Certain Women

Synopsis: Certain Women drops us into a handful of intersecting lives across Montana. A lawyer (Laura Dern) tries to defuse a hostage situation and calm her disgruntled client (Jared Harris), who feels slighted by a workers' compensation settlement. A married couple (Michelle Williams and James Le Gros) breaks ground on a new home but exposes marital fissures when they try to persuade an elderly man to sell his stockpile of sandstone. A ranch hand (Lily Gladstone) forms an attachment to a young lawyer (Kristen Stewart), who inadvertently finds herself teaching a twice-weekly adult education class, four hours from her home.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Kelly Reichardt
Production: Film Science
  12 wins & 45 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Metacritic:
82
Rotten Tomatoes:
91%
R
Year:
2016
107 min
$1,037,787
2,664 Views


1

[bells jingling]

[train horn blaring]

[jingling fades]

[train horn blaring]

[train horn blaring]

- The sun is actually

coming through

the heavy cloud covers.

Well, not as the sun,

but just as kind of like a..

Mozzie dot out in the sky.

It's not giving any heat,

that's for sure.

Make sure that your water,

for your dog in the bowl..

It's not frozen.

A terrible thing happened..

[train horn blaring]

like three dogs..

It was so cold, it was like

5 degrees in the morning.

Three dogs got brought

to the vets..

'cause their tongues got stuck..

[chatter on TV]

[footsteps approaching]

- I thought you had to be

back at work.

-I do.

Looks like a peach.

-We call it "Taupe."

[train horn blaring]

[woman sighs]

[door opens]

[door shuts]

[birds chirping]

[women chattering]

- Hey.

- Hi, Laura.

[train horn blaring]

Mr. Fuller is here to see you.

- 2:
10.

-What?

- I was starting to think it

might be some kind of holiday.

-I had a lunch meeting.

Hey, Dennis.

[phone ringing]

Mr. Fuller.

What are you doing here?

-Came to see my lawyer.

[door creaking]

[creaking]

-Uh, listen.

You can't..

You can't keep coming here.

- Well, my wife wants me

out of the house.

- Well, go to the library.

Read a book.

Make some friends.

- Oh, I... I... I can't read.

The lines are all squiggly.

Who set this door?

- What?

-It's out of plumb.

He may have been slow..

But he sure was sloppy.

- Look, uh, I know a personal

injury lawyer in Billings.

He's willing to give you

a second opinion.

So, I set something up

for Friday.

And we can meet there.

It's at noon.

-See, it's good I came by.

Otherwise, how would I know

we're having a meeting in..

- Billings.

- Yeah. Billings.

-Well, I was gonna call you.

- Well, now I know.

- Well, now you know.

[phone ringing]

- Friday at noon.

- Mm-hmm.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Good work.

So, now, we can prepare.

- No, no, no.

We don't need to prepare.

We just get there

and explain your situation.

And that's it.

Mr. Fuller, I don't

want you to get your hopes up.

He's gonna tell you the same

stuff I've been telling you.

I just, I want... I want you

to hear it from somebody else.

- You want, uh, to get a coffee?

You know, so we can strategize.

-I have court.

- Friday at noon.

- Friday. Noon.

-Okay. See you Friday.

[train horn blaring]

[phone ringing]

- The contractor was

clearly negligent.

- Yes.

You see?

- But your previous settlement

precludes a tort claim.

Employees are required

to have insurance

so workers' injuries

can be covered.

But as soon as you take that

first money, you've settled.

And you give up your right to...

- That money didn't cover

the month's mortgage.

- But when you accepted

what they offered

you cleared them

of any further penalties.

- So?

-So, I'm afraid

you have no tort claim.

You can't sue.

-Okay.

-Okay?

Thank you.

- Laura.

- Eight months of telling him,

and now it's okay.

[cell phone vibrating]

Hey.

- I was expecting

your voicemail.

-Ha, you got me.

- I thought you had a meeting.

-I do. I did.

It's a thing done.

The lawyer said you have no case

and my client said "Okay."

