(theme music playing)
NARRATOR: Man lives in the sunlit world
of what he believes to be reality.
But... there is,
unseen by most, an underworld.
A place that is just as real
but not as brightly lit.
A dark side.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: l photograph everything.
That is my mission.
But l should not have joined the group.
MAN: Every time l touched you...
nothing!
lt was sick!
Poison! Hateful!
l want to tear your heart out.
(sighs)
What's happened, Lee?
l'm taking a break.
Are you finished with your wife?
How does it look to you, Amy?
Looks finished to me.
Down-the-tubes finished.
l can't do this anymore.
Breathe... (inhales deeply)
l am breathing.
You're not breathing now.
l'm breathing irregularly, okay?
(both inhaling, exhaling)
Look, it happens.
l'm-l'm-l'm angry.
Who are you angry with?
Your wife?
Oh, no, l'm done with that folly.
l'm angry at her.
Who are you talking to?
He's talking to the floor.
Maybe he doesn't like the carpet.
l'm talking to you, Claire.
The way you just stand there and stare.
How am l supposed to deal with such total passivity?
Tell her what you want.
l want her to give a damn!
''You''-- l want ''you.''
l want you to bestow
a little humanity on this enterprise.
Not once in a while.
Show some vital signs.
He's right. You've been standing there
for weeks, like a voyeur.
She's beautiful.
lt's her license to offend.
How do you feel about that, Claire?
lt's uncomfortable.
''lt's''?
l'm uncomfortable.
Oh, bull.
You don't feel a thing.
l don't show emotion.
You're making yourself and the rest of us nutso.
What are you worried about, Claire?
Let yourself go.
As a public service?
l don't do that.
(clattering)
CLAlRE: Stupid, stupid.
l should not have joined the group.
lt seemed like a good idea.
The material was so rich.
What are you worried about, Claire?
Let yourself go.
CLAlRE: They know something is wrong.
WOMAN: Pretty white artist-- five-feet-three,
successful and fun-loving,
needs slightly submissive sexy man...
WOMAN 2: Desirable woman with creativity and depth.
-Hurt by love's roving eye... -(various overlapping voices)
LEE: Gorgeous television actor with firm, athletic body seeks
attractive, passionate, adventurous, uninhibited female
for midnight drives in my sports car.
Any age okay.
You changed!
CLAlRE: They frighten me.
All their anger.
l wanted to tear your heart out!
CLAlRE: How primitive they are.
Faster.
l don't fool these creatures.
l try to be like them--
l replicate their looks and gestures, but...
they know l am different.
Stop.
(clicking repeatedly)
CLAlRE: l photograph everything.
Trying to understand the natives,
what it is to be human.
Everything is filled with mystery.
Each building, each face.
(siren wails, distant explosion)
The city... the sky...
...this alien body l inhabit.
(clicking repeatedly)
l am alone.
Surrounded by mysterious surfaces.
(doorbell rings)
Yes?
AMY (muffled): lt's Amy. From group.
Hi.
l'm so sorry to barge in,
but your phone was busy.
The operator said it was off the hook.
My!
What a lovely space.
Oh, well...
Frankly, l was worried about you.
The group can be a bit rough sometimes.
Ye-Yes.
l hope you don't mind too much
or take it personally, for God's sake.
Sometimes people put up violent defenses,
when they're just about to face their real problems,
and strong emotions can be so frightening.
But the shouting and the tears
are all part of the work.
Anyway, l hope we'll see you next time?
Yes!
(chuckling): Oh, good, l'm so glad.
CLAlRE: l lied to her.
Till next week, then?
Bye.
No!
l can't go back.
The group is dangerous to my mission.
They can draw me out, expose me.
l must... l must photograph everything,
collect images of the natives.
Start.
They huddle together in huge cities.
They huddle together, but they're still alone.
They fear loneliness...
the way they fear death.
(doorbell rings)
Yes?
LEE: lt's Lee. From group.
(latch rattles, door creaks open)
l came to apologize, if it's not too late.
l said some off-the-wall things.
Who knows where that stuff comes from?
l mean, l'm on this wild roll because my life is a shambles.
lf l hurt you, l'm sorry.
We all want you back.
This is an amazing place.
Hmm, so...
how is life in the arts?
Looks like you do well.
You look good.
You're a photographer, right?
Yes.
Now, that's a major commitment.
My ex-wife-- we're separated.
She will be my ex-wife in a couple of months,
so l'm not jumping the gun.
She took these courses in the visual arts.
lt revolutionized my entire outlook.
With that horror show between us, there was still
a subterranean educational process going on.
l go to galleries on weekends.
