(WOMAN SPEAKING GERMAN
OVER PA)

(HISSING)

Scissors.

Clamp.

(PHONE BEEPING)

O.R.
Dr. Rogers for Dr. Carson.

Doctor?

Yes?
Ben, it's Mark.

I need to see you
up in my office.

A special-needs case
just came in.

Okay. Soon as I'm done.

They were born by cesarean
three months ago,

and, against all odds,
they're still alive.

Their physician
from West Germany
called me this morning.

Occipital craniopagus twins
have never both
survived a separation.

Yeah. He knows that.

If they're not separated...

...they'll spend
the rest of their lives
in bed, on their backs.

The hospital wants me
to fly to Germany
and examine them.

Ben, are you gonna do this?

Nobody's ever done it.

In situations like this,
one baby always dies.

MAN: Welcome to Germany.

We've been anxiously
awaiting your arrival,
Dr. Carson.

Allow me to introduce
Peter and Augusta Rausch.

(INDISTINCT)

Thank you
for coming.

How do you do, Doctor?
My pleasure.

And this is
Johann and Stefan.

I wanted to kill myself
when I learned the truth,

but I realized
I would be killing
two other beings, too.

And then,
as soon as I saw them,
my heart melted.

Please don't ask us
to choose between them.

Well, they don't appear
to be sharing any organs,
which is good.

Though there are
parts of the brain,
such as the vision center,

that aren't
completely separated.

We won't know
until we get in there.

How soon can that be?

Well, first we have to
solve the problem
of exsanguination.

Exsan...

Bleeding to death.

It's the reason why
cranial separations
have never succeeded.

You see,
babies have
very little blood,

and unless I can
figure out a way to
keep them from bleeding out,

I can't risk performing
this operation.

(INHALES SHARPLY)

I'll do it.

Good.

Thank you.
I'll notify the doctor
in Germany.

We'll schedule
the operation
for a month from now?

Make it two. Make it four.

Still haven't figured out
how to save them both, huh?

(SIGHING)

I'm working on it.

Number 12, 14.
Number 13, 27.

Number 15, 33.

All right, class,
hand your test back
to your neighbor.

All right, how many
did you get right?

Kathy?

Twenty-five.

That's excellent, Kathy.

Mark?
Thirty.

Good for you, Mark.
You got them all right.

Benjamin?

Benjamin, how many
did you get right?

None.
Nine?

Why, Benjamin,
that's wonderful.
I'm so proud of you.

Not nine, Miss Williamson.
He got none.

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

(SCHOOL BELL RINGING)

You'd think he'd get
at least one right.

He got one right last time,
'cause he was trying
to put down the wrong answer.

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

Hey, Carson, we know
you're the dumbest kid
in the class,

but did you hear
what they said on Cronkite
last night on the news?

You're the dumbest kid
in the world.

(CHILDREN GASPING)

He hit him!
He hit him!

PRINCIPAL:
Bennie, how could this
have been an accident?

Well, it was almost
an accident.

Mom, I never would have
hit him if I remembered
I had the lock in my hand.

The boy had five stitches,
and his parents
are very upset.

I'm not sure how to
discipline your son,
Mrs. Carson.

I'll handle it.

I'm also very concerned
about his grades.

Have you seen
his latest report card?

SONYA: So, what happened?
You weren't getting grades
like that in Boston.

Boston was easier.
They didn't ask us
to do much.

Well, I ain't
asking you, either,
I'm telling you.

You weren't meant
to be a failure, Bennie.

And you can
control your temper.
He called me a dummy...

And you can
bring your grades up, too.
I know you can.

I'm dumb, Mother.
No, you ain't.

You're a smart boy.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.

You just ain't
using that smartness.

Now, if you keep
getting grades like that,

you're gonna
spend the rest of your life
mopping floors in a factory.

And that ain't
the life I want for you.

That ain't the life
God wants for you,
either.

Yes, Mother.

I'm gonna have to have
a talk with him about you
and your brother, Curtis.

No, no. He invited us
to the game tonight,
remember?

Why don't you and I go?
And get me
Candlestick Park, please.

(DOOR OPENING)

Hey, Mother.
You're home early.

They didn't need me
as long as they said
they would.

You finish
your homework?

Most of it.

SONYA: Bennie, you're gonna
ruin your eyes
sitting so close to this TV.

(TURNS OFF TV)

You do your homework?

BEN: I need help.

Curtis, help your brother.

CURTIS:
I gotta finish my math.

Mother, I need help.

What you need help with?

This history.
I don't really
understand it.

Well, what don't
you understand?

Like, all the words.

Could you
read this for me?

I need new reading glasses.
Why don't you tell me
what it's about?

It's about Thomas Jefferson
and the Declaration
of Independence.

Mmm-hmm.

What is this word?

Sound it out.

"Self... Self...

"And it..."

Self...

Look at me.

Can you tell me
what them cereal boxes
is on the shelf?

Sure.

I mean, can you read them?

Not this far. Can you?

(SIGHING)

Looks like I ain't
the only one around here
gonna be needing glasses.

Tina, Sarah, Kathy, Bennie.

Congratulations.
You're doing much better.

Yes!

SONYA:
Well, it's an improvement,
all right.

And I'm proud of you
for not getting an F.

You're a smart boy.

But you both
can do better.

