here first.

How do you have to feed your dog?

My name's Jeff Love.

Can you bring me a new light bulb lighter?

And leave the light on when you go.

Can you put some clothes on, please?

Whatever you want.

I've been thinking about your masks.

Yeah?

They've been in your family long.

I got somebody looking into one.

That's funny.

How's it funny?

I'm down here trying to reflect on the

history of mankind in all these books.

You believe you can hold your history in

the palm of your hand.

What did it wear that easy?

It's not that easy.

It's really not.

Nothing in this world is free of

everything else.

Thank you.

Do you want to tell us how to bring you to

play?

Me?

No, I might get in the way of whiskey.

You need something?

You lose some weight?

He's getting in shape for his journey.

Who's what?

Charles says he's leaving for good,

man.

You gonna sell the house, man?

I can't sell my house.

You sure you can't know who I can't?

Well, I'm gonna go anywhere.

I'll go who you lose to me.

So who are you?

If he's staying, maybe you need to go for

him, man.

Get married.

I got some kids.

He has a rich coming

from the prison that was

reminding me I can't even

take care of my own self.

Okay, so you gonna go?

You can drive it.

You okay, Charles?

John Patterson.

You know, bank manager.

Mm-hmm.

He, uh... He told

everybody, uh...

I took money from my drawer.

What the f*ck, damn.

Yeah, well, I did it.

I took the money, and I'm

pretty sure he told Wilson

Ryder, and that's why

they didn't get the job.

And then I called my own peaches, and

she could help with the mortgage again.

She turned me down.

It's not cool, man.

There's already hair there, brother.

She's right, man.

I guess all this time, I just have been...

I tell her, good person, bad luck.

But that's not true, is it?

If you don't try to keep the house,

you won't smell.

Maybe on that moment,

you'll try too much.

Clarence.

Sorry if I haven't heard you, man.

It wasn't the whiskey I was...

It was a joke.

See, I'm going to have to ask you again

for my lifeboat.

Shut up.

Probation's over in two days, and then you

outta here.

I want to ask your money so you can keep

it.

We have a deal.

I changed my mind.

So you robbed a bank?

You, I changed my mind.

I haven't been a burden to you.

I don't want you here.

You wanna know why I'm really here?

My first job was as an accountant in

Tehran.

My employers, to test my loyalty,

brought me to a cell where a man was held

c*ptive, and they told

me to k*ll him, so I took the

g*n that they offered and

shot him in the left eye.

You shot a man just because they told you

to.

Absolutely.

I saw the pieces on the board.

They would've k*lled him anyway.

And that's... that's why you wanna be

here?

I don't want to be.

I need to be.

Did you shot that man?

Well, yeah.

Yes, that's part of it, a very small part.

But why here?

Why... why my house?

Was he black?

Oh, so you're telling me

that you are freezing in my

basement because you k*lled

some black man I ain't ever met?

Don't mark me, Charles.

This is a joke.

You are a f*cking joke.

Suppose I was crazy.

Suppose I hated white people and decided

to t*rture and k*ll you.

t*rture's hard work, Charles.

Most men don't have the stamina.

I see you now.

I see you.

You're just some crazy-a*s white man.

And I'm sick and tired of you expecting me

to jump like a trained f*cking monkey.

You getting your a*s out of here day after

tomorrow.

And you need the money.

Thirteen, though, about what I need.

I know you went to Sag Harbor High School.

Your father died in your sophomore year.

Your friends then and now are Clarence

Mayhew and Ricky Winkler.

You might have been nobody at all.

There was something on the football star

in high school.

And that brought you to an average college

where you stuck out three years.

Your mother's health

deteriorated and you came home

to take care of her, but

she died within months.

Her brother Brent was living with her.

He stayed on with you.

I suspect he wanted the house,

and I think you wouldn't let him have it.

You worked as a teller at Harvard Union

and embezzled $433 from your drawer.

It's hard to imagine that's a sum worth

losing your job and dignity for.

But I'm grateful so little was all it

took.

You're broke with no prospects.

And you've got a 68,000-ton of mortgage

hanging over your head, which might lose

you, your family, home.

That's why I offered a good price and

forced the bank to start foreclosure.

So you recently tried to take Miles?

Yes.

That's it.

Charles, don't be stupid.

You're insane.

