Hulk (2003)
Jennifer Connelly: Betty Ross
Photos
Quotes
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[after Betty calms the Hulk in San Francisco]
Bruce Banner : You found me.
Betty Ross : You weren't that hard to find.
Bruce Banner : Yes, I was.
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Betty Ross : All you've given Bruce is fear. Fear of life.
Father : Fear. Perhaps, Miss Ross. And loneliness, too. Yes. I feel them both. But I have lived completely once. I was so much in love. And she so much wanted a baby. My baby. I could tell from the moment she conceived that it wasn't a son I had given her, but something else. A monster, maybe. I should have put a stop to it right then, but I was curious, and that was my downfall. And as I watched this tiny life unfold, I began to imagine the horror of it, and my curiosity was replaced with compassion. But they took away my chance to cure him. Your father threw me out. I remember that day so well. Every moment. Every sensation. Walking into the house. The feeling of the handle of the knife in my hand. I knew I was doing a father's work, fulfilling a father's mercy... but then she surprised me. It was as if she and the knife merged. You cannot imagine the unbearable finality of it. And in that one moment, I took everything that was dear to me and transformed it into nothing more than a memory.
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Betty Ross : We're buried out here in the middle of nowhere. How long are you going to keep him sedated?
Ross : For the rest of his natural life, if I have to.
Betty Ross : You said I could trust you.
Ross : I'm your father. You can trust me to do what I think is right, not what you think you want.
Betty Ross : He is a human being.
Ross : Well, he is also something else. Suppose he gets out, has one of his little mood swings in a populated area.
Betty Ross : Yes, I'm aware of the potential danger. I'm also aware that he saved my life.
Ross : Yeah, from a mutant French poodle. I'm indebted to him for that. He also put three men in a hospital, and Talbot's barely walking! I mean, what do you want me to do?
Betty Ross : I want you to help him! Why is he such a threat to you?
Ross : Because I know what he comes from. He is his father's son, every last molecule of him. He says he doesn't know his father, but he's workin' in the same exact goddamn field his father did. So either he's lyin' or it's somethin' worse, and he's...
Betty Ross : What? Predestined to follow in his father's footsteps?
Ross : I was gonna say "damned."
Betty Ross : Of course you were. But I'm a scientist. As a scientist, I believe we can figure this out and he can be helped.
Ross : I know you do. Whether you know or care, I've got a lot of pride in what you've done. But this is too big for you.
Betty Ross : Look, I know the government thinks they have a weapon on their hands. Otherwise, he'd be dead by now. They can probe and prod all they want, and in the meanwhile, just let me try to help him. Nobody knows him better than I do. What did David Banner do to him?
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Bruce Banner : You wanna go to the review board on Monday and tell them we've developed a brand-new method for exploding frogs?
Betty Ross : Yeah, I think maybe there's a market for it. I mean, what if there's a plague?
Bruce Banner : What have you had, Betty, like, one beer?
Betty Ross : I'm just... I'm just saying, you know, frogs start falling from the sky, who do they come to? We'd be world-renowned.
Bruce Banner : Make any parent proud.
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Father : How little you understand, Miss Ross. And how dangerous your ignorance has become.
Betty Ross : I'm sorry?
Father : Don't be sorry. My son is... unique. That's why you can't relate to him. And because he is unique, the world will not tolerate his existence. Will they? But you - you try. Don't you?
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Betty Ross : What happened to you last night?
Bruce Banner : I had the most vivid dream. It was like being born. Coming up for air, light hitting my face, screaming. My heartbeat was like boom, boom, boom.
Betty Ross : Were you at the lab?
Bruce Banner : No, but something... and there was that man. The one with the dogs.
Betty Ross : Who.
Bruce Banner : That new janitor. He said he was my father.
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[deleted scene, Betty and Bruce's review board presentation]
Betty Ross : The Nanomeds, which are essentially little molecular machines remain inert in the body until we activate them with a burst of gamma radiation. Then they instantly go to work repairing tissues, by breaking down damaged cells, and by forcing healthy cells to replicate. The problem we've been having involves managing the energy flux created by such rapid cellular activity and the buildup of waste products from the dismantled cells. Which have so far led to catastrophic results. In our next round of experiments, we'll be damaging the cells with drastically higher doses of gamma radiation, resulting in more uniform trauma. We hope in this way to better contain their destructive potential. If we do, if we succeed, we may someday realize our goal of near-instantaneous bodily repair.
Review Board Member : But to date the Nanomeds have failed. What are you looking at in terms of...
Bruce Banner : They know too much.
Review Board Member : I'm sorry?
Bruce Banner : Death is a kind of forgetting. You see, each time a human cell replicates, it loses a little more DNA from the end of its chromosomes. Eventually what happens is it forgets so much that it forgets its function, its ability to cope with trauma to continue to reproduce. Whereas life, life is the ability to both retrieve and act on memory. What makes the Nanomeds so extraordinary, and continuing our funding worthy, of course, is the fact they are life. Unbound. It's beautiful, but it's untenable. Part of life is death, is forgetting, and unchecked, its mutations... it's monstrous. You see, the Nanomeds remember their instructions too well. Basically, to stay in balance and alive, we must forget as much as we remember.