I'm doing the best
I can, Mother.

How?
I don't know how.

Well, I don't know how.

We're just gonna
have to
use our imagination.

I don't got one.

Of course you do.
Everybody got
an imagination.

Not me.

Of course you do.

Listen to me.
If I say,

"Once upon a time,
there was
a little blue mouse,"

don't you see
a little blue mouse?

No.
Bennie.

Mother, my brain's too dumb.

Boy, your brain ain't dumb.

It is, Mom.

You got all the world
in here.

You just got to see beyond
what you can see.

MAN ON TV: What is this,
a race of some kind?

WOMAN ON TV:
Betty, slow down.

You act as though
this were
your last meal.

We've got to write
your contest essay
tonight, Father.

MAN ON TV:
Oh, well, in that case,
maybe you had better hurry.

(PHONE RINGS ON TV)

MAN ON TV: Don't choke.
WOMAN ON TV: I'll get it.

I never saw it
to fail.

Every time
we sit down to eat,
the phone rings.

GIRL ON TV: I know
how to stop it, Daddy.

When the phone bill comes,
don't pay it.

MAN ON TV:
Not a bad idea.

BOY ON TV:
That was Joe Phillips, Dad.

He wants me to
come up to his uncle's farm
this weekend.

Isn't that great?

But how are you
gonna get there?

Joe's got a license.
We could drive.

The last time he took a trip,
he wrecked his dad's car.

Whose car is he figuring
on wrecking this time?

BOY ON TV: Yours.

He thought...

I know what he thought.

But I wouldn't trust
Joe Phillips
with a pogo stick.

Please, Dad.
I'll be careful.

How can you be careful
if he's driving?

You never let me
do anything.

I'm not gonna
let you do this.

You'd think
I was a juvenile
or something.

When you act this way,
you are.

Now eat your dinner.

I'm not hungry.

Then excuse yourself
and leave the table.

(DOOR OPENING)

Mother, come on,
we'll be late for church.

You all go on ahead
without me, honey.

Mama's having
one of her days.

All right.

I'm reminded of the story
of the missionary doctor
and his wife

who were surprised
by bandits.

You see, these thieves
were terrible men.

Bloodthirsty. Vicious.
They not only
robbed their victims,

they slit their throats
and laughed
as they watched them die.

You all don't hear me.

This poor doctor and his wife
ran for their lives

as the thieves chased them
across rocky, barren land.

These missionaries' feet
were cut open by sharp stones.

Their clothes were
torn by brambles,

and, finally,
they came upon
a great fortress,

but the Bandit King
was right behind them.

The doctor ran up to
the front door of the fortress
and tried to open it.

But it was locked.

If only someone would
let them in.
No one was there.

And the doctor
and his wife hid,

but the Bandit King saw them
and drew his sword.

There appeared to be
nothing that could
save God's good people.

(SQUEAKING)

(HORSE NEIGHING)

The Bandit King was after me,
and so I hid under some straw,

and a blue mouse came out
and scared his horse.

And I got away.
I saw it in my brain.

That's good.
That's your imagination
working.

But it was real,
it was really real.

Did I say it wasn't real?
It's not real.

That's why it's called
imagination, dummy.

Shut up.

Watch your mouth, Curtis.

Mother, I want to
be a doctor.

A missionary doctor,
just like the one
Pastor Ford told us about.

You can be anything
you want to be
in this life,

as long as you're
willing to work at it.

That goes for you,
too, Curtis.

God will not abandon you.

(CHURCH BELL TOLLING)

Excuse me.

I need to talk to someone.

I have a darkness
I can't control.

Come with me, ma'am.
Let's see if we can help you.
All right?

SONYA:
I've spent my childhood
in foster care.

When my husband,
Mr. Carson,
married me,

he was my ticket
out of there.

How old were you?

Thirteen.

We were happy.

We had a lovely home,
two beautiful boys.

Then what?

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

I don't like to
talk about it.

He had another wife
and kids.

When I found out,
my life fell apart.

When was this, Mrs. Carson?

Five years back.

But I couldn't
leave my husband

'cause my boys
needed their daddy

and I didn't know how
I'd make it on my own.

Are you still together?

No.

I found out
he was dealing drugs,

so me and the boys
moved to Boston.

I've got a sister there.

Why'd you come back
to Detroit?

I got the house
in the divorce,
and I kept it.

I rent it out for income,

but I've been saving money
in a cookie jar,

and me and my boys
are gonna move back in.

How do you support yourself?

I clean houses,
and I baby-sit.

That's about
all I can do.

Nobody knows this.

I'm so dumb,

I can't even read.

And I fear my boys
are gonna turn out
the same way.

And nothing's
gonna work out.

I try to fight
these feelings.

I don't show them
to Bennie and Curtis.

But, lately,

I can't stop them.

I even think about
killing myself.

Mrs. Carson,
what would you say to
checking yourself in with us?

No.
Just for a little while.

I can't afford
to do anything like...

Don't think
about the money.

We'll find the money.

Boys, I'm gonna be
going away
for a little while.

What?
What do you mean?

Where?

Just for a few weeks.

I'm going back to Boston
to see your aunt Jean Avery.

Can't we come with you?
No.

You got school.
You got homework.

So, you're just gonna
leave us alone?

Of course not.

