- A brief, tense phone conversation between politically connected powerhouse Tom Buchanan and a desperate lower-class thug named Judd over Buchanan's bisexual wife Daisy, her working-class lover Lolita and Bartlesby, the enigmatic head of Buchanan's personal security force, results in an interlocking series of actions which culminates in a brutal murder. Thereafter the Buchanans, in a subsequent phone, conversation grapple with the fall-out from the crime, its alleged resolution, and the effect the incident has had on their open marriage.—Angel Connell and Brian McInnis
- As the title cards for credits appear on the screen, the voice of Tom Buchanan (Mark Grant) can be heard off-screen. He interrupts the conversation he is having with an unknown person on the phone in order to receive an incoming call. The incoming caller identifies himself as Judd (Eric Scheiner) and the following title card scrolls up during the conversation between Tom and Judd:
"One bright day in the middle of night / Two dead boys rose to fight. / Back to back they faced each other, / Drew their swords and shot one another. / A deaf policeman heard the noise, / And saved the lives of the two dead boys. / If you don't believe this lie is true, / Ask the blind man, he saw it too." ~ Author Unknown
Judd asks to speak with Daisy Buchanan (Jennifer McCartney), Tom's wife. When told by Tom that Daisy is away on vacation, Judd intimates darkly that he "knows about" Daisy and a woman named Lolita (Christy Scott Cashman). He tells Tom that he arranged to meet Lolita at "her place" in order to pick up money that Lolita "got" from Daisy. But upon arriving there Judd is met not by Lolita but by a man who identified himself as Bartlesby (Angel Connell). When asked by Judd if he knows the man, Tom admits he does and volunteers the fact that Bartlesby is his "head of security." Judd's retort is that he got into an altercation with Bartlesby and succeeded in forcing Tom's security man to admit that he was hired to "keep an eye on Lolita" and that Lolita was squired away in the basement of Bartlesby's apartment - the location from where Judd conducts his phone conversation at that moment with Tom.
Tom asks a few questions but his inquiries are met with a veiled threat from Judd. He tells Tom that if fails to find Lolita in the basement, he will see Daisy after he confronts Tom himself. "I want my goddamned money, dude," grouses Judd. "I'll get it one way or the other."
Judd hangs up. Tom returns to the other caller on the phone and asks said caller to remain on hold a moment longer while Tom makes another call. He speed dials a number. "Chief? Its me," says Tom whose voice becomes less audible as the scene fades to black.
As the next scene fades up from black, we see Lolita asleep on a reclining chair situated in a basement room. In the background we see the figure of Judd descending the stairs. He squats down before Lolita and removes an empty liquor bottle from her grasp. The gesture rouses her. When she recognizes the person before her, Lolita opens her mouth. Judd quickly covers it with his hand. After she calms down, Judd demands to know the location of the money he seeks. Lolita tells him the money is in her bag. Judd picks up Lolita's purse and pulls out a large envelope. He opens the envelope but instead of money he finds paper clippings cut and cropped to resemble the dimensions of paper money. Suddenly, Judd recalls Bartlesby's voice as it mocks him with the question: "What makes you think she's got the money, man?"
Lolita lies face down on the recliner as Judd flings the paper clipping on the floor. She remains frozen in fear as he removes a nylon stocking from her leg. "You can't do nothing right," Judd scolds her as he clambers on top of her prone body with the stocking wrapped around his fists. A sudden thrust by Judd jolts Lolita to throw back her head in pain. At that moment, he wraps the stocking around her neck. "Youll finally do something right in your life when you die," sneers Judd. He proceeds to strangle Lolita to death.
Judd climbs off Lolita's corpse and checks her purse one more time. Finding nothing of interest, he tosses aside the accessory and leaves the room. As he does, the camera pulls back from Lolita's body and tilts down at the mess on the floor left behind by Judd.
The camera pulls into a specific section of the discarded items. A quick dissolve reveals a piece of paper that contains a handwritten note - 0 (3R) - 8 (2L) - 5 (1R) - 10 (open) - which we view for a moment. The sound of a phone is heard as the scene fades to black.
We hear the voice of Tom off-screen again while the end credits roll. He is on the phone with Daisy. When asked by Daisy about the veracity of news she had heard while on vacation, Tom confirms that Lolita was murdered by Judd and that Judd himself was killed by the police when he resisted their orders to give himself up when they caught him leaving the murder scene.
Tom proceeds to chide Daisy about the nature of her affairs but she dismisses her husband's concerns. Daisy instead expresses more concern over Bartlesby than she does for her deceased lover Lolita. Asked "how and when did Bartlesby manage to switch the money" that was stolen from their combination-lock safe "with the newspaper clippings," Tom tells Daisy that Bartlesby refused to explain himself.
Tom informs Daisy his belief that the police have "accepted the narrative" spun by both him and Bartlesby after both men were interrogated by law enforcement officials. Daisy makes a sarcastic allusion to the anonymous call which resulted in the police appearing at the same time Judd left Bartlesby's apartment following the murder of Lolita. Tom acknowledges the allusion and adds that it was Bartlesby on the phone who had been put on hold that fateful night when Judd called Tom from Bartlesby's apartment.
Daisy opines that she will "miss Lolita and the allure of her sluttishness" but Tom again chides her to be more careful with her choice of lovers. "Its no fun being TOO careful," complains Daisy. "Its no fun being dead either," admonishes Tom. Daisy's retort is that death is merely "an experience" that neither she nor her husband have tried. Tom reassures her "one day" they will experience death. "Thats a narrative for another day," responds Daisy before she and Tom end their phone conversation. As they do, the scene fades to black.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content