Frances McDormand Quotes

Elaine Miller Look at this: an entire generation of Cinderellas and there's no glass slipper.

Guinevere Pettigrew You people, with your green drinks and your parties and your subterfuges! You're all playing at love. One minute her, the next minute someone else, flit, flit, flit! We'll, I'm not playing. Love is not a game.

Robbie Don't, don't!

Mildred Hayes Hey there! You know who threw that can?

Boy What can?

Mildred Hayes How about you, sweetheart? You know who threw that can?

Girl Uh, no, I didn't really see...

Robbie Thank you, Mom.

Mildred Hayes So how's it all going in the nigger-torturing business, Dixon?

Dixon It's "persons of color"-torturing business these days, if you want to know. And I didn't torture nobody. What's the matter with you, saying that goddamn stuff on TV? My momma watches that station.

Mildred Hayes Your momma doesn't know about the torturing?

Dixon No, she didn't know anything about it. She's against that kinda thing.

Willoughby Who's against what?

Dixon My momma is against persons-of-color-torturing. She said "nigger-torturing". I said, "You can't say nigger-torturing no more. You gotta say "persons-of-color"-torturing." Isn't that right, Chief? Isn't that right?

Fern We be the bitches of the badlands.

Mildred Hayes Hey, fuckhead!

Dixon What?

Desk Sergeant Don't say "what", Dixon. When she comes in calling you a fuckhead, and don't you come in here...

Mildred Hayes Shut up! You, get over here.

Dixon No! You, get over here.

Mildred Hayes Alright.

Desk Sergeant What? Don't, Dixon!

Dixon What? I'm...

Desk Sergeant You do not allow a member of the public to call you a fuckhead in the station house!

Dixon That's what I'm doing. I'm taking care of it in my own way, actually. Now get out of my ass! Mrs. Hayes, have a seat. What is it I can do for you today?

Mildred Hayes Where's Denise Watson?

Dixon Denise Watson's in the clank.

Mildred Hayes On what charge?

Dixon Possession.

Mildred Hayes Of what?

Dixon Two marijuana cigarettes. Big ones.

Mildred Hayes When's the bail hearing?

Dixon I asked the judge not to give her bail on account of her previous marijuana violations and the judge said sure.

Mildred Hayes You fucking prick!

Dixon You do not call an officer of the law a fucking prick in his own station-house, Mrs. Hayes. Or anywhere, actually.

Mildred Hayes What's with the new attitude, Dixon? Your momma been coaching ya?

Dixon No. My momma didn't do that. Take em down, you hear me?

Desk Sergeant You did good, Dixon.

Dixon Yeah, I know I did.

Dave Hey, find anything?

Fern ROCKS!

James You all right?

Mildred Hayes I think I wanna go home now. Don't give me any shit, James. I'll do it another night, alright?

James Why would I wanna do it another night, when you've been embarrassed to be here ever since we arrived.

Mildred Hayes For Christ sake. I didn't force you to come on this date, alright? You forced me.

James Forced you? I asked you on a date. Wow. You know, I know I'm not that much of a catch. I know I'm a dwarf who sells used cars and has a drinkin problem, I know that. But who the hell are you, ma'am? You're that billboard lady who never smiles, never has a good word to say about anybody, and who in evenin times set fuckin fire to police stations! And I'm the one whose not a catch.

Mildred Hayes Hey.

James You know, I didn't have to come and hold your ladder.

Mildred Hayes Whistle on what ya can and can't say on a billboard? I assume it's ya can't say nothing defamatory, and ya can't say "fuck" "piss" or "cunt". That right?

Red Welby Or... "anus".

Mildred Hayes Well, I think I'll be alright then.

Marge Gunderson Oh my. Where? Yeah? Aw geez. Okay, there in a jif. Real good, then.

Sara Gaskell You didn't happen to call our house last night, did you?

Grady Tripp I think I might have, yes.

Sara Gaskell What do you think you might have said?

Grady Tripp I think I might have said I was in love with you. He told you?

Sara Gaskell He told me.

Grady Tripp And what did you say?

Sara Gaskell I said it didn't sound like you.

Sara Gaskell Is that Cristalle?

Grady Tripp Mm.

Sara Gaskell My God, I wear the same scent as a transvestite.

Geoffrey I just wanted to say, there's a lot of good friends of Bill Willoughby in this town, Ms. Hayes...

Geoffrey Goddamn it!

Mildred Hayes Then why don't you tell those good friends of Bill Willoughby to tell him to go do his fucking job, fat boy?

Willoughby Hey there Mildred! You didn't happen to pay a visit to the dentist today, did you?

Mildred Hayes No.

Willoughby Uh...

Mildred Hayes I said no.