Sister Scott is gonna come
and stay with you.

In the meantime,
I want you boys
to do me a favor.

I want you both to learn
your times tables
while I'm gone.

What?
No way!

You can do it.

Do you know
how many there are?

That could take a year.

Won't take my boys a year.
You're smart.

Not that smart.
Nobody can
memorize them.

I did, and I just went
to the third grade.

But it's hard work.

Well,

hard work ain't
never hurt nobody.

Besides, you ain't
going outside to play
till you learn them tables.

Wait. Mother, please, no.
Come on, that's not fair.

Come on, Mother.
You're the meanest mom
in the world.

(MEN SINGING ON TV)

CURTIS: Five times four.

Thirty.

No.

Thirty-one?

This isn't
a guessing game,
Bennie.

Bennie, listen
to your brother.

Here you are,
Mrs. Phillman.

MRS. PHILLMAN:
Thank you.

NURSE: Mildred?
MILDRED: No.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

MISS WILLIAMSON: Kathy?

Twenty-two.

MISS WILLIAMSON: Mark?

Twenty-five
out of 25.

Excellent.

Benjamin?

Benjamin?
I didn't cheat.

I didn't say you did.
What's your score?

Twenty-four out of 25.

(CHILDREN EXCLAIMING)

BEN: Sister Scott!
Sister Scott!

I got an A!

I got an A.

Sister Scott!
Sister Scott!

I got... Mother!

(CHUCKLING)

I missed you.
I missed you.

(SIGHING)
I missed you, too.

I know all my times tables.
I got them all right,
except for one.

Let me see.

I knew you could do it.

I knew you could do it.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Professor Burket,
I'm Mrs. Carson,
your new cleaning woman.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Mrs. Carson.

Sir?

The kitchen floor.

What about it?

It sparkles.

Well, your last cleaning lady
didn't do a very good job.

What I do,
I do the best I can.

The last cleaning lady
was me.

My late wife
was very sick.

I took care of her
and not much else.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Sir.

Did you read
all these books?

Most of them. Why?

Just curious.

Take the rest of your men
off the post.

They can stay with
Corporal Dolan's family

in Salt Lake
till Barker's gone.

SOLDIER: Yes, sir.
Come to think of it,

you better
stay there yourself.

SOLDIER: Yes, sir.

Hey, why'd you do
that for?

What's going on?
I was watching that.

You boys watch
too much television.

Not that much.
No more than everybody else.

Don't worry about
everybody else.

This whole world is
full of everybody else.

From now on,
you're gonna pick three,

no, two pre-selected
programs per week.

A week?

You're crazy.
I mean, this is crazy.

And that's after
you finish your homework.

What are we gonna do
with all our free time?

I'm glad you asked.
You're gonna go to the library
and pick out two books,

and, at the end of the week,

you're gonna hand me
a written report
about what you read.

Two books a week?

I don't believe
what you're saying.

I can't even read one.
We cannot possibly survive

without television.

Well, you're gonna
start now.

Why you waste
all that time
watching the TV?

If you used that time
to develop
your God-given gifts,

it wouldn't be long before
folks was watching you on TV.

* Mama said
there'll be days like this

* "There'll be
days like this," mama said

* Mama said,
mama said

* Mama said
there'll be days like this

* "There'll be
days like this," my mama said

* Mama said,
mama said

* I went walking
the other day

* Everything was goin' fine

* I met a little boy
named Billy-Joe

* And then
almost lost my mind *

Man, there's
a lot of books
in here.

Shut up, boy.
It's a library.

(TIGER GROWLING)

BEN:
"Hearing the great roar

"made the young man wonder
if he had chosen wisely.

"Maybe it was a trick.

"Was there really a tiger,
or just a recording
of a tiger's roar?

"Maybe there was a tiger
behind the other door,

"and he'd die like
all the other princes
before him."

That's good, Bennie.
That's real good.

Mother,
what's this word?

I need to get
new reading glasses.
Sound it out.

Ag... Ag...

Agriculture.
A-G-R-I-C-U-L-T-U-R-E.

Agriculture.
Excellent, Benjamin.

Kathy. "Combine."

Combine.
C-O-M-B-I-N-E.
Combine.

For a 20-point bonus,
here's your toss-up.

You know,
several limericks begin,

"There was a young lady
from Perth."

Limerick is in Ireland.
For 10 points,
where is Perth?

(BUZZER SOUNDING)

MAN: Australia.

Wow.
How could they
know so much?

QUIZMASTER:
Right, for 10 points.
I don't know.

And, finally, for 10 points,
what poet describes...

(WONDERFUL WOR PLAYING)

* Don't know much
about history

* Don't know much biology

Bennie, come on,
we're gonna be late.

* Don't know much
about the French I took

* But I do know
that I love you

* And I know that
if you love me too

* What a wonderful world
this would be

Excuse me.
Do you have any books
on rocks?

* Don't know much
trigonometry

* Don't know much
about algebra *

Okay, class,

what about this one?
Does anybody
know what this is?

Anybody?

Yes, Benjamin,

can you identify this rock?

It's obsidine.

Obsidian. That's right.

Do you know
how it was made?

Well, it was formed
after a volcanic eruption,

by the supercooling
of the lava
when it hits the water.

The volcano erupts,
and the lava flows
down red hot.

