Tom Wilkinson Quotes

Father Moore Emily, can you hear me?

Emily Rose I am the one who dwells within.

Father Moore And I am the one who comes in His name.

Emily Rose You think you can force me out, priest? Try. I dare you.

Father Moore Demons exist whether you believe in them or not.

Lenny Cole Right, let me tell you how this works. You're going in the drink, and I'm going to have a cup of tea. Beneath your feet is the famous river Thames. I just hope for your sakes you can hold your breath for as long as it takes my kettle to boil. After that, I'm gonna ask you a question, just one question. You're gonna give me a name. And if it's the right name, I'm gonna send you home warm and dry in a fresh set of clothes. If it's the wrong name, you'll be fed to the crayfish. They're American, these crayfish. Big, hungry bastards. And like most things American, they've eaten the natives...but they've still got room for more.

Matt Fowler Well, look. He lost an arm. The trap has nylon nets called "heads". Two side heads to let the lobster crawl in. And inside, what's called a bedroom head holds the bait... and keep him from escaping. You know the old saying: "Two's company, three's a crowd"? Well, it's like that. More than two of these in a bedroom and something like that's happen.

Appeal Prosecutor My Lord, this is new evidence.

Appeal Judge It is shocking new evidence.

Appeal Prosecutor My lord, this evidence was not submitted at the trial that is under appeal.

Appeal Judge That, I believe, is the point that Mrs Pierce is trying to make. Proceed, Mrs Pierce.

Roman Uh, can we help you?

Lenny Cole You've got an act called "The Quidlickers".

Roman We did, yeah.

Lenny Cole Hmm... And there's a singer called "Johnny Quid".

Roman There was.

Lenny Cole Well, I'd like to see Mr. Quid.

Roman I'd like to see him too, but uh that's gonna be a little tricky because according to the papers, the only songs Mr. Quid's gonna be singing are hymns

Lenny Cole And I shed a tear. I shed a tear for all those bone-tops that read the papers and believe that shit. But did you see his body? Did you see him smacked-up and cracked-up with his tongue on his chin and his cock in his hand, swinging from the rafters like a real RocknRolla? No, you didn't, did you? And nobody else fucking did either, did they? Because he ain't dead. He's alive, alive-o somewhere selling cockles and mussels and a very important painting that doesn't belong to him.

Father Moore I now command you! Give me your name, demon!

Emily Rose Names! Names! One, two, three, four, five, six!

Father Moore Ancient serpents, depart from this servant of God! Tell me your six names!

Emily Rose We are the ones who dwell within. I am the one who dwelt within ]! I am the one who dwelt within ]! I once dwelt within ]! I was with ]! I am ]! And I am ], the devil in the flesh.

Henry Life is nothing but the echo of joy disappearing into the great chasm of misery.

Rudy Holt ... You've had better.

Henry Life is nothing but the occasional burst of ] rising above the inerminable wail of grief.

Rudy Holt That's my favorite.

Henry It lives in ], that's why.

Father Moore People say that God is dead, but how can they think that if I show them the Devil?

Taxi Driver What if she never came back?

Ian What sort of a question is that?

Taxi Driver Well, go on, picture it. You wave goodbye at the airport, she gets on the airplane, you never see her again... could you live with that?

Ian No... No, I couldn't.

Taxi Driver Well, then you know what to do. Appreciate her and what you have. Just love her.

Arthur Edens I could sit here and tear off my fucking skin, and I could not get down to where this thing is living.

Lenny Cole Now, listen to me, boy. Listen. I never did like you, neither did your real dad. You're a reject, a wrong and a fuckin fairy in the mirror that I inherited from your mom. But she ain't with us no more, so now it's just you and me. In one week you're going back to school. The most expensive fuckin school in the country, I might add. Then you'll be gone for another term. In the meantime, show some gratitude and keep the fuckin music down!!

Paul Emmett A less equable man than I might start to find your questions impertinent.

Father Moore There are forces surrounding this trial... dark, powerful forces.

Lenny Cole Oh bollocks. There is no school like the old school, and I'm the fucking headmaster!

Matt Fowler Do you wanna know why our son is dead? Do you really wanna know? He went there not because of me. He was with her not because of me. He went there because of you. Because you are so controlling, so overbearing, so angry, that he was it! That he was our only son!

Ruth Fowler That is not true!

Matt Fowler Oh, yes it is. Yes, it is. Ever since he was little, you were telling him how he was wrong. I remember, one time you yanked him out of a little league game and sent him home, for throwing his glove in the dirt. He was what? Nine years old. Everything he did was wrong. Well, what was wrong with him, Ruth? You are so unforgiving. You are. That's what he said. And now you're pulling the same shit with me, and that's a horrible way to be. It's a horrible. You're bitter, Ruth. And you can point your finger all you want at me, but you better take a damn good look at yourself first.

Father Moore Do not ask it any questions or pay any attention to what it says.

Jason It?

Father Moore We won't be dealing with Emily tonight.

Michael Clayton You are the senior litigating partner of one of the largest, most respected law firms in the world. You are a legend.