Willoughby Oh, so it wasn't you who drilled a little hole in one of big fat Geoffrey's big fat thumbnails, no?

Mildred Hayes Of course not.

Willoughby Huh?

Mildred Hayes I said, "Of course not".

Denise You drilled a hole in the dentist?

Mildred Hayes Denise, no, I didn't.

Willoughby Well, I thought it was kind of funny myself, but he wants to press charges, so we're gonna have to bring you in, I'm afraid.

Abby He's real careful. Fact is, he's anal.

Ray Huh?

Abby Yeah, he told me once himself. He said to me... "In here, Abby. In here... I'm anal.

Ray Well I'll be damned.

Abby I couldn't believe it either. Me on the other hand, I got lots of personality. Marty always said I had too much. Course he was never big on personality. He sent me to a psychiatrist to see if he could calm me down some.

Ray Yeah? What happened?

Abby Psychiatrist said I was the healthiest person he'd ever met, so Marty fired him.

Elaine Miller Rockstars have kidnapped my son.

Scarface Janz If we do not forgive these men, we give up our place in Heaven.

Miss Clavel Madeline!

Madeline Got ya.

Miss Clavel In an old ] in ] that was covered in ]s... lived 12 little girls... in two straight lines.

Miss Clavel Good night, little girls. Thank the Lord you are well. And now go to sleep.

Girls Good night, good night, Miss Clavel.

Miss Clavel Elizabeth, Veronica, Sylvette... Marie-Odile, Serena. Beatrice... Lucinda. Chantal, Lolo... Victorica, Aggie and Madeline. Amen. Something is not right.

Madeline My hat! Where's my hat?

Miss Clavel Girls, find Madeline hat!

Girl I'm a ].

Madeline Hello, Lord Cucuface!

Lord Covington What did you call me?

Helene Give me a Jack!

Miss Clavel Go fish.

Lady Covington When I was 9, on the baseboard in the dortoir, I carved my name.

Madeline You carved "Lady Covington"?

Lady Covington No. No, my name was Marie Gilbert. Marie Gilbert. See if it's still there.

Madeline Marie Gilbert.

Lord Covington Who gave you permission to be in here?

Madeline Nobody, Lord, um, Covington.

Lord Covington This is a hospital. It's not a playroom. You're not allowed to just wander around.

Madeline Yes, sir.

Miss Clavel Something is not right. What? What is it?

Girls We want our appendix out, too!

Miss Clavel Good night, little girls. Thank the Lord you are well. Now, please, go to sleep!

Girls Good night, good night, Miss Clavel.

Guinevere Pettigrew Your heart knows the truth, Delysia. Trust it, for life is short.

Abby Looks like the state legislature is out of session.

Meurice I thought this is where they met.

Sara Gaskell So. I guess we just divorce our spouses, marry each other, and have this baby, right? Simple.

Elaine Miller Anita?

Anita Miller Hi, Mom.

Elaine Miller You hungry? I made soy cutlets.

Anita Miller No thanks, I already ate.

Elaine Miller You've been kissing.

Anita Miller No I haven’t.

Elaine Miller Yes you have, I can tell.

Anita Miller You can’t tell.

Elaine Miller Not only can I tell I know who it is.

Elaine Miller Whatcha’ got under your coat?

Anita Miller It’s unfair we can’t listen to our own music.

Elaine Miller That is because it is about drugs and promiscuous sex.

Anita Miller Simon and Garfunkel is poetry.

Elaine Miller Yes, it is poetry about drugs and promiscuous sex. Honey, they’re on pot.

Anita Miller First it was butter, then sugar, white flour, bacon, eggs, bologna; then it was celebrating Christmas, on a day in September, when you knew it wouldn’t be commercialized. What else are you gonna ban?

Elaine Miller I am trying to give you the cliff notes on how to live life in this world.

Anita Miller We’re like nobody else I know!

Elaine Miller I’m a college professor, why can’t I teach my own kids. Use me.

Anita Miller Darrell says that you use knowledge to keep me down. He says that I’m a yes person and you are trying to raise us in a no environment!

Elaine Miller Well, clearly no is a word Darrell doesn’t hear often.

Anita Miller I can’t live here! I hate you, even William hates you!

William Miller I don’t hate her.

Anita Miller You do hate her; you don’t even know the truth.

Elaine Miller Honey, don’t be a drama queen.

Anita Miller Feck you!!

Elaine Miller Hey!!

Anita Miller This is a house of lies!

Elaine Miller There it is. Your sister used the F word.

William Miller I think she said feck.

Elaine Miller What’s the difference?

William Miller The letter U.