So, when it hits the water,
the elements coalesce,

and since that water is cold,
the air is forced out,

and the surface glazes over,
and the lava becomes hard,

and that makes obsidine.
I mean obsidian, sorry.

May I see you after class?

(SIGHING)

What happened?

I'm sorry.

What are you sorry for?
Someone unlocked the door.

Look at this.

You know what that is?

That's a whole other world,
Benjamin.

You just stepped into
a whole other world.

Magnitude.
M-A-G-N-I-T-U-D-E.
Magnitude.

Mark. "Perpetuate."

Perpetuate.

"The feast

"of unleavened...

"The un..."

Unleavened.

Unleavened.

Yeah.

CURTIS: B, come on.
I gotta go.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Bennie, are you in there?

What potion had a sort of
mixed flavor of cherry tart,
custard, pineapple...

Alice In Wonderland.

The potion which
Alice in Wonderland drank,

which made her grow
into various sizes.

Tell me, when Cain
settled down east of Eden,
in what land did he live?

In the land of Nod!
MAN ON TV:
In the land of Nod.

QUIZMASTER: Right.
For 10 points. How many tales
in The Canterbury Tales?

Twenty-four.
QUIZMASTER: Right.

Twenty-point bonus.
A 20-point bonus coming up.
Here's your toss-up.

A leading major-league
baseball player and the
layer of the earth between...

Mantle. Mickey Mantle.

Right. Between the crust
and the core...

Wow, you were there before
I had the question.

Okay. Rutgers, for 20 points.

"Saunter."

Saunter.

S-A-U-N-T-E-R. Saunter.

"Lacquer."

Lacquer.

L-A-C-

K-E-R. Lacquer.

Sorry, Cliff.

Benjamin, if you
spell it correctly,
you win.

(EXHALING)

Lacquer.

L-A-C-Q-U-E-R. Lacquer.

That is correct.

Yes! Yes!

The certificate for
the student with the highest
academic achievement

in the eighth grade
goes to Benjamin Carson.

Before Benjamin
takes his seat,

I have a few words
I want to say.

Benjamin is a boy of color.

He has no father in his life.

He comes to us
with tremendous
disadvantages.

There's no reason
you shouldn't have
done better than him.

What's wrong with you kids?
You're not trying hard enough.

You should be ashamed.

(CROWD MUTTERING)

The certificate
for outstanding citizenship
goes to Alexa Courtney.

QUIZMASTER:
Right, for 10 points.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

All right,
here's a 20-point bonus,
Brandeis.

Identify the composer.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

WOMAN: Vivaldi.

QUIZMASTER:
That's right, for 10 points.

This picture
by Monet would be classified
as French Impressionism.

For 10 points,
how is this picture
classified?

WOMAN: Primitive American.

QUIZMASTER:
That's right.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

MRS. GRAHAM:
Turn off that thing!

I'll turn it down.

No, I like it.
Turn it up.

(INCREASING VOLUME)

Won't Mrs. Graham
knock on
the ceiling again?

Let her knock.
We're moving.

(KNOCKING ON CEILING)

(MRS. GRAHAM
SHOUTING INCOHERENTLY)

We're moving?

Uh-huh.

That speech
your eighth-grade teacher
gave ticked me off,

so I went to the bank.

I've finally saved up
enough money

to take back that house
we've been renting out.

So, starting next fall,
you're going to a school
that appreciates you.

(HITCH HIK PLAYING)

* I'm going to Chicago

* That's the last place
my baby stayed

* Hitch hike,
hitch hike, baby

* I'm packing up my bags

Hey, Carl, you heard
what Goodwill did

with all the clothes
so old and so ugly

even the winos
didn't want them?

CARL: What?

They gave them to
New Blood over there.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Do we have
any money left?

What do you mean?

I need clothes for school.

You got clothes
for school.

Old clothes.

Good clothes.

Not good enough
for Hunter High.

I've seen the clothes
them kids wear.
They're cheap.

No, they're not.

I didn't say
they weren't expensive.
I said they're cheap.

Most folks that wear
cheap clothes on the outside
are dead on the inside.

The folks I work for,
they buy clothes that last.

That's what
I try to get you.

Take Professor Burket.
I wash his clothes
every week, and they always...

Bennie, don't you be
slamming around here,

and don't you walk away
when I'm talking to you!

Hey, Carl, they should use
Carson's shirt in class
as a chemistry lesson.

A chemistry lesson?
Yeah,

'cause it smelled so bad
it killed all the bugs that
was breeding inside of it.

They was breeding
because your mama wore it.

I think
you're confusing that
with your mama.

Her clothes are so raggedy,
even the mummy
turned them down.

Your mama's so old,
she's the mummy's mama.

Your mama's so old,
your daddy's a dinosaur.

Your mama's so old,
her birth certificate says
"expired" on it.

(CLEARING THROAT) Oh!

Man, where we going?

Come on.

You got the money?

BEN: I need
clothes for school.

SONYA: You got
clothes for school.

Not good enough
for Hunter High.

Come on.

Jerome.

This is my man.

Give him the money.

Okay.

Morning.

Morning.

Why aren't you wearing
the pants I got you?
Don't they fit?

I don't know.
I didn't try them on.

Why not?
They're the wrong kind.

What you mean,
they're the wrong kind?