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Betty Ross : My God. It must be the nanomeds. It must be the gamma exposure. But we've never seen any effect like this before.
Bruce Banner : No. Deeper. The gamma just unleashed what was already there.
Betty Ross : Unleashed what?
Bruce Banner : Me. It.
[gasping]
Betty Ross : It's okay. It's okay. What were those animals?
Bruce Banner : My father sent them. He is my father. He wanted me to change. He wanted me to change into that mindless hulk. Why would he want that?
Betty Ross : Can you remember anything? Is there anything from when you were changed?
Bruce Banner : It was like a dream.
Betty Ross : About what?
Bruce Banner : Rage. Power. And freedom.
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Betty Ross : Bruce, this isn't funny. I was watching you. You were going to die, and I was going to have to watch you die.
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[after the Hulk falls into San Francisco Bay]
Betty Ross : Dad?
Ross : Betty? We don't have a choice. I have to destroy him.
Betty Ross : But you can't. You will only fuel his rage, and you will make him stronger.
Ross : It's you he's coming for. You know that.
Betty Ross : Then let me go to him. Please. Just give him a chance to calm down.
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Betty Ross : [first line, to Bruce] Hey. I found you.
Bruce Banner : Betty, hey.
Betty Ross : I hate them.
Bruce Banner : Wait, I just got here. Who do we hate?
Betty Ross : The review board. We have to make a presentation on Tuesday.
Bruce Banner : [groans]
Betty Ross : And you're gonna make it with me.
Bruce Banner : You think I should?
Betty Ross : Yeah, you're great with that stuff. You start talking about microbes and nanomeds, you sound almost passionate.
[beat, Bruce gives her an "Excuse me?" kind of look]
Betty Ross : I'm sorry. That was rude.
Bruce Banner : Look, nobody expects this to be easy, us working together after being so close.
Betty Ross : We were close?
Bruce Banner : [snorts] Look, if I could be more whatever, you know. I'm just...
Betty Ross : Don't. It's not your fault, really. You're just a byproduct of my inexplicable obsession with emotionally distant men. I'll get over us.
Bruce Banner : Good for you.
Betty Ross : Anyway, I'm just really stressed about this review. If we don't get impressive results today, we're gonna have a really hard sell come Tuesday.
Bruce Banner : Well, then, let's go be impressive.
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Betty Ross : Good morning. Glenn dropped by.
Bruce Banner : What's he doing here?
Talbot : You know, Dr. Krenzler, you and I have never had the chance to get to know each other properly.
Bruce Banner : Well, that's because I don't want to get to know you, properly or improperly. So, leave.
Talbot : Hey, no worries. You know, let me give you a little heads-up. There is a hairsbreadth between friendly offer and hostile takeover. I've done my homework. The work you're doing here is dynamite. Think: GIs embedded with technology that makes them instantly repairable on the battlefield in our sole possession. That's a hell of a business.
Bruce Banner : Well, it's not what we're doing here. We're doing the basic science for everyone.
Talbot : You know, someday I'm gonna write a book and I'm gonna call it When Stupid Ideals Happen To Smart, Penniless Scientists. In the meantime, Bruce, you will be hearing from me.
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[deleted scene]
Betty Ross : [Betty receives a phone call] Hello?
Bruce Banner : Hey.
Betty Ross : Hey. How are you?
Bruce Banner : I'm fine.
Betty Ross : Are you sure?
Bruce Banner : Yeah.
Betty Ross : What are you doing?
Bruce Banner : I'm just sitting here, thinking about you. About your dream.
Betty Ross : Which dream?
Bruce Banner : In the desert.
Betty Ross : What were you thinking about?
Bruce Banner : I don't know. Sometimes when I'm not really thinking about much of anything, I remember images from it. Did I ever tell you that?
Betty Ross : No.
Bruce Banner : It's like I dreamed it myself.
Betty Ross : You should get some sleep.
Bruce Banner : Yeah. You too.
Betty Ross : Good night.
Bruce Banner : Good night.
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Betty Ross : [phone message] Bruce, hey. Are you there? Look, um, I think I screwed up. My father - It's like he suspects you of something. I don't know. I was so impatient, like always. I didn't hear him out. I don't know, I - I just think that they're planning something with the lab. So, um, uh - Call me. Okay? Bye.
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Bruce Banner : What's the matter?
Betty Ross : [chuckles] It's these dreams, Doctor. I keep having them and they're terrible.
Bruce Banner : Tell me about your dream.
Betty Ross : Well, it starts... It starts with a memory. I think it's my first memory. It's this image I have from when I was maybe two years old.
Bruce Banner : Do you think it's just a dream?
Betty Ross : No, I think it's something that happened when I was living at a desert base with my father. Anyhow, the dream goes on and suddenly I'm alone.
Bruce Banner : That's terrible. You know I'd never hurt you.
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Betty Ross : What happened to your uniform?
Talbot : Oh, I, uh - I switched over. I'm still working with your father, but - Well, you know, the military's subcontracting out all the most interesting work, and - Can't argue with a paycheck. I basically run all the labs on the base now.
Betty Ross : Oh.
Talbot : Hey, you're uh - you're looking good. You're the genetics expert. Ah, the good old college days. So, how's business?
Betty Ross : What do you want?
Talbot : All right, I'll cut to the chase. I've been hearing interesting things about what you guys are doing here. Your little molecular machines have some incredible implications. How would you like to come work for Atheon? Get paid ten times as much as you earn now and own a piece of the patents. You just have to say the word.
Betty Ross : Two words: the door.
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Ross : Look, I'm gonna get right to it.
Betty Ross : It's about Glenn, isn't it? He's been snooping around my lab.
Ross : Glenn noticed some things, asked me to make some inquiries.
Betty Ross : Are you here to question me?
Ross : No. We've turned up some surprising things. This Krenzler you work with - you know who he really is? How much do you actually know about him?
Betty Ross : I think the question is, what is it that you know about him?
Ross : Well, right now, I'm not at...
Betty Ross : Not at liberty to disclose it to me. Right, right. You know, I think I was hoping that... maybe this time you just... honestly wanted to see me again.
Ross : You've got this all wrong, Betty.
Betty Ross : Do I?
Ross : Yes. I do want to see you.
Betty Ross : I really wish that I could believe you.
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Betty Ross : What do you mean I don't have access to him?
Ross : NSA has decided to turn over study of the, uh, the threat to Atheon.
Betty Ross : But you're head of the base. I thought you were in charge.
Ross : But I don't set policy, and I still take orders.
[yells]
Ross : I can't believe Talbot would go around me like this! Oh, there's a lot of powerful people that want in on this. And money to be made, lots of it. You know the worst part about all this? When I had David Banner locked up and sent that kid away, I didn't give that boy a second thought. He was just collateral damage. Well, he isn't anymore, is he?
Betty Ross : What can I do?
Ross : You can go home now. I'd tell you to go and say goodbye, but I've already been informed that for now all further contact is out of the question.
Betty Ross : Right.
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[from trailer]
Betty Ross : I think the rage is triggering the transformations.
Ross : It sounds a little far-fetched.
Betty Ross : I think we passed far-fetched a long time ago.
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[from trailer]
Doctor : [to Bruce] I don't understand this. You were exposed to a dose of gamma radiation that should be lethal, but you seem just fine.
Betty Ross : [to Bruce] Maybe there's something different in you.
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[from trailer]
Betty Ross : Bruce, I don't understand what I just saw.
Bruce Banner : It's like the gamma unleashed something that was already there.
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[deleted scene, Betty finds men exiting her house upon returning after meeting David Banner]
Betty Ross : [gasps] What are you doing?
Army MP : Sorry, miss. It's orders. Anything related to the lab, we've got to impound.
Betty Ross : And him?
[motioning to another MP in a car across the street]
Army MP : He's here for your own protection.
Betty Ross : Right. I should have known. Go ahead.
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Betty Ross : How are you?
Bruce Banner : Okay, I guess.
Betty Ross : I think that somehow your anger is triggering the nanomeds.
Bruce Banner : How could it? We designed them to respond to physical damage.
Betty Ross : Emotional damage can manifest physically.
Bruce Banner : Like what?
Betty Ross : Serious trauma. Repressed memories.
Bruce Banner : Your father grilled me about something that happened to me from early childhood that I'm supposed to remember.
Betty Ross : He did?
Bruce Banner : It sounded bad, but... I honestly don't remember.
Betty Ross : The thing that worries me is a physical wound is finite, but with emotions, what's to say it won't just go on and on and start a chain reaction?
Bruce Banner : You know what scares me the most? When it happens, when it comes over me and I totally lose control, I like it.
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Betty Ross : [answers phone] Hello?
Ross : Betty? That you?
Betty Ross : Dad?
Ross : I'm glad I caught you.
Betty Ross : I'm glad you called.
Ross : Thanks. Look, Betty, you and I have... Well, we both know that Bruce couldn't have survived that blast. But, well, you know...
Betty Ross : What is it?
Ross : Aw, you know, the usual loonies seeing things, only now everything's green.
Betty Ross : [laughs] Right.
Ross : Look, uh if by some chance he did survive, he should try to contact you, try to get in touch you'd tell me, wouldn't you?
Betty Ross : No, I wouldn't. But you know as well as I do I wouldn't have to. I mean, my phones are bugged. My computer tapped. I'm under surveillance. I'll tell you, though that if he were alive. I'm the last person I would want him to come to. Because as much as I miss him, I... I loved him, but I...
Ross : [regretfully] Yeah. I'm sorry, Betty. I am so sorry.
Betty Ross : I know you are.