Dolly You know, when you were growing up, you were eccentric to other people. You maybe seemed weird, but it was just because you were braver and more honest than everybody else. And you could see me when I was hiding from everybody. And sometimes you could see me before I saw myself. I needed that in my life. And you are my sister. I would have loved having you around all these years. You left a big hole by leaving.

Fern That one's on me.

Ray Why d'you wanna leave all this?

Abby You kidding? I don't wanna leave all this, I just wanna leave Marty.

Willoughby Jason, Willoughby here. I'm dead now, sorry about that. There's something I wanted to say to you that I never really said when I was alive. I think you've got the makings of being a really good cop, Jason, and you know why? Because deep down, you're a decent man. I know you don't think I think that, but I do, dipshit. I do think you're too angry though, and I know it's all since your dad died and you had to go look after your mom and all, but as long as you hold on to so much hate, then I don't think you're ever going to become what I know you want to become - a detective. Cause you know what you need to become a detective? And I know you're gonna wince when I say this, but what you need to become a detective is love.

Mildred Hayes Fuck em.

Willoughby Because through love comes calm, and through calm comes thought. And you need thought to detect stuff sometimes, Jason. It's kinda all you need. You don't even need a gun. And you definitely don't need hate. Hate never solved nothing, but calm did. And thought did. Try it. Try it just for a change. No one'll think you're gay. And if they do, arrest em for homophobia! Won't they be surprised! Good luck to you, Jason. You're a decent man, and yeah, you've had a run of bad luck, but things are gonna change for you. I can feel it.

Guinevere Pettigrew Not everything comes along just when we want it. There are times when decisions just have to be made, or you certainly will miss out.

Carol I see that you have this ring. Are you married?

Fern I am, but my husband died.

Carol And so...

Fern I'm not gonna take that off.

Carol That ring is a circle and it never ends. And that means that your love never ends. And you may not be able to take it off, if you tried.

Fern I don't think I can.

Fern It's strange that you encourage people to invest their whole life savings, go into debt, just to buy a house they can't afford.

Elaine Miller Don't take drugs!

Abby He gave me a little pearl-handled .38 for out first anniversary.

Ray Uh-huh.

Abby Figured I'd better leave before I used it on him. I don't know how you can stand him.

Ray Well, I'm only an employee, I ain't married to him.

Angela Why are you never on my side, Robbie?

Robbie I'm always on your side when you're not being a cunt.

Angela, Mildred Hayes Hey!

Mildred Hayes There will be no more "cunts" in this house. You got that, mister?

Robbie What? Are you moving out?

Mildred Hayes My daughter Angela was murdered 7 months ago. It seems to me the police department is too busy torturing black folk to solve actual crimes.

Marge Gunderson So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it.

Marge Gunderson Ya got Arby's all over me.

Mildred Hayes Y'know what I was thinking about today? I was thinking bout those street gangs they had down in Los Angeles, those Crips and those Bloods? I was thinking about that buncha new laws they came up with, in the 1980's I think it was, to combat those street-gangs, those Crips and those Bloods. And, if I remember rightly, the gist of what those new laws were saying was if you join one of these gangs, and you're running with em, and down the block one night, unbeknownst to you, one of your fellow Crips, or your fellow Bloods, shoot up a place, or stab a guy, well then, even though you didn't know nothing about it, and even though you may've just been standing on a streetcorner minding your own business, what these new laws said was you're still culpable. You're still culpable, by the very act of joining those Crips, or those Bloods, in the first place. Which got me thinking, Father, that whole type of situation is kinda like your Church boys, ain't it? You've got your collars, you've got your clubhouse, you're, for want of a better word, a gang. And if you're upstairs smoking a pipe and reading a bible while one of your fellow gang members is downstairs fucking an altar boy then, Father, just like those Crips, and just like those Bloods, you're culpable. Cos you joined the gang, man. And I don't care if you never did shit or you never saw shit or you never heard shit. You joined the gang. You're culpable. And when a person is culpable to altar-boy-fucking, or any kinda boy-fucking, I know you guys didn't really narrow that down, then they kinda forfeit the right to come into my house and say anything about me, or my life, or my daughter, or my billboards. So, why don't you just finish your tea there, Father, and get the fuck outta my kitchen.

Mrs. Pell It's not good for you to be here.

Anderson Why?

Mrs. Pell It's ugly. This whole thing is so ugly. Have you any idea what it's like to live with all this? People look at us and only see bigots and racists. Hatred isn't something you're born with. It gets taught. At school, they said segregation what's said in the Bible... Genesis 9, Verse 27. At 7 years of age, you get told it enough times, you believe it. You believe the hatred. You live it... you breathe it. You marry it.