I paid good money
for them pants.

That's too bad.
You can take them back
if you want.

I can't take them back.
I bought them on special.

Well, that's too bad,
but I'm not gonna wear them.

I'm fixing this window
myself, Bennie,

so I'd have money
to get you them pants.

That's your problem.

Look, throw them away!
I'm not gonna wear them!

You can't have
everything in life
you want, Bennie.

I can! I will!
Not as long
as you keep going

down this path.
Talking smart
and acting stupid!

Well, if I didn't
know any better...
Shut up! Shut up!

All you do is
preach at me! Shut up!

Bennie!

What are you, crazy?
Get off! Get off!

I said stop it!
All right, all right!

You can buy
whatever you want.

You pay the bills,
you pay the bills
next month.

I'll bring home
every dime I make in cash
and hand it to you.

What you got left,
you keep for yourself.

Now you're talking.

(SIGHING)

(CLASSICAL MUSIC
PLAYING ON RADIO)

Hey, B.

What's this crap?

It's not crap,
all right.

Shut up.

You like this?
You call this music?

It's better than
what you like.

(CHANGING RADIO STATIONS)

Hey, man, quit proving
how stupid you are.

You don't have to
act so ignorant!

Go to hell, man.

What'd you say to me?

Get off me!

(GRUNTING)

(SCREAMING)

Bennie, what did you do?

GIRL: Joe.

Get a teacher
or something.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Lord. Lord, you have to
take this temper
away from me.

Please. Please.
Just take it.

* Jesus is all the world
to me

* My life, my joy, my all

* He is my strength
from day to day

* Without him
I would fall

* When I am sad...

(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

TV ANNOUNCER: The protesters
are here in Central Park,
50,000 strong.

And there has been
a significant showing...

* Heading on out of Tucson

* With the sun setting
over my head

* I can smell
a load of trouble
comin' round the bend

* Drivin' through the night
to Dawson

* With the full moon
lighting my way... *

It is, in my opinion,
the most amazing organ
the human body holds.

By stimulating one section
of the brain
of an 85-year-old,

you can bring back,
verbatim,

memories of
a newspaper article
read 60 years before.

Consider your own brains.

They've absorbed and
digested enough information
to bring you here,

which is no
small achievement.

Your dreams are all possible
because of
three pounds of gray matter.

We can describe it
physically,

but that won't give a clue
as to how
it does what it does.

Which is why I've devoted
my life, as a surgeon,
to probing its mysteries.

How did you do that?

A lot of time away from home,
my wife would tell you.

But dedication
and intelligence
are the easy part.

You also need an incredible
hand-eye coordination,
which is a gift.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

A brain surgeon? My goodness.
Well, I always
said you can do

anything anybody else
can do, Bennie.

Anything anybody else
can do, Bennie.

Only you can do it better.
Only you can do it better.

Don't laugh at me,
it's true.

Your grades are good?

They're fine.

Now, tell me,
how's that
girlfriend of yours?

BEN:
My mother says hi.

I can't wait
to meet her.

You think she's coming
for Parents Weekend?

Not if I'm not here.

What?
What are you
talking about?

Candy, you're a triple major.

I'm having trouble
with just one.

Trouble?

Yale's too much for me.

What am I doing here,
anyway?

You got a scholarship.
You were
third in your class.

Yeah, and everybody else
here graduated first.

My grades are lousy,
especially chemistry.

If I don't
pass this final exam,
I lose my scholarship,

which means
I can't be a doctor,

which is the only thing...
Slow down.

What are you good at?

Huh?

What are you good at?
When it comes to studying,
what works best for you?

I don't know.

Reading. I'm good at reading.
If all I ever did was read,
I'd be just fine.

Instead, I got to sit through
all these boring lectures

eight hours a day...

Well, skip the lectures.

The professors don't care.

That'll only
make things worse.

They can't be any worse
than they are now.

Hey, what do I know?
Maybe I'm just...

No, no, no.
No, you're right.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Joseph Lister.

Pioneered the
compound microscope,

and made surgeons wear
clean gloves and swab wounds
with carbolic acid.

CANDY:
Newton's second law.

BEN: An applied force
on an object

equals the time change of rate
of its momentum.

The formula for methane.

CANDY: No.

BEN: Propane.
CANDY: No.

(SIGHS)

(INNER CITY BLUES
(MAKE ME WANNA HOLLER)
PLAYING)

* Rockets, moon shots

* Spend it on the have-nots

* Money, we make it...

(CHALK SCREECHING
ON BLACKBOARD)

SONYA: Finish them.

You don't need the book.

You got the book
inside you.

(GROANING)

Well, congratulations,
Mr. Carson.

You have arrived
with seconds to spare.

Everyone, open
your test booklets.

And begin.

Maybe we should ask. Right?

See you guys later.

What? What? What?

I got an A.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Now, you know,
now that I'm gonna
be a neurosurgeon,

you shouldn't marry me
'cause I probably
won't be home much.

Is that a promise?

DR. UDVARHELYI:
Johns Hopkins accepts
only two students a year

for neurosurgery residency.

This year,
we have 125 applicants.

So, why we should take you?

I have good grades
and excellent
recommendations.

As do all
of our applicants.

Johns Hopkins
is my first choice.
It's my only choice.