Arthur Edens I'm an accomplice!

Michael Clayton You're a manic-depressive!

Arthur Edens I am Shiva, the god of death.

Paul Emmett Oh yes, the wall of ego. We all have one, our equivalent of the dentist's fish tank.

Willis Grinnel What I would give to have back my youth.

Matt Fowler Well, Willis, you never had that in your youth.

Arthur Edens Yes! Here we are, all together. Is everyone listening? Cause this is the moment you've been waiting for, a very special piece of paper. So let's have a big, paranoid, malignant round of applause… for United Northfield Culcitate Internal Research Memorandum #229! "June 19th, 1991. Conclusion: The unanticipated marketing growth for Culcitate by small farms in colder climate demands immediate cost–benefit analysis." Hah. Would you like a little bit of legal advice? Never let a scientist use the words "unanticipated" and "immediate" in the same sentence. Okay? Okay. "In-house field studies have indicated small, short-season farms dependent on well water for human consumption are at risk for toxic particulate concentrations at levels significant enough to cause serious human tissue damage." Well, this is a long way of saying that you don't even have to leave your house to be killed by our product, we'll pipe it into your kitchen sink. "Culcitate's great market advantage, that it is tasteless, colorless, and does not precipitate, has the potential to mask and intensify these potentially lethal exposures." Now, I love this. Not only is this a great product, it is a superb cancer delivery system. "Chemical modifications of the Culcitate product, the addition of a detector molecule such as an odorant or a colorant, would require a top-down redesign of the Culcitate manufacturing process. These costs, while assumed to be significant, were not summarized here." Which, loosely translated, means: "It's going to cost a fortune to go back on this, and I'm just an asshole in a lab, so could someone else please make the decision?" "Clearly, the release of these internal research documents would compromise the effective marketing of Culcitate, and must be kept within the protective confines of United Northfield's trade secret language." You don't need me… to tell you what that means. Goodbye!

Arthur Edens I look up, and Marty's standing in my office with a bottle of champagne. He tells me we just hit thirty thousand billable hours on U-North, and he wants to celebrate. An hour later, I'm in a whorehouse in Chelsea, and two Lithuanian redheads are taking turns sucking on my cock. I'm laying there, I'm trying not to come, I'm trying to make it last, right? So I start doing the math—thirty thousand hours, what is that? Twenty-four times thirty—seven hundred twenty hours in a month, eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours per year…

Michael Clayton Arthur…

Arthur Edens Wait! Because it's years! It's lives! And the numbers are making me dizzy, and now I'm not just trying not to come, I'm trying not to think! But I can't stop. Is that me? Am I just some freak organism that's been put here to eat and sleep and spend my days defending this one horrific chain of carcinogenic molecules? Is this my place?

Michael Clayton You promised me, Arthur.

Arthur Edens Is that it, Michael? Is that my grail? Two Lithuanian mouths on my cock? Is that the correct choice to the multiple choice of me?

Ruth Fowler He needs his head in school, not in her.

Matt Fowler So to speak.

Paul Emmett I doubt it very much. The gate will open automatically. Be sure to make a right at the bottom of the drive. If you turn left, the road will take you deeper into the woods and you may never be seen again.

Arthur Edens I just need to make my thoughts a little bit more precise. That's—that's my goal.

Michael Clayton As good as this feels, you know where it goes.

Arthur Edens No. No, no, you're wrong. What makes this feel good is that I don't know where it goes.

Carmine Falcone You're taller than you look in the tabloids, Mr. Wayne. No gun? I'm insulted. You could've just sent a thank-you note.

Bruce I didn't come here to thank you. I came here to show you that not everyone in Gotham's afraid of you.

Falcone Only those who know me, kid. Take a look around you. You'll see two city councilmen, a union official, a couple of off-duty cops, and a judge. Now I wouldn't have a second's hesitation in blowing your head off, right here and right now, in front of them. That's power you can't buy! That's the power of fear.

Bruce I'm not afraid of you.

Falcone Because you think you got nothing to lose. But you haven't thought it through yet. You haven't thought about your lady friend, down at the DA's office. You haven't thought about your old butler. Bang! People from your world have so much to lose. Now, you think because your mommy and your daddy got shot, you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperate. You're, uh, you're Bruce Wayne, the prince of Gotham! You'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name! So don't, don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand, and you always fear what you don't understand.

Paul Emmett Let's hope he didn't inhale.

Father Moore Once you've looked into the darkness, I think you carry it with you for the rest of your life.

James Reid Tell the Mayor, I'm insulted. I would never jeopardize the journalistic integrity of this newspaper for some rent-a-mayor's political agenda. So Britt, here we are again. Sent home after another schoolyard fight. I know you miss your mother. So do I. But I have to take care of 750 employees, and you have to take care of yourself. Still that seems to be asking too much.

Young Britt But I was trying to stop some bullies...

James Reid Trying doesn't matter if you always fail.

