Richard Character Analysis

JOHN TATE: Are you on my side? With Richard and Danny? Are you on our side, Cathy?

CATHY: Yes.

JOHN TATE: Good. Lou?

LOU: Yes.

JOHN TATE: You’re on our side, Lou?

LOU: Yes, John.

JOHN TATE: You sure?

LOU: Yeah, I’m –

JOHN TATE: That just leaves you, Brian. You crying little piece of filth.

Beat. BRIAN stops crying. Looks up.

BRIAN: I think we should tell someone.

JOHN TATE begins to walk towards BRIAN.

Everything’s much better, though. I mean really, it is. Everyone’s working together. They’re a lot happier. Remember last month, Dan threatened to kill Cathy? well yesterday I saw him showing her his phone, like they were old friends. Last week Richard invited Mark to his party, bring a friend, anyone you like, can you believe that? Richard and Mark? Yep. Everyone’s happier. It’s pouring into the school, grief, grief is making them happy.

PHIL: You’re going in.

BRIAN: No.

PHIL: Yes.

BRIAN: No, Phil –

PHIL: Yes, yes, shhhh, yes. Sorry. You have to go in. Or we’ll take you up the grille. […] We’ll throw you in.

RICHARD: Er, Phil.

DANNY: Is he serious?

LEAH: He’s always serious.

PHIL: We’ll take you up the grille now. Well get you by the arms. By the legs. And we’ll swing you onto the grille. We’ll throw rocks at you until you drop through. You’ll drop through. You’ll fall into the cold. Into the dark. You’ll land on Adam’s corpse and you’ll rot together.

Everyone’s asking after you. You know that? Everyone’s saying ‘where’s Phil?’ ‘what’s Phil up to?’ ‘when’s Phil going to come down from that stupid field?’ ‘wasn’t it good when Phil was running the show?’ What do you think about that? What do you think about everyone asking after you?

John Tate’s found God. Yeah, Yeah I know. He’s joined the Jesus Army, he runs round the shopping centre singing and trying to give people leaflets. Danny’s doing work experience at a dentist’s. He hates it. […] Brian’s on stronger and stronger medication. They caught him staring at a wall and drooling last week. […] Cathy doesn’t care. She’s too busy running things. You wouldn’t believe how things have got, Phil. She’s insane. She cut a first year’s finger off, that’s what they say anyway.

Doesn’t that bother you? Aren’t you even bothered?

And in that second, Phil, I knew that there was life on other planets. I knew we weren’t alone in the universe, I didn’t just think it or feel it, I knew it, I know it, it was as if the universe was suddenly shifting and giving me a glimpse, this vision that could see everything, just for a fraction of a heartbeat of a second. But I couldn’t see who they were or what they were doing or how they were living.

How do you think they’re living, Phil?

How do you think they’re living?

JOHN TATE: Are you on my side? With Richard and Danny? Are you on our side, Cathy?

CATHY: Yes.

JOHN TATE: Good. Lou?

LOU: Yes.

JOHN TATE: You’re on our side, Lou?

LOU: Yes, John.

JOHN TATE: You sure?

LOU: Yeah, I’m –

JOHN TATE: That just leaves you, Brian. You crying little piece of filth.

Beat. BRIAN stops crying. Looks up.

BRIAN: I think we should tell someone.

JOHN TATE begins to walk towards BRIAN.

Everything’s much better, though. I mean really, it is. Everyone’s working together. They’re a lot happier. Remember last month, Dan threatened to kill Cathy? well yesterday I saw him showing her his phone, like they were old friends. Last week Richard invited Mark to his party, bring a friend, anyone you like, can you believe that? Richard and Mark? Yep. Everyone’s happier. It’s pouring into the school, grief, grief is making them happy.

PHIL: You’re going in.

BRIAN: No.

PHIL: Yes.

BRIAN: No, Phil –

PHIL: Yes, yes, shhhh, yes. Sorry. You have to go in. Or we’ll take you up the grille. […] We’ll throw you in.

RICHARD: Er, Phil.

DANNY: Is he serious?

LEAH: He’s always serious.

PHIL: We’ll take you up the grille now. Well get you by the arms. By the legs. And we’ll swing you onto the grille. We’ll throw rocks at you until you drop through. You’ll drop through. You’ll fall into the cold. Into the dark. You’ll land on Adam’s corpse and you’ll rot together.

Everyone’s asking after you. You know that? Everyone’s saying ‘where’s Phil?’ ‘what’s Phil up to?’ ‘when’s Phil going to come down from that stupid field?’ ‘wasn’t it good when Phil was running the show?’ What do you think about that? What do you think about everyone asking after you?

John Tate’s found God. Yeah, Yeah I know. He’s joined the Jesus Army, he runs round the shopping centre singing and trying to give people leaflets. Danny’s doing work experience at a dentist’s. He hates it. […] Brian’s on stronger and stronger medication. They caught him staring at a wall and drooling last week. […] Cathy doesn’t care. She’s too busy running things. You wouldn’t believe how things have got, Phil. She’s insane. She cut a first year’s finger off, that’s what they say anyway.

Doesn’t that bother you? Aren’t you even bothered?

And in that second, Phil, I knew that there was life on other planets. I knew we weren’t alone in the universe, I didn’t just think it or feel it, I knew it, I know it, it was as if the universe was suddenly shifting and giving me a glimpse, this vision that could see everything, just for a fraction of a heartbeat of a second. But I couldn’t see who they were or what they were doing or how they were living.

How do you think they’re living, Phil?

How do you think they’re living?