You have confidence.
Yes, that's good
in a neurosurgeon.

But tell me something,

why did you decide
to become a brain doctor?

The brain...

(STUTTERS)

It's a miracle.

Do you believe in miracles?

Not a lot of doctors do.
There's not a lot of faith
among physicians.

I mean, we study reports,

we cut open bodies,
it's all very tangible, solid.

But the fact is,
there's still so many things
we just can't explain.

I believe we're all capable of
performing miracles, up here.

I believe we're all blessed
with astonishing gifts
and skills.

Look at Handel.

I mean, how can he compose
something like the Messiah
in only three weeks?

This is the channel,

the source, the inspiration
for unbelievable
accomplishments.

You like classical music?

I love it.

I do, too.

I think we'll get on
quite well together.

(INAUDIBLE)

WOMAN ON PA:
Nursing supervisor
to second floor, please.

Nursing supervisor
to second floor, please.

Good morning.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Good morning.

You're late. Mr. Schwartz
in 301 needs to be
taken to surgery now.

No, I'm not an orderly.
I'm the new intern.

Oh!

Report to Dr. Farmington
for rounds.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Carl,
please call 2-4-8-8.

This young man has a disease
called von Hippel-Lindau.

It's very rare
and causes multiple tumors
throughout the brain.

He has his second surgery
tomorrow,

and it will most likely
cripple him.

Carson, draw some blood.

Doctor,
according to his charts,
he may be anemic.

I don't think...
Well, I don't care
what you think.

You do as I say.

Don't think
you're special, Carson,

simply 'cause
there's no one like you
in this department.

If you don't change
your attitude,

I'll get you kicked out
of neurosurgery faster
than you can say, "Yassuh."

Are you finished?

Yes.

Fine.

Hey, buddy.
Let's get you going here.

(SIGHING)

How was it?

Bennie?

Ben?

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Good morning.

Good morning,
Nurse Smith.

(ALARMS RINGING)

BEN: He was hit
with a baseball bat.
He's deteriorating rapidly.

Please tell him that all
the neurosurgeons at Hopkins
are away at a conference.

I am a resident.

It is illegal
for me to operate

without an attending
physician present.

I can't reach Dr. Farmington,
and I can't
reach Dr. Udvarhelyi.

If someone doesn't operate
on this man soon,
he will die.

Go for it.

I'm not qualified
to do a lobectomy.

Thy will be done, Lord.
Amen.

(MACHINES HUMMING)

Scalpel.

Foley.

Bipolar.

Cottonoids, please.

WOMAN ON PA: Radiology,
please call to page.

Dr. Udvarhelyi
wants to see you
in his office ASAP.

You operated on this man
without permission,
without supervision.

You put this hospital
in serious legal jeopardy.

Had this man died,
your career
would have been over.

You did
very well, Dr. Carson.

I congratulate you
on taking the proper action,

in spite of its
possible consequences.

Okay, come on, move, move.
She's seizing.

I want you to see it, too.
Okay.

MARIA: Okay, okay.

They'll give you something
to make you better.

MAN: I don't have...
MAN 1: Okay, all right.

It's getting worse, Doctor.

Just relax, relax.

Ben, have a look at this.

The patient's a four-year-old
by the name
of Cynthia Gonzalez.

She's been having seizures
since she was 18 months.

She now has about
100 a day.

They only affect
her right side,
but they're so frequent,

she's forgetting
how to walk, talk,
eat, learn.

She's been diagnosed
with Rasmussen's.

Her parents have been told
there's nothing to be done.

(OPERA MUSIC PLAYING)

It's the only time
she's seizure-free.

When she's awake,
she lives
between convulsions.

She's been on
35 different medications
over the years.

Sometimes they're so strong,
she doesn't recognize me.

She's beautiful.

MARIA: One doctor called her
a mentally-retarded epileptic.

BEN: Well, I'm here
to tell you
that she's not.

Do you really think
you can help?

I can try.

The left side
of Cynthia's brain

is like a troubled kid
on a playground

beating up on her own twin.

Now, you control that kid,
and the playground's at peace.

How do we do that?

There's an operation
called a hemispherectomy.

It involves removing
the seizure-prone
part of the brain.

What?

How will she be able
to live or survive

with half a brain?

It's not as bad
as it sounds.

We don't know why,

but a child's brain
has a remarkable ability
to recover.

It's as if the brain cells
haven't decided what they want
to be when they grow up.

They take on the functions
of the diseased cells

and then eventually
restore the
neurological function.

You think
there's a chance
this will work?

Yes. I do.

But it is a gamble.
There's no way around that.

If Cynthia survives,
she could be paralyzed
on her right side.

The left side of the brain
controls the speech area.

She may lose
her ability to speak.

Have you done
one of these
operations yourself?

No. I have not.

How you feeling?

Wishing it were
four months from now.

Why? So we can get
less sleep than we do now?

Good night.

Your mother called today.

She said the movers
are coming in a week.
She's so excited.

Me, too.

So, are you ready?

For my mother
or two more babies?

For tomorrow.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Scalpel.

We are now
exposing the skull.

Put more pressure
on the edge, please.

Drill.

(DRILL MACHINE WHIRRING)

Please change
to a footplate.

Saw.

(WHIRRING)

Penfield 3.

Removing the skull
to access the dura.

