Crime and Punishment Page #9

---

to the police station.

You were so brazen,

I went and reported you.

- And our encounter in the yard?

- Porfiry suggested it.

I thought I was doing the right thing.

But then I heard how he tormented

you in his office

and I'm sorry if I was the cause of it.

- You're not the cause of anything.

- At least I hope you'll forgive me.

You?

It's me I should be hard on.

Didn't you hear how faint-hearted I was?

I need you to forgive me.

It was you.

It was me.

Lizaveta.

I didn't mean to kill Lizaveta.

It was an accident.

- I only meant to kill the pawnbroker.

- It's not an accident.

It wasn't my intention is what I meant.

What have you done to yourself?

I killed myself.

Does this mean

you won't leave me, Sonia?

Tell me you had a reason.

Tell me something I can understand.

I did it so I could rob her,

that's all you need to be bothered with.

You must have been hungry, desperate.

You were, weren't you?

If I'd killed the pawnbroker

because I was hungry, I'd be happy.

You wanted to finish your studies.

To repay your family's hopes for you.

- Not really.

- You did it to help your mother.

- No.

- You killed her for money

and then you gave us your last penny.

Did you give us her money?

I buried her money.

I actually never took a thing.

I may never.

I can't make anything of this.

I killed a louse, Sonia, an insect.

I dared to raise my foot

and I dared to bring it down on her

and I squashed her.

I lay in my room in the dark

and I worked up the courage to do it.

- It was...

- Shut up!

Quite an achievement.

That's how the devil talks.

That's not you.

I wish I was insane.

Then I wouldn't feel

like I do now, like...

The louse that I killed.

Not like Napoleon at all.

Lonely, really.

That's why I came to see you.

I think I'm dead.

I need you to tell me

that that's not true.

Confess.

To God?

Yes. Yes.

You have to go.

Go now to the Haymarket and bow down,

kissing the ground

that you've desecrated.

Bowing down in front of the whole world

and tell everybody in it

what you've done.

Yell it out and God will

give you your life back.

That's a confession, Sonia.

And after that, there's just prison.

You have to accept it.

Give up to it.

I won't give myself up to the police.

They're no better than me anyway.

And they'll just laugh at me

for not spending all the money.

No, no. Why should I?

Because you'll never get it

out of your mind.

You'll never stop suffering.

And you'll never be redeemed for it.

I want you to save yourself.

I have another one.

- It belonged to Lizaveta.

- Not yet, Sonia.

All right.

Then I shall listen to your prayers

and you mine.

Until there's time for us to go together

to the police station.

Wherever they send you.

Siberia.

I'll follow you there.

You must never come.

You can't.

I am waiting for a miracle.

Maybe I have to go find one.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

MAN:
Sonia, Sonia! Sonia!

It's Katerina. You have to come.

(BABY CRYING)

Please let mummy be well.

Please let mummy be well...

(KATERINA MOANING)

Can I do anything at all, Sonia?

I'm her neighbour.

There are going to be expenses here.

I'd like to put the children

into a decent orphanage,

so Sonia doesn't have that

on her shoulders

and I'll make sure she's pulled free

of the Haymarket, too.

So you can tell your sister

I've made good use of her 10,000.

- What's brought all this on?

- Humanity.

I mean, Sonia's hardly a louse, is she?

Doesn't bear the slightest resemblance

to some poor old pawnbroker

you dared to raise your boot over.

Like I say, Sonia's a neighbour.

And the walls are thin.

I told you we were birds of a feather,

old man.

Perhaps now we shall see

more of each other.

SONIA:
Rodya!

Hello, cousin. Shall we, er?

The whole thing about Nikolai

and his brother fighting on the kerb.

Well, they were just trying

to cause a diversion.

A red herring that they'd...

What's the term? Laid.

- So I can tell him it's been cleared up?

- Please do.

You know, I climbed up

the walls in my zeal

to defend Nikolai. But now...

- Thank God he's guilty. That's great!

- Goodbye, cousin.

Thank you.

Dunya, who is it?

Is it Rodya? Has he come?

Just a messenger.

He's been directed to the wrong rooms.

(PRIEST CHANTING IN RUSSIAN)

- Where have you been?

- It doesn't matter.

I didn't like it there anyway.

Have you been to see Porfiry?

Have you? Have you told him?

Who's Porfiry?

- I don't believe you.

- No, really. Who is he?

I don't believe you.

You've got to pull yourself together.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

If you have any plans

concerning my sister,

I will kill you

before you can put me in jail.

And you know I can.

Only one person can kill me.

And it's not you.

You've made your mother ill.

You know that, don't you?

Dunya's doing her best

not to break down.

They deserve better, Rodya.

Well, they can get it from you.

I give you permission to love my sister.

I know she loves you.

I hand my mother and my sister

over to you.

You don't need

to talk like that any more.

You're not involved in anything.

Nikolai's the murderer.

Porfiry's pressing charges.

- He told you this?

- He spelt it out.

- How?

- It doesn't matter.

The main thing is it's not you.

And you believe him?

Who better than Porfiry

to make me believe it?

I'll tell Dunya

you're in the clear, too.

I do love her.

Listen to me.

All along I thought

you were trying to betray me.

I hadn't realised

how much I'd betrayed you.

How much I still do.

You don't have

to talk like that any more.

You haven't done anything.

We do understand each other, brother.

An unexpected visitor for you,

Rodion Romanovich.

I was just passing

and thought I'd drop in.

Well, why don't you tell me what it is

you've got to say?

I can't give these up.

I had a consultation with Zosimov.

He tells me I've got diluted lungs.

I tell him,

"Well, at least I don't drink."

He replies, "Maybe you should

take that up instead."

(LAUGHING)

It's not a very scientific approach,

is it?

Oh, yes.

The chit-chat business again.

Look,

I owe you an explanation.

The last time we met,

all our meetings actually,

the way I've conducted myself

has been, well...

I'm sorry.

I've gone in for all sorts

of ploys and tricks,

but what I regret most is...

Well, I think we're both gentlemen

and I haven't behaved like one.

- All the psychology stuff, you mean?

- Exactly.

Nothing tangible at all.

Just your character.

This apology. Does this...

Would you mind

if I just put this in context first?

Of how all this came to be.

It's the least I can do.

Your fainting fit in the bureau,

that set me looking in your direction.

Then I realised you were

the author of that article.

Ah, I thought at the time

someone like that's

bound to get into trouble

and it was you.

Zamyotov searched your room

when you were ill,

but we didn't find anything.

And I thought, "Oh, well."

But then you showed your face again,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes