A Broken Life

Please, turn it off.

Melinda, come on, please.

- God damn.

- ( siren wailing )

Forget about it,

it happens.

- Not to me, it doesn't.

- lt's probably just the booze, Max.

You've been hitting it

pretty hard lately.

Forget about it, huh?

- What?

- l said forget about it.

Yeah, l guess.

( zips )

Oh, here.

- So, l'll see you next week?

- Yeah, l guess.

( men speaking Russian )

She takes too long.

M-- Melinda--

- l was--

- Yeah? What?

F*** it.

Forget it, never mind.

Never mind, forget it.

F*** it.

Go on, Max, it's--

l'll-- l'll see you next week, okay?

Okay. Okay, sorry.

You got a light?

Were you in the Gulf?

Gulf, Afghanistan,

Vietnam.

My father served in Afghanistan.

He died in '88,

killed by a sniper

outside Mazar-i Sharif.

Sorry to hear that, son.

There's a war still going on.

( grunts )

What the fu--

Max:

All my life, l've been a donkey...

standing an equal distance

between two--

two bundles of hay.

Now the hay is disappearing.

And so are my choices.

Oh, man. l haven't slept in three,

maybe four days. l don't know.

But, finally now

my mind is clear.

Oh, yes.

Today is lndependence Day--

my lndependence Day.

Yeah.

Finally, l will choose--

somewhere, maybe here,

right here,

today-- tonight.

You know, there's just

nothing left to keep me here.

Nothing. l am so full.

And l'm so empty.

Today-- bang!

Ain't no more foolishness.

Then of course, a tombstone,

an epitaph, all that bullshit.

But l will not go quietly.

l will not go gently

into that dark night.

Not me, not like that.

l want to leave a mark

of my presence.

l want people to remember me.

l want her to tell her children

''Max Walker-- he existed.''

l existed. l existed.

Just a handful of mistakes

away from glory.

l hope you understand.

But if you don't, well then...

too bad for you.

Too bad for you.

( beeps )

Okay.

( knocks )

Cheers.

Story of my life.

Anyway...

l've made a decision.

l'm finally in control

of something.

No more ''what ifs'' or ''if only's,''

you know?

The measure of a great man,

l think,

is in his ability to take control.

To tell the truth

and face the truth.

To put the record straight.

To be heard--

my ex-wife, my boss,

my foolish...

empty existence.

One final day to face my fears.

A defining moment.

( laughs )

Oh.

My last cigarette.

l sure hope l enjoy it.

Who would imagine it being

the tug of a last cigarette, no?

My name is Max Walker

and l have arrived

at the final turning point

of my life.

Here l am to brighten your day.

- Hey, l have to make a phone call.

- ( dialing )

Never learned how to speed dial.

Bud!

Yeah, l-- l need you today.

Max:

Hey better late than never.

- l thought you were never gonna come.

- What are you doing?

Why are you filming me?

- Take the camera. Here.

- No.

Come here.

Take the camera.

- You gonna tell me what's going on?

- Take the camera, please, okay?

Bud:
Fine. All right.

What do you want me to do?

You want to be a big director, right?

Want to be a big shot?

This is your big chance, okay?

No. No no no.

l want you to film me.

- All right.

- Here we go.

Shoot me from low down, man,

come on.

Yeah, that's it, that's it.

Let me see.

What do you want me to do?

What is this, a day in the life?

Not quite, it's the--

the last day of a life.

The last-- it's the end of a life.

And this is the last--

you'll be film--

What the f*** are you talking about?

lt's the end of a life.

The last day in a life.

The end of my life.

And l want you to film it.

What the f*** you talking about?

Today, l'm the actor,

believe it or not.

l'm the star.

And l want you to film it.

l want you

to film the last day of my life.

Max, this isn't--

this isn't funny.

- This isn't clever, okay?

- Oh, come on.

- No no. lt's nuts.

- Bud.

What the f***?

You know what?

- You're really losing it, know that?

- Oh, come on.

- l'm sorry.

- Oh, come on, please.

Bud, it's a joke.

F*** it.

- Please.

- You can't do this to me.

Even as a joke,

it's not fair, Max.

l swear to God,

l'll get this thing done.

l'm gonna get this thing done,

you know?

With you or without you.

Come on,

it's not just talk this time.

Why do you think l want you

to film me, Bud?

lt's my gift to you.

You-- you'll be famous.

You'll be a somebody,

instead of a--

instead of a nobody, like me.

l mean, you have everything to gain

and nothing to lose.

l--

l'm begging you as a friend.

Bud, please.

Give me the camera.

Really?

( sniffs )

Thanks.

Okay.

- Thanks.

- Okay, Max.

- What should we do?

- Let's go.

Okay.

Okay.

So, there it is--

this.

This will be my liberation.

- How long you gonna keep this up?

- Until l pull the trigger.

Come on, Jesus Christ.

Keep filming. Come on.

Come on.

- You really are crazy, aren't you?

- What do you think?

Let's take the stairs.

Come on.

Come on.

But very cinematic, okay?

You know, maybe you

could animate this part.

Um-- oh, l know. Hold on.

l-- l never had a nickname.

You know, like Curly, Fats

or, you know, Slim.

There were-- there were two kinds

of kids who didn't have nicknames.

There were the--

the ones on top

and then there were

the invisible ones like me.

You know? l guess l just

wasn't worth the trouble.

You know what l mean?

l remember,

there was this--

this boy--

aw, forget it.

No, tell me.

- What?

- The boy.

- Seems you want to talk about it.

- Okay. Okay.

Okay, there was this boy.

He was a lot like me.

He was--

he was harmless

and insignificant.

And, um--

F***!

All right, l remember this day.

They were picking on him

and for some insane reason

l joined in.

And l punched him...

again and again and again

until he fell down.

And it seemed like

he was looking up at me

and saying,

''Why are you doing this?

You're just like me.''

And then they made me

part of their group.

Suddenly l had a girlfriend,

welcome to the world.

F*** it.

( crying )

- Bud:
lt's okay, Max.

- Oh, sh*t. Fast forward.

Okay, eventually, l fell in love.

l fell in love with Carla...

and she got pregnant.

And then she, you know,

disappeared.

- What do you mean?

- What?

She disappeared?

One of those days--

forget it.

- Wait.

- Oh, stop.

She disappeared, okay?

l was-- l was-- l went crazy about it.

l panicked.

ln those days they took girls

like that away from where they were.

Then-- then she returned

and she told me she had a miscarriage,

but l know and l'm sure

she had an abortion.

And l was heartbroken.

- Okay? You satisfied?

- Bud:
Okay.

- Okay.

- Leave me alone, God damn it.

Hey, you-- you're the one

who wanted to do this.

( sighs )

Then she didn't talk to me

for a long time.

College.

This guy had a flair for words.

l was clever.

Very romantic, for me.

Very romantic for her, l guess,

to be involved with a struggling writer.

We got married.

lt's the only time

l ever remember being happy.

Even after all the bullshit

in the graphic novels...

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