- Just like that?

- Just like that.

He repeated the same things

I've been saying

for the last eight months.

It'd be so lovely to think

that if I were a man

and I could explain a law

people would listen

and say "Okay."

Oh, that would be so restful.

- Hmm.

- So?

What were we gonna

tell my voicemail?

- Well..

Well, it's just my situation.

Being what it is.

I just think, maybe...

- Oh, I may not have long here.

-Thank you.

[yelling]

- I just think maybe,

I have my hands full.

- Um..

- I'm riding with you.

-Um, look, I've gotta go.

Uh-uh..

Do you want something to eat?

["Play With My Heart"

by Taye Johnson]

["Cloud" by Magic Bronson]

[Native American music]

- No one understands

what my life has become.

What a total f***ing

miserable thing

my life has become!

No one understands

one f***ing thing!

I wish my wife would

roll over on the highway.

- Oh, my God. I swear,

I will leave you right here.

-The only thing left to do

is get a machine gun

and kill everyone.

-No.

No. You're gonna

have to get out.

- Alright. Uh, uh...

- Out. No.

You can't say

those things to me.

- I'll, uh, uh..

Not another word.

I'll be...

- You can't talk like that.

- Never mind.

I'll be quiet.

-Okay.

[mutters under breath]

["Boats To Build" over radio]

I got seas to sail

I'm gonna build me a boat

With these two hands

It'll be a fair curve

From a noble plan

Let the chips fall

where they will

'Cause I've got

boats to build

[Fuller sobbing]

Sails are just like wings

The wind can make them sing

Songs of life

Songs of hope

[engine rewing]

- This type of ware

is generally referred to

as China painting.

Now, in the late 19th century

and into the early part

of the 20th century

ladies of fashion

would get together

at China painting parties

and paint these plates,

or blanks.

So, all these blanks have

a mark on the back of them.

We won't turn them around.

But they all say "Limoges."

There were also German

and Austrian makers

that made the blanks.

They would be imported

to the States.

[train horn blaring]

[phone ringing]

[police radio chatter]

- Listen, now, Will..

Yeah, I don't wanna press you,

I want you to take your time.

But could you,

could you just give me a sign

that Big Man is doing alright?

[police radio chatter]

- Hey, Will.

Good news. Your lawyer's here.

Thanks for coming down.

- Yeah.

-Uh, got Fuller on the phone.

Well, we had him on the phone.

Uh, he seemed calm.

He's holding the night watchman.

- Wait, that's the one

they call "Big Man."

-Yeah. Football player.

-How'd Fuller take him down?

-No idea.

Oh, um, oh..

Well, this is Mac.

Our resident hospital

specialist.

So, uh, he's got Big Man

up here on the 3rd floor.

Uh, here's where

they keep the dead files.

And, uh, this is a little sketch

to, to find your way in.

- Wow, really?

- Oh, yeah.

Little precaution.

- As soon as you take off

your coat, please.

Okay.

-Alright, arms out.

-I remember you.

You, uh..

You wrote a report for

a child custody case of mine.

The defendant instructed me

to consume feces.

Hey, is this a sane thing

to be doing?

- While you're doing that.

Here, Tommy.

Uh..

- Oh. Okay.

- Yeah. Okay, I want you

to take this.

Take it in with you,

I'll call it.

You pick it up,

so we know you're okay.

You don't pick up,

we're wondering.

- You don't have to go in there.

There's other ways

to go about this.

-No, we got this handled.

Don't need any big

production, right, Wells?

-Well, I'm here.

So..

- Okay, you just, you know,

keep him engaged

in the, in the conversation.

You know, just try

to be compassionate.

You know, let him feel like

he's being heard.

It's important that he sees you

as being his advocate.

And there's nothing wrong with

throwing blame on someone else.

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Kelly Reichardt

Kelly Reichardt is a screenwriter and film director working within American indie cinema. Her credits include Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, Meek's Cutoff, Night Moves and Certain Women. more…

All Kelly Reichardt scripts | Kelly Reichardt Scripts

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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