Holding skull flap
for reconstruction.

We need to reduce
the swelling.

Inserting to relieve
fluid pressure.

(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)

I've removed the entire
left hemisphere of the brain.

ANESTHESIOLOGIST:
Cynthia, can you hear me?

Can you open your eyes,
sweetheart?
We're all done.

Let's see those
pretty eyes, sweetheart.
Come on.

It's time to
wake up, Cynthia.

Let's see those
pretty eyes, sweetheart.

Can you open your eyes?

Let's see those pretty eyes.
We're all done now.

I don't know why
she's not waking up, Ben.

(MACHINE BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)

(DOOR OPENING)

How is she?

It took twice as long
as we thought.

She lost
nine pints of blood,

which is double
her normal volume.

But she came through
just fine.

Though it might be a while
before we know
if she can move or speak.

CYNTHIA: Mommy?

Daddy?

Oh, my God.

(LAUGHS)

(MARIA SNIFFLING)

MARIA: I love you.

(SIGHING)

Thank you.

Baby.

She talks, she hears,
she thinks, she responds.

There are
no additional signs
of weakness.

Dr. Carson...
MALE REPORTER: Dr. Carson,
how is this possible?

BEN: The brain's
a miraculous organ.

(ALL CLAMORING)

MALE REPORTER: How long
have you been practicing?

I completed my residency
three years ago,

but I haven't yet
taken my oral exams.

FEMALE REPORTER:
Are there any more
seizures, Doctor?

BEN: So far,
the seizures have subsided.

Grandma!

Grandma!

Grandma! Grandma!

Baby.

SONYA: Your daddy...

Hey.

CANDY: You're gonna
love it here.

(GROANING)

Ben.

Mmm.

Ben. Honey, wake up.
Wake up.

I gotta go
to the hospital.

I gotta go
to the hospital.

Oh, no.

DOCTOR:
Get ready to crossmatch
with two units of blood.

FEMALE NURSE: Yes, Doctor.
Ben...

It's best you wait
out here, Dr. Carson.

MALE NURSE: How do you feel?
Do you feel any contractions?

Okay, ma'am,
this might feel tight
around your arm

when we take
your blood pressure.

Okay, hook up
the fetal monitor.

FEMALE NURSE:
Oxygen to help you breathe.
Here you go, Mrs. Carson.

DOCTOR: Breathing okay?

FEMALE NURSE:
Just take it slow.
You're doing fine.

Your wife will be fine,
Dr. Carson.
She'll be just fine.

But I'm sorry to say
we lost the babies.

I'm so sorry.

(MACHINE BEEPING RHYTHMICALLY)

(SNIFFLING)

There was nothing
I could do.

There was nothing
I could do.

(SIGHING)

What time is it?

11:30.

Shouldn't you be on duty?

I am.

I mean neurosurgery.

Your patients need you.

You need me.

I have you. Go to work.

Down this hall.
Okay. Thank you.

Doctor, where have you been?
You're late. What happened?

I've been
calling your house
all morning.

I'll make up for it.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

(BABY GURGLING)

(CRYING)

(HUSHING)

That's...

Good girl. Hey.

She's a good girl.
Yes, you are.

She's a big girl.

Okay.
I love both of those hands.

That's very good.
Very nice.

(REPORTERS CHATTERING)

WOMAN: How are you feeling?

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

WOMAN:
How are you feeling now?

(CRYING)

Help me, Lord.

Ben, I've just been told
you want to hold off
the operation on the twins.

The sooner we operate,
the better the chances
for recovery.

I know, I know,
but they'll bleed out.

I can't figure out
a way around that.

Look, you're the best
pediatric neurosurgeon
in the world.

You may think I'm the best.

That's why
they chose you.

If you can't
find a solution,
no one can.

(VIOLIN PLAYING)

Just like old times, huh?

You and me in the kitchen,
doing dishes after dinner.

Except in Detroit,
we didn't
have a dishwasher.

Yes, we did.
You're looking at her.

So proud of my boys.

Curtis, an engineer,
you, a doctor.

You're still thinking
about them Siamese twins,
aren't you?

Sometimes I feel like...

I don't know, Mother.

Like a faucet
that's all dried up.

I felt that way
plenty of times.

The thing is,
you got to find out
what's blocking it

and move that thing
out the way.

I don't know
what's blocking it.

Sure you do.

You may not be able
to bring back your babies
by saving these,

but, even if you fail,
at least you did something.

Bennie.

You can do this.
Sure you can.

You got
all the world in here.

You just gotta see beyond
what you can see.

Yes. Come on.

Yeah.
Yeah.

DR. ROGERS: Hello?
Mark, we're a go.

BEN: First off, we'll need
to have the room wired
with emergency power,

in case there's
an electrical failure.

Then we'll need
two of everything,

two anesthesia monitors,
two heart lung machines,

enough people on each team
to cover both babies.

We'll need
an anesthesiology team,
a team of cardiac surgeons,

a team of plastic surgeons,
a team of neurosurgeons.

And we'll need to figure out
how to fit all 50 of us
into one operating room.

Each team must rehearse
their respective procedures
step-by-step,

and each team must
develop scenarios

for the worst possible things
that could happen.

If one baby dies,
we need to separate him
as fast as possible

and give
all shared tissue
to the surviving twin.