Arthur Edens Make Believe It's Not Just Madness

Arthur Edens Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it's you. Who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I… I know it's a long way, and you're ready to go to work… all I'm saying is, just wait, just… just wait, and please, just hear me out, because this is not an episode, relapse, fuck-up, it's… I'm begging you, Michael. I'm begging you. Try to make believe this is not just madness, because this is not just madness. Two weeks ago, I came out of the building, okay? I'm running across Sixth Avenue, there's a car waiting, I've got exactly thirty-eight minutes to get to the airport, and I'm dictating. There's this panicked associate sprinting along beside me, scribbling in a notepad, and suddenly she starts screaming, and I realize we're standing in the middle of the street, the light's changed, there's this wall of traffic—serious traffic—speeding towards us, and I… I freeze, I can't move, and I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation that I'm covered in some sort of film. It's in my hair, my face… it's like a glaze… a coating, and… at first I thought, "Oh my god, I know what this is. This is some sort of amniotic—embryonic—fluid. I'm drenched in afterbirth, I've breached the chrysalis, I've been reborn." But then the traffic, the stampede, the cars, the trucks, the horns, the screaming, and I'm thinking, "No-no-no, reset, this is not rebirth, this is some kind of giddy illusion of renewal that happens in the final moment before death." And then I realize, "No-no-no, this is completely wrong," because I look back at the building, and I had the most stunning moment of clarity. I… I… I realized, Michael, that I had emerged not from the doors of Kenner, Bach, and Ledeen, not through the portals of our vast and powerful law firm, but from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the… the… the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other, larger, more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity. And that I had been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my life. The stench of it and the sting of it would, in all likelihood, take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did? I took a deep cleansing breath, and I put that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself, as clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is, as true a thing as I believe I witnessed today, it must wait. It must stand the test of time! And Michael, the time is now.

Lenny Cole And I shed a tear. I shed a tear for all those bone-tops that read the papers and believe that shit. But did you see his body? Did you see him smacked-up and cracked-up with his tongue on his chin and his cock in his hand, swinging from the rafters like a real RocknRolla? No, you didn't, did you? And nobody else fucking did either, did they? Because he ain't dead. He's alive, alive-o somewhere selling cockles and mussels and a very important painting that doesn't belong to him.

Author It is an extremely common mistake. People think the writer's imagination is always at work, that he's constantly inventing an endless supply of incidents and episodes; that he simply dreams up his stories out of thin air. In point of fact, the opposite is true. Once the public knows you're a writer, they bring the characters and events to you. And as long as you maintain your ability to look, and to carefully listen, these stories will continue to...

Author Stop it! Stop it! Don't! Don't do it!... Uh, will continue to seek you out, uh, over your lifetime. To him, who has often told the tales of others, many tales will be told.

Author's Grandson Sorry.

Author It's all right. The incidents that follow were described to me exactly as I present them here, and in a wholly unexpected way.

Matt Fowler I know what you think, that I was too lenient! That I let him get away with -

Ruth Fowler Everything!

Michael Clayton You need to think this through. I will help you think this through. I'll find somebody to help you think this through. Don't do this. You're making it easy for them.

Arthur Edens Michael, I have great affection for you. And you lead a rich and interesting life, but you're a bag-man, not an attorney. If you wanted to lock me up, you should have kept me in Wisconsin, where claims and evidence of my inappropriate behavior would have had jurisdictional relevance. I have no criminal record in the state of New York. And the single defining criterion for involuntary incarceration is danger. Is the defendant a danger to himself or others? You think you got the horses for that? Well, good luck and God bless, but I tell you this: the last place you want to see me is in court.

Michael Clayton I'm not the enemy.

Arthur Edens Then who are you?

Rudy Holt You know what ] is?

Henry ] is a horrible little giggle in the midst of a forced ] march towards hell.

Rudy Holt No it isn't.

Henry An interminable wale of grief...

Rudy Holt No. ] is a single skip for joy.

Henry I know.

Philip Henslowe Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh Fennyman So what do we do?

Philip Henslowe Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Hugh Fennyman How?

Philip Henslowe I don't know. It's a mystery. (recurring line)

Carmine Falcone Yeah, Doctor Crane, I can’t take it anymore, it’s all too much. The walls are closing in. Blah, blah, blah. A couple days of this food, it’ll be true.

Dr. Jonathan Crane What do you want?

Falcone I want to know how you're gonna convince me to keep my mouth shut.

Crane About what? You don't know anything.

Falcone I know you don't want the cops to take a closer look at the drugs they seized. And I know about your experiments with the inmates of your nuthouse. See, I don't go into business with a guy without finding out his dirty secrets. And those goons you used? I own the muscle in this town. Now I've been bringing your stuff in for months, so whatever he's planning, it's big. And I want in.

Crane Well, I already know what he'll say: that we should kill you.

Falcone No, even he can't get me in here. Not in my town.

Crane Would you like to see my mask? I use it in my experiments. Now, I'm probably not very frightening to a guy like you, but these crazies? They can't stand it.

Falcone So when did the nut take over the nuthouse?

Crane They scream, and they cry. Much as you're doing now.

Erin Bruner Who chose the Epitaph?

Father Moore I did. It's from the second chapter of the Phillipines, Verse 12. Emily recited it to me the night before she died.