Mildred Hayes Hey baby... Yup, still no arrests. How come I wonder? Cause there ain't no God and the whole world's empty, and it doesn't matter what we do to each other? I hope not. How come you came up here out of nowhere lookin so pretty? You ain't trynta make me believe in reincarnation or somethin are ya? Cause you're pretty but you ain't her... She got killed. Now she's dead forever. I do thank you for comin though. If I had some food I'd give it to ya. All I got is some Doritos, n they might kill ya, they're kinda pointy... Then where would we be?

Abby I said, "Marty, how come you're anal and I gotta go to the psychiatrist?

Ray What'd he say?

Abby Nothing. He's like you, he doesn't say much.

Ray Thanks.

Abby Except when he doesn't say things, they're usually nasty.

Ray Mm-hmm.

Abby When you don't, they're usually nice.

Mildred Hayes Hey, Dixon?

Dixon Yeah?

Mildred Hayes I need to tell you something. It was me that burned down the police station.

Dixon Well, who the hell else would it have been?

Robbie You old cunt!

Mildred Hayes I'm not old, Robbie.

Payroll Cashier Government do take a bite, don't she?

Leonard Smalls You want to find an outlaw, hire an outlaw. You want to find a Dunkin Donuts, call a cop.

Feisty Hayseed Well, which is it young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? I mean to say, if'n I freeze I can't rightly drop, and if'n I drop I'm a gonna be in motion.

Hayseed in Pickup Son, you got a panty on your head.

Dot Riley!. ... You take that diaper off your head! You put it back onto your sister!

Dot You gotta get em diptet boosters yearly or else they'll develop lockjaw and night vision.

Dot That there's for his orthodonture and his university. You soak his thumb in iodine and you might get by without the orthodonture, but it won't knock a thing off the university.

Moses And when they was no meat we ate fowl, and when they was no fowl we ate crawdad, and when they was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.

Scarface Janz We have everything we want here.

Mariche No.

Scarface Janz Want less!

Fern I've been thinking a lot about my husband, Bo. When it got really bad at the end, they had him in the hospital on morphine drippin'. I was sitting there at night in the hospital. And... I'd wanna put my thumb down on that morphine drip just a little bit longer. So I could let him go. Maybe I should've tried harder. So he could've gone sooner without all that pain.

Swankie Maybe he wouldn't have wanted that. Maybe he was trying to stay with you as long as he could. I'm sure you took good care of him, Fern.

Fern I did.

Makenzie My mom says that you're homeless, is that true?

Fern No, I'm not homeless. I'm just house-less. Not the same thing, right?

Mildred Hayes Dixon?

Dixon Yeah?

Mildred Hayes Are you sure about this?

Dixon Bout killing this guy? Not really. You?

Mildred Hayes Not really. I guess we can decide along the way.

Fern Bo never knew his parents, and we never had kids. If I didn't stay, if I left, it would be like he never existed. I couldn't pack up and move on. He loved Empire. He loved his work so much. He loved being there. Everybody loved him. So I stayed. Same town, same house. Just like my dad used to say, "What's remembered lives." I maybe spent too much of my life just remembering, Bob.

Willoughby I'd do anything to catch the guy who did it, Mrs. Hayes, but when the DNA don't match no one who's ever been arrested, and when the DNA don't match any other crime nationwide, and there wasn't a single eyewitness from the time she left your house to the time we found her, well... right now there ain't too much more we could do.

Mildred Hayes You could pull blood from every man and boy in this town over the age of 8.

Willoughby There's civil rights laws prevents that, Mrs. Hayes, and what if he was just passing through town?

Mildred Hayes Pull blood from every man in the country.

Willoughby And what if he was just passing through the country?

Mildred Hayes If it was me, I'd start up a database, every male baby was born, stick em on it, and as soon as he done something wrong, cross-reference it, make 100% certain it was a correct match, then kill him.

Willoughby Yeah, well, there's definitely civil rights laws that prevents that.

Abby I don't know. Sometimes I think there's something wrong with him. Like maybe he's sick? Mentally?...Or is it maybe me, do you think?

Ray Listen, I ain't a marriage counselor. I don't know what goes on, I don't wanna know... But I like you. I always liked you...

Marge Gunderson Mind if I sit down? I'm carrying quite a load here.

Ray Hello.

Marty Having a good time?

Ray What? Who is this?

Marty I don't know, who's this? You still there?

Ray Yeah, I'm still here.

Abby Ray?

Ray Yeah.

Abby What was that?

Ray Your husband.

Mildred Hayes This didn't put an end to shit, you fucking retard. This is just the fucking start. Why don't you put that on your "Good Morning Missouri" fucking wake up broadcast, bitch?

Guinevere Pettigrew I have no one. I am not an expert on love, I am an expert on the lack of love, Delysia, and that is a fate from which I wish more fervently to save you.