Endless Night

I'll never forget Gypsy's Acre,

as I saw it that very first time.

Great sweep of the landscape

down to the sea, in the distance.

And ...

why, Ellie ...

Ellie Darling ...

Ellie Darling ...

Ellie ...

"I'll never forget the first time

I saw Gypsy's Acre"

What?

That's what you were saying.

Oh yes ...

You, you sure you ... don't mind me

me telling you about it?

Not in the least.

It's a long story.

Why not come with me to the ...

south of France, or ... Italy.

Nothing I'd like better,

if it's for that long.

I don't really know where to begin.

Anything wrong with the beginning?

No! Not that!

Wherever you like then.

"Portrait of the artist as a young man"

How about that?

Yes ...

why not.

May sound corny ...

but I think I must have been born

with a love of beautiful things.

I always thought I got it from my father.

Paintings, for instance.

I could look at some of them for ...

hours at a time.

They gave me a strange excitement.

Shiver along the spine.

Lot 50. A small, early, Renoir landscape.

Anyone started? Five thousand

guineas offered, thank you.

Five hundred, six thousand ...

five hundred, seven thousand ...

five hundred, eight thousand ...

five hundred, nine thousand ...

five hundred. Ten thousand.

Ten thousand guineas ...

eleven thousand.

Twelve thousand.

Twelve? Thirteen thousand.

Fourteen thousand.

Fourteen thousand guineas.

Fifteen thousand.

Bids at the back now.

Fifteen thousand guineas ...

Fifteen thousand guineas.

Sixteen thousand.

It's against you at the back now.

Sixteen thousand guineas.

Sixteen thousand guineas. Anymore?

Sixteen thousand guineas.

As with gallery.

Bad luck.

One mustn't complain.

- May I?

- Thank you.

Where to now, madam?

Erm, back to Claridges, Rogers.

Certainly, madam.

Spent the morning at Christie's.

Nearly had a Renoir knocked down

to me at fifteen thousand quid.

One of these days you'll get landed

with something. Then what'll you do?

Don't you realise, Mum ...

Between my bid and the next ...

I owned that picture.

Does your boss know where

that car is now?

I can always adjust the odd

half-hour in the books.

One of these days you'll get fired.

You don't know me, Mum.

Never pretened to.

Because you never wanted me to.

Never liked being watched,

even as a little boy.

Do you remember that text

over you bed?

I often wondered what you did with it.

Did you now?

Mickey ... do you have to

drift from job to job?

Look, I've been doing this

for six months now.

Anyway I like to get around.

You won't for much longer if you keep

using the firm's car for yourself.

Yes I will. I'm a good driver.

The clients like me.

A matter of fact they're sending me out

to the continent again next week.

Picking up some Greek Tycoon in Milan.

Driving him down to look over his villa.

Tio Mio! The fellows gone mad!

Who?

Santonix of course, my

genius of an architect.

What does the lunatic think

he's building! An Empire?!

You know how much he's gone up

again Alice? Another hundred million.

Pounds?

No, Italian Lira.

Oh.

Santonix!

Welcome to San Pier.

Mon Tio! You must be

completely off your rocker.

You're ruining me totally!

How are you?

We must go through these in detail,

urgent issue!

Alice.

Come on, we're in a hurry!

That's normal. Whereas

Alice is ...exceptional.

I ask you, what the hell is the point

of estimates if you don't keep to them?

And what are estimates for if

not to be exceeded?

These things are, are, are, relative.

Not to me they're not.

Come and see what I've done.

Apart from spending my money?

I certainly will!

Oh, I have to be aboard my yacht

off Sardinia at three thirty-five.

Next time, uh? On the way back.

And I will send you a cheque.

The house is ...marvellous.

You like some wine?

Oh, thank you very much sir.

What a fabulous place.

Do you like it?

Like it? Bloody marvellous!

Are you finished now?

Well I gotta stop off in Rome,

pick up an American couple.

They're doing the 'Grand European Tour'.

Five days flat.

I see.

Would you like to see some

of my works and ideas?

Can I? Oh yes, certainly.

You see I was preparing two months

from a secundant in Switzerland.

All he gave me was twenty minutes.

- Well pleasure. Come on, huh?

- Thank you.

Oh God! The creation of ...

any work of art is ...

thirty percent ... joy, and

seventy percent despair!

And if you're lucky, something is

left behind, something is ... passed on.

You're a very good listener, young friend.

I found a place a little while ago.

Where I could imagine a house growing.

Oh, I love 'growing'.

Where's that?

South of England. Few miles

back from the sea.

I'd driven a couple of antique dealers

down to a place called 'Market Chadwell'.

And I drove outside the town

to have my sandwiches.

There was an ugly old Victorian,

Gothic House, up there.

Quite the wrong place.

Half burnt-down.

But when you walked on a bit further ...

round the corner ...

there it was.

You could see for miles all around.

Far below ... the sea.

And standing there it was ...

as if I could see it.

My house.

The house I'd ... always

dreamed about ...

in the place I'd always imagined it.

Anyway ... that was weeks ago.

When is the auction?

Sometime next month.

Not that it's any use to me.

If the wish can be willed, then

perhaps the means will follow.

That sounds like a quotation.

It is; Santonix, the fourth of August ...

nine-thirty P.M.

Christ, I'll have to drive half the night!

It's unusual to find a ...

young man like yourself.

Hired driver?

Well, to be honest that's more

or less what I was thinking.

They say I get it from my father.

An architect?

Huh, he'd have liked the chance.

There Michael, lets draw

a key in the door shall we?

Then we can be alone.

If only you'd study, David.

Get qualified.

Qualifications ... what do they mean!?

The badge of mediocrity!

David, you know as well as I do

that unless ...

Oh for God's sake ... SHUT UP!

I don't think anyone understood him.

Especially Mum.

Gypsy's Acre ...

do you have an a-photograph?

No.

Send me some.

For you I could build a house

even more than Mr ... Constantine.

Hmm ... if I ever have the money.

And if I have the time left.

Oh It'll be a long wait all right,

if that's what you mean?

No, I was thinking myself you see, err...

I can't count on ... more than

than another three or four years.

It has something to do with the wrong

number of corpuscles of the right colour or ...

or the other way round,

I can never remember that.

Well, anyway ...

it was nice to have met you.

And you.

Send me some photographs anyway.

It might be fun to play

around with them.

Ok.

It may have been culture to you honey ...

but it was plain crap to me!

For Christ's sake,

last week in England ...

do you know what those seats

at Stackton-on-Avon cost!?

Twenty-five dollars!

Just to hear a mean-looking

fairy in a jock strap ...

explaining how he couldn't get around

to making a simple basic decision!

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