Cardiothoracic will start
their procedures at 6:00 a.m.

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Hello, again, Peter, Augusta.
Welcome to Johns Hopkins.

Your sons' blood vessels
are like tiny faucets

with only so much blood
to lose.

Now, if we can
turn off the faucets,

we can keep your sons
from bleeding.

The only way to do this
is to stop their hearts.

Stop their...

BEN: It's not
a new procedure.

It's been used
by cardiovascular surgeons
for years.

It's just never been applied
in a situation like this.

Now, we can do it
in infants for an hour
without causing brain damage.

But that hour
is critical.

Why?
What happens
in that hour?

We'll stop their hearts,

then spend that hour
reconstructing
all the blood vessels

so that when
their hearts start again,

there won't be
any life-threatening
loss of blood.

All in one hour?

Which is why
we've rehearsed
and rehearsed,

and why we need to pray.

You pray, Doctor?

Every day.

(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)

(MACHINES BEEPING
RHYTHMICALLY)

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON:
I'm removing the pericardium

to be used later
as vascular tissue.

Cardio is done.
All yours, Ben.

My light, please.

Scalpel.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

I've opened the dura
and revealed the venous sinus
that they share.

I'm going to
start separation now,
starting below the torcula.

There's a lot
of bleeding.

Close it up.
We'll try a different area.

FEMALE NURSE:
Vital signs are stable.

Lord, it's like
a lake of blood,
it's huge.

Stitch.

We have to
start hypothermic arrest.

MALE DOCTOR: Ben, we can't
stop the hearts right now.

We haven't finished
separating all the veins.

If we do it now,
it'll cut too deeply
into our hour.

If we don't
stop the hearts,
they'll bleed out.

Start cooling the blood.

Cooling.

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON:
Prepare to inject
the saline coolant solution

to replace the blood.

Aortic cross-clamp.

Cardioplegic needle.

FEMALE NURSE:
Blood cooling
to 20 degrees.

The hearts are stopped.
Turn off
the heart-lung machine.

Okay. We have one hour
to finish separation,

rebuild the severed veins
and reconstruct the torcula.

Pick up.

Bipolar.

More suction, please.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Wong,
call the page operator.

BEN: I'm now separating
the sagittal sinus.

Okay.
Prepare for separation.

MALE DOCTOR: Right.

Set.

I'm ready to go.

All right, on my mark.

Three, two, one,
separate.

BEN: Slowly.
MALE DOCTOR: Easy.

BEN:
Get ready with the drapes.

Make sure we don't
contaminate the field.

FEMALE NURSE:
Get that drape, too.

MALE DOCTOR:
Go ahead, hang it.

Adjust that light, please.

FEMALE NURSE:
I got the drapes.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

MALE DOCTOR:
You adjust the drape?

BEN: Anesthesia?
How does it look?

ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Give us
a few minutes, Ben.

Start the restructuring
of the torcula.

This is taking three times
as long as I thought.

It's just too darn small.

ANESTHESIOLOGIST:
Pressure's coming down, Ben.

DR. LONG: Done with
vascular reconstruction.

Turn on the pump.
Yes, Doctor.

DR. LONG:
Start re-warming the blood.

Yes, Doctor.
Warming the blood.

I don't think
I can do it in time.

FEMALE NURSE: One minute,
30 seconds, Doctor.

SONYA: You don't
need the book.

You got the book
inside you.

Done.

Start the pumps.
Warm the blood.

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON:
Starting the pumps.

Get ready to
start the heart, baby one.

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON 1:
Paddles in, baby two.

(POWER CHARGING UP)

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON:
Clear, baby one.

Okay. Do it.

(BEEPING)

Baby two.
Charge to 10.

(POWER CHARGING UP)

Clear. All right, do it.

(BEEPING)

(MONITORS BEEPING)

Looks like sinus rhythm.

Start closing up
the chest.

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON:
Closing.

Begin closing the dura,
Dr. Long.

Closing, Ben.

Stitch, please.

Stitch, please.

Someone let the parents know
we're almost finished.

Yes, Doctor.

Close them up. Dr. Long?

One more stitch, Ben.

Disconnect my light, please.

Light, please.

Neuro's clear.
Plastic surgeons,
prepare to begin.

Thank you, Ben.
Plastics, stepping in.

WOMAN ON PA:
Ultrasound tech
to Labor 4, please.

Peter.

Doctor?

Which child would you
like to see first?

(GASPING)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

Thank you. Thank you.

(CRYING)
Thank you.

(SOBBING)

Good.
Yeah.

PETER: I'm okay.

PETER: Okay.
AUGUSTA: Yeah?

PETER: Okay.

MAN: All right.
MAN 1: Congratulations.

MAN 2: Fantastic. Nice work.

MAN: Good job.

Ben, congratulations.
Incredible job.

(BABY GURGLING)

(BABY GURGLES)

(PEOPLE APPLAUDING)

MAN: Nice work, Dr. Carson.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

MAN ON PA:
Ladies and gentlemen,

if you can give Dr. Carson
a moment, please,

he'll be happy to answer
all of your questions

as soon as he steps up
to the podium.

I always said,
you can do anything
anyone else can do,

only you can do it better.
Only you can do it better.

That goes for you,
too, Mother.

I love you.
I love you.