You kicked me out, and the bank will

continue foreclosure.

I'm not afraid of you.

Has it ever turned to you that my being in

this cage is simply my physical situation?

The problem I present to you doesn't

change in or out.

Could you threaten me?

Could you pass me the first file you left

the Alexandria Court, then?

You say that you really need to be here.

I see how much you really mean it.

Tonight, you're the prisoner.

And I'm a m*therf*cking warden,

for real.

What are you doing?

It's horrible.

You can't leave me in the dark like that.

It hurts.

Everything is now privileged.

Food, water, books, and light.

I will ask you questions, and you will

answer them if you refuse.

Or if I don't like your answers,

the privilege will be taken away.

To what?

Because I want to.

Those are my rules.

And I'm in charge.

You do have one ring.

At any time, you can ask to be released.

And then 96 hours after that, I will open

that door and you can go.

Why?

Because those are my rules.

And you're not going to be the boss.

One conditional claim.

What's that?

I want to ask you one question for every

tree you ask me.

When you give your word, make your answer

honestly.

Why are you here?

I don't understand the question.

Why do you feel that you should be in a

cell in my basement?

Why do you feel you should be in a cage?

I'm a criminal.

But with those that you pronounce,

it's my turn.

When?

Charles, you made the rules.

Why am I here?

Why do I want to be here?

Why do I feel I should be in a cage?

Did you invest some money from our

reunion?

I took money from my drawer.

Are you an American citizen?

Yes, I am.

Were you born here?

Yes.

You have been convicted of a crime once.

Why are you here?

My father died when I was young.

My mother's brother, Brent, came to stay

and he...

ended up living here.

He got sick.

My mom got sick some after.

Came back to take care of her.

But she died pretty quickly.

And I took care of Brent.

But then he hung on to life like a leech

on a baby's a*s.

By the time he finally died, I got stuck.

That's it.

And now I'm down here taking care of you.

Your turn.

Do you have a boss?

Not anymore.

You ever m*rder*d anyone?

No.

That's it.

Four days of solitary.

Why?

Because you lied.

You told me that you m*rder*d that man.

No, I k*lled him.

Shot him.

Following orders from legal government

representatives.

I'm no more a m*rder*r than the state

executing a condemned man.

Are you a lawyer, Mr. Bennett?

No.

My turn.

Have you ever m*rder*d anyone?

No.

I got you.

Whatever you're saying, Mr. Warner.

I was putting out the trash.

Thought I'd come over, see if you were all

right.

Are you all right, Charles?

Things are coming.

I've never been here before.

Me either.

I want to just apologize for the other

day.

No, you don't have to do that.

No, I do.

I do.

Because I clearly upset you.

And I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Truthfully, it breaks my heart to see you

sell your family's history.

But I need to be professional.

Get you the best possible outcome for

their possessions, which I love.

Thank you.

Your shop is cool.

Thank you.

It was my aunt's place.

It's not exactly the

dream, but, you know, it

helps me to mortgage

while I write my book.

What's it about?

African American textiles, all the way

back to the 16th century.

Chopsticks are regular.

Chopsticks mean.

Yeah, chopsticks.

Uh, nurses, uh,

can I ask you a question?

Of course.

Were you in college?

Um, did they ever teach you about evil?

No, I mean, that's the date.

Okay.

No, no, no, no.

No, it's okay.

I can try again.

Yes.

Well, I had this one professor who said,

all the evil in the world is white.

Only white people?

Back then, I just thought he was trying to

impress us, but now...

Well, what changed?

I looked around more.

I don't think that's the world we're in,

I mean.

What would you say if

I m*rder*d your family

and then said the white

man made me do it?

I would say if evil is in a food

that you meet and the clothes

that you wear and the language

you speak, it becomes you.

But we can fight against it.

Oh.

However you can.

Africa is the history of people standing

up against pure evil.

But a lot of those people lost,

though, right?

That's an oversimplification.

Is it?

Yes, it is.

And somebody has to lose.

You think like that, we all lose.

Exactly, we all lose.

You put gas in your car, don't you?

But you think that you

get to live the easy life

while someone's somewhere

is suffering or dying?

Who's humming, Matilda?

Where did those guys come from?

Glad you're back.

I'm not done.

I'm impressed.

I got the next question.

Okay.

Let's continue.

How do you actually make your money?

