Predestination (I) (2014)

Ethan Hawke: The Barkeep

Photos 

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Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  The Bartender : What if I could put him in front of you? The man that ruined your life. If I could guarantee that you'd get away with it, would you kill him?

• The Bartender : The only thing that I know for sure, is that you are the best thing that's ever happened to me.

  The Bartender : You know who she is, and you understand who you are, and now maybe you're ready to understand who I am.

• [last lines] 

  The Bartender : You'll have to make tough choices. You'll influence the past. Can we change our futures? I don't know. The only thing that I know for sure is that you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I miss you dreadfully.

• The Unmarried Mother : I've had a lot of people tell me how sorry they are for what happened to me. I don't want to hear it any more.

  The Bartender : Then what do you want?

  The Unmarried Mother : What does anyone want?

  The Bartender : Love.

  The Unmarried Mother : Fuck love.

  The Bartender : A purpose.

  The Unmarried Mother : A purpose?

  The Bartender : You don't have that?

  The Unmarried Mother : I'm working on it.

  The Bartender : Why can't love be a purpose?

  The Unmarried Mother : Hippy bullshit.

  The Bartender : It's easier to hate than to love, right?

  The Unmarried Mother : Yeah.

  The Bartender : It's easier to destroy something. Kill somebody.

• The Bartender : The one thing that this job has taught me is that truth is stranger than fiction.

• The Unmarried Mother : [Referring to her future]  This life. Is it lonely?

  The Bartender : No family.

  The Unmarried Mother : No.

  The Bartender : But, you do have a purpose.

• The Bartender : Here you are at the beginning of your new life. It can be overwhelming knowing the future you're about to create. Knowing the purpose of that life. You know who she is. And you understand who you are. And now maybe you're ready to understand who I am. You see, I love her too.

• Mr. Robertson : The parameters set by the Bureau are strict for a reason. They exist for our protection. However, I've always thought we could accomplish so much more without the constant bureaucratic control of the board. An agent operating from the outside.

  The Bartender : She'll endure so much pain because of what I do.

  Mr. Robertson : That's the way it has to be. That's the way it's always been. You should understand that better than anyone.

  The Bartender : The snake that eats its own tail, forever and ever?

  Mr. Robertson : You're here to create history and influence what is to come.

  The Bartender : I don't think I can do it.

  Mr. Robertson : Understand. You are more than an Agent. You're a gift given to the world through a predestination paradox. You're the only one, free from history, ancestry.

  The Bartender : The rooster.

  Mr. Robertson : But you must complete your mission. You must lay the seeds of the future. We're counting on you.

  The Bartender : And what happens when that day comes, when I have no knowledge of my future?

  Mr. Robertson : Well, then, like everyone else, you're just going to have to take it one day at a time.

• The Fizzle Bomber : If you shoot me, you'll become me. You get it? That's how it happens. If you want to break the chain, you have to not kill me, but try to love me again.

• The Unmarried Mother : I stopped looking in the mirror. I hated what I saw. I have no photos of myself as a young girl. I don't even remember what I looked like. It's just more of a feeling now.

  The Bartender : Well, you look better than I do.

  The Unmarried Mother : Who cares how a barkeep looks? Or a writer for that matter.

• The Unmarried Mother : You ever hear the expression "a ruined woman"?

  The Bartender : Of course.

  The Unmarried Mother : Well, I was as ruined as a woman could be. I was no longer a woman and I did not know how to be a man.

• The Bartender : [on cassette tape]  Preparation is the key to successful, inconspicuous time travel. Luck is the residue of design.

• The Bartender : You're about to embark on the most important job a man has ever had. And you're going to do great. I know.

• The Bartender : [sings]  I'm my own granddad...