Just to relax, you know?
l mean, it's hard being continuously insensitive.
You go with her?
Who, my ex?
Oh, no, no.
l tried taking Janine from group.
We met on a soap opera.
l was the doctor, she was my nurse.
Didn't work out.
l mean, in real life.
Hey, tell me something.
Are you seeing anybody?
No.
Oh, well, maybe we could go to a gallery, pal around...
No.
No?
That's kind of definite.
Doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation.
Hey, just a goof.
Just think about group.
That's the main thing.
Group.
(door clunks, latch rattles)
CLAlRE: Few of the natives are alive.
One in a hundred.
The rest repeat their behavior in a routine,
like sleepwalkers.
(cheering and whistling)
The mass of people are half alive.
They live unconsciously.
They hate being together, and fear being alone,
so they sink into deadness.
lt's their defense.
(click)
WOMAN (on TV): Are you telling me
not to have the baby?
CLAlRE: The natives enjoy one-way picture communication.
MAN (on TV): l thought l could be cold-blooded and selfish.
Well, maybe l'm not so tough.
Maybe l learned a few things.
CLAlRE: Stories of wish fulfillment.
MAN (on TV): l know l want you and that child
more than anything in this world.
CLAlRE: They dream the dreams of others.
WOMAN (on TV): What about Sybil?
MAN (on TV): My wife and l haven't touched each other
in six months.
CLAlRE: Who dictates these images?
Food, lingerie, cars, furs, rocks,
things, things,
things, things, things!
Advertising tells the natives what to value.
This is their antidote for solitude.
(sultry jazz theme playing)
l need... contact.
l should have invited him in.
Love it.
Love it!
You know, in the bar,
l knew you were some sort of artist.
Photography, huh?
Well, you can take my picture some time.
You know...
you have a great look.
And you don't talk much.
l can get into that.
CLAlRE: My training prepared me for this.
lt was no problem physiologically.
They have an expression here.
''Losing... your... mind.''
(crying): l wanted to be, you know...
a good little girl,
but my father used me.
And the thing is...
l still miss him.
Whatever he did to me,
l still want to hear...
(crying): that he loves me.
(woman sobbing)
CLAlRE: l've got to stop.
This is dangerous.
WOMAN: Oddly enough, l have this friend
who teaches a course in self-actualization.
Now he also teaches a course in the uncanny.
l know exactly where you were coming from back there.
Don't touch me!
l want to show you my work.
LEE: l love it.
LEE: lt's like you're reporting on the whole culture.
You don't have anybody in your life, do you?
Anybody close?
(Claire sighs)
You're an observer.
Must be terribly lonely.
Do you know what's going on here?
CLAlRE: Nothing prepared me for this.
That...
creatures who are so violent...
can be so tender.
l want you to put your mother on the cushion...
and talk to her.
Are you frightened of doing that?
What scares you?
l could lose control.
Trust me.
l'll be here.
You don't have to do it if you don't want to.
l'd like you to put your mother there,
and, uh,
try this line:
You never loved me...
enough.
Does that fit for you?
CLAlRE: l never knew her.
lt's absurd.
Go on.
See what happens.
You never loved me enough.
Again.
You never loved me enough.
Really tell her.
Let go.
(laughs)
(voice breaking): You never loved me enough.
(crying): You never loved me enough!
You never loved me enough!
(sobbing)
(sobbing continues)
CLAlRE: They have... an... expression.
''Losing... your... mind.''
(knocking on door)
LEE: Yes.
CLAlRE: l must talk to you.
l don't know what's happening.
What is it?
(sighing)
(Claire yelling)
(Claire yells, Lee mutters)
(Claire yelling)
(Claire gasps)
CLAlRE: l've ruined
everything, like a animal.
A stupid, human animal.
Why do you say that, Claire?
Because l can feel now.
Everything that you feel.
l'm just like you!
That's why you're here...
No! l'm not one of you.
l'm supposed to report on you.
You feel different from us?
l am.
l come from... far away.
You wouldn't understand.
Oh, Claire.
We all feel that way from time to time.
No!
l can never go home.
None of us can go back to the past,
and we all feel alienated occasionally.
l am not from this world.
l don't belong here!
But you are here.
(Claire sighs)
And we have to go on growing.
What you feel is just a simple human reaction.
(crying): No! No!
No...!
No!
(overlapping, echoing): No! No! No! No...!
CLAlRE: My mission is over.
l know what these creatures feel.
Solitude.
That is what it is to be human.
NARRATOR: The dark side is always there.
Waiting for us to enter.
Waiting to enter us.
Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.