Individuals, corporations, and sometimes

governments pay me to get obtained and

reclaim properties that are meaningful to

them.

Are these transactions legal or ill*gal?

Legality is slippery, maybe.

But answer me, or spend the next four days

in the dark.

The things I do are seen as ill*gal.

I summon this destiny to others.

Why'd you choose my house?

It's been pushing against your teeth since

I got down here.

It's a difficult question, Charles,

and there are multiple answers.

Sadly, I don't think you're going to like

any of them.

The first is the ancient and irrefutable

concept of the n*gg*r.

That's what we call you in our secret

moments.

Just before we hand out loans and awards

and life sentences.

We have created human mutants and cursed

them with names like boy and son.

From oversized genitals to tiny little

brains, we have repeated the curses so

often that most people,

even some of your own

people, believe in at

least part of the lies.

That's one reason.

I need to be incarcerated by someone with

black skin.

But why?

You?

Charles, you're so g*dd*mn pedestrian.

Why did I choose you?

You were having thing that I needed.

The perfect specimen.

A lonely black man no one would miss with

an enormous debt and a good sized basement.

A perfect example of the failure we've

made up your race.

I'll see you for days.

Don't stop on what you agreed.

Charles!

Oh, hi.

I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me

after our lunch.

Oh, no, no.

I think we both got a little heated.

Okay, good.

Great.

Ashley, because I wanted to ask you about

something.

And if I don't just work

out the nerve to do it,

I'm afraid I'll never do

it or we'll both regret it.

Would you be open to sponsoring a museum?

For what?

An African-American museum.

I haven't figured out all the logistics,

but I think it's the perfect solution.

We would use your

artifacts and my shop or even

here a couple days a

week if you'd be willing to it.

But most importantly, most importantly to

you we charge admission.

And I haven't decided

how much yet, and you

wouldn't make as much

as if you sold the pieces.

But this way, you could keep them and make

some money.

Your family's history needs to be shared.

The museum.

I wonder what secrets you think.

Jojo.

What?

There's Jojo.

There's Jojo.

That's what I'm calling it.

This icky look and do right here,

this leopard.

This is saying it because you've got his

mouth open.

So can I have my conversation,

please?

Well, pleasure to meet you all.

I don't know.

Whatever secrets they have, then I'll tell

them.

Sorry.

Why does it matter to you so much?

It's my sister.

Can we tell them?

I don't know.

Hi, guys.

I want to feel part of the world,

you know?

I've known my true place in it.

Hello.

I think, uh...

I think maybe that's what my mom would've

wanted, you know?

For the house.

My mom, for me.

Like a fox or something.

It's all for me.

Yeah, I don't know.

Don't chase it away.

It's, um... it's getting late.

Okay, yeah.

Yeah, we'll talk soon.

All right, well, good night.

Good, calm.

Thank you, Charles.

Now my time here has begun.

They came to me in the dark.

I remembered them all.

And I tell you, I'm a journalist.

I saved him.

But he committed suicide 18 months later.

A Jordanian man I tortured.

I threatened to k*ll his family if he

didn't give up his comrades.

He committed suicide too.

So I kept my word.

He k*lled his wife inside.

Stop.

You gotta go.

I can't leave.

A man once paid me to give a

nine-month-old girl to his dog.

He wanted to know if the dog's true nature

would kick in.

And he paid me a large sum to make it

happen.

Have you ever watched a child be torn

apart?

I don't believe you.

Nobody could do something like that.

Oh, give me the mother.

Yet, thirteen other children, all of them

starving.

The sale of one meant the survival of the

rest.

You bought a baby?

How many lives have you saved,

Charles?

I've saved thousands!

But the world exists without me.

A child would have died anyway.

It's the way of the world.

It's not a question of good or evil.

It's simple humanity.

What does it even mean?

Have you ever been listening?

In or out of this cage with a single word?

I could end your life.

Power like that.

You're a child, Charles.

You need to believe you're still doing

childless things, but you're not.

You're a man.

Flicking paint on others.

And now, you just have to admit you enjoy

it.

I'm sorry.

Please, please.

No, leave me down here.

But please, don't.

Please, not yet.

I need rest.

Give me my light up, Charles.

Give me another couple days of light.

Look out!

Isn't it beautiful?

Whoa!

Charles, man.

How you doing, brother?

Good.

Should we get the rain?

She did.

Mm-hmm.

Congratulations.

Glad you could come, man.

You okay?

Yeah, you need a drink?

I'm good.

Have yourself over there.

Charles.

Charles!

Where is that nasty?

So ugly, you don't want that monkey,

sir.

This is a little neck.

Uh, I know my mom used to make these pies

for you at Chastity's sometimes,

but,

uh...

You're gonna have to come in and give it

to her yourself.

It hasn't changed much.

You're a dust-seater, but he's still

living just fine.

Chastity?

Look what little Charles Blakey did.

I promise.

It's your favorite pie.

Come closer, Charles.

She can't see that far.

Isn't that nice?

Don't you recognize him?

Grab a reasonable way.

Better let her get some rest.

She hasn't had a guest in over three

years.

Okay, now.

Move!

Aah!

Aah!

What the hell are you doing?

A bad guy!

Will you go back in the dark?

Are you pretending we're still playing by

the rules?

Answer me!

Stop!

Stop!

Ask me!

Ask me!

Is there anything better to your real

name?

Don't do this.

Is it your real name?

Yes, no, stop.

Your birth name?

What was that name?

Timonosis.

I never knew my parents.

My mother's name was Murianosis.

On my birth certificate it says she was

Greek.

Unburied, my father was listed only as

Timon.

His nationality was Turkish.

I became Timonosis because my mother died

before she could give me a name.

My father was gone.

When I grew up, I named myself.

I gave myself power.

I chose Bennett from the British fan base

that came over on the Mayflower.

The descendants waged the Indian wars.

Claimed territories larger than most

states.

So you could be anybody.

You don't know if your father was Turkish.

She could have been Arab, Indian,

African.

My name is Aniston Bennett and I am as

white as the sun.

But you could be a n*gga too.

Your turn.

I don't want to play anymore.

Did you ever find out who your father was?

Haven't you had enough?

Tomorrow, please.

You want the light to read, but...

Thank you.

Meaning a book?

Please.

Your choice.

Hey.

You read this down in school.

Hey.

Have you read it before?

It's a big part of this town, man.

Not a long time.

I remember this is a part of the story

where...

The sailors are sitting on the boat eating

roasted well meat.

And there's sharks in the water.

And a frenzy because they're feeding on

the well carcass.

The sailors, they can't

enjoy their meal while

listening to the sound

of the sharks eating.

So they dragged a cook, black man,

as a joke, out of the kitchen.

And they tell him to go order the sharks

to stop eating.

So this cook, he starts preaching to the

sharks.

He's sermonizing like he's on top of a

mountain to get the sharks to stop eating.

And he told them that they could be

angels.

They just masked him down.

Maybe the cook was talking to himself.

I k*lled a man.

I let my uncle die.

I was left alone.

In this house, taking care of a man that I

hated my entire life.

So I stopped answering when he called.

Eventually, those calls became screams.

And I waited.

Until those screams that he ran up.

I never told anybody.

But that's how I ended up here.

That's how you forced your way into him.

Do you hate me, Charles?

Not any more than a hundred dollars.

Dear Charles, I'm sorry to skip out on our

last few days together.

I know you still have questions about us

both.

But there's some answers I have to take

with me.

I wasn't sure when I came to you if I

would die.

I've wanted to die for a long time.

But I had answers I needed to find first.

I hoped to find them among my books.

But they eluded me until you left me alone

in the dark.

In the dark, they all came back to me.

All the things I have done.

I could smell blood in the darkness.

And then I knew I had to die down here.

I was relieved I'd found the answer.

Watching you enjoy the

dark helped me realize

that like you, I am

a child of this world.

We're not so different, Charles.

We're both the decisions of those who came

before us.

I know you hate me for buying that child.

But I did think about saving her just for

a moment.

I think that's why she came to me in the

dark.

She's here with me, right now.

After all we've been through, all you did

to me and your uncle, do you really think

you would have done anything differently?

I've left letters for my business associates,

two friends, and my wifes and children.

Send them, please, so that the few people

who know me can mourn.

There's a red pill amongst my possessions.

It's fast, painless.

I leave it for you, in case this is your

last stop.

Maybe you'll finally try to make something

of yourself.

Maybe you'll just stay here and rot.

You can decide, either way.

Goodbye, Charles.

Good luck.