Summaries

Synopsis

Mickey Scarpato (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and wife Jeanie (Christina Hendricks) attend the funeral of her son and his stepson, Leon (Caleb Landry Jones).In a voice over, journalist Richard Shelburn (Richard Jenkins) reads from his column about the "working men of God's Pocket." Richard says that everybody knows everybody else in God's Pocket with all their virtues and vices (cheaters, kid beaters, thieves, arsonists). Yet, they are still all there, being who they are. The community forgives everything, except not being from God's Pocket.

Three days earlier, we see Mickey having sex with Jeanie as Leon takes pills before going to his job as a day laborer. While at work during lunch hour, Leon racially taunts an older African-American worker named Old Lucy (Arthur French) while brandishing a knife (it was actually a pocket comb and Leon was being a tough guy). The man bashes Leon on the head, killing him. Later, the workers at the site tell the police the death was an accident.Jeanie is from God's Pocket, while Mickey is an outsider.

Mickey, Arthur (John Turturro) and Sal (Domenick Lombardozzi) have arranged to steal a truck filled with meat by paying off the truck's driver. Sal punches the driver for being too curious. After the theft, a power outage leads to problems about where to store the meat. Mickey usually stores the meat in the back of Aunt Sophie's flower shop, but her locality has been out of power for the last 2 hours.Arthur explains to Mickey that he owes Sal "20 large" and which is why he had to include Sal in the heist. Mickey agrees to give the $20,000 to Arthur in exchange for the stolen meat. Mickey has to keep the meat in his truck as there is no other place to store it.

Back at home, Mickey is told by Jeanie that Leon is dead and that she doesn't believe it was an accident.Richard Shelburn is drinking in the office and is told by his editor Brookie that he missed 42 days of work last year. At a bar, Richard meets a young aspiring journalist and goes to bed with her but can't perform because he drank too many screwdrivers.

At a bar run by McKenna (Peter Gerety), Mickey receives condolences on the death of his stepson. McKenna tells him they're collecting money for the funeral, which will turn out to be the $1,440.Mickey makes arrangements for Leon with funeral director Smiling' Jack Moran (Eddie Marsan), but worries about the expense as the mahogany casket costs $6000. Jack insists Jeanie wouldn't want something cheap.Back home, Jeanie's sisters Joyce and Joanie (Molly Price) have come to keep her company.The next morning Jack comes home and sells the mahogany casket directly to Jeanie and Mickey cannot argue in front of her.

At McKenna's bar, the patrons complain about errors in the newspaper story about Leon's death. The patrons cannot believe that Leon slipped, and something fell on top crushing his skull. Richard is assigned by his editor to cover the story. When Richard later visits McKenna's bar, he is warmly received by the patrons.

Mickey tells Arthur that Jeanie has doubts about the official cause of Leon's death, and Arthur asks Sal for help. Sal sends two men to the work-site to pressure the workers. However, the foreman fights back and gouges out the eye of one of the men.At an off-track betting site, Mickey advises Arthur to bet on a horse named Turning Leaf. Arthur is worried about the #6 horse in the race. Mickey bets the $1440 on Turning Leaf and Arthur bets everything he had on #6.Arthur's concerns prove to be correct as the #6 horse wins and Mickey loses a lot of money. Arthur wins $12,000.

Richard visits Jeanie for his story and immediately falls for her. He invites her to his place by the lake and she goes because she hopes he will investigate Leon's death. At a picnic near the lake, Richard talks about how much he is admired in the city. He tells Jeanie he loves her, but she appears indifferent to him. Richard still has sex with Jeanie as she wants to find out what happened to Leon.Smiling' Jack and Mickey argue over money (Mickey only had $700 on him that Arthur gave him) at the funeral home and get into a physical fight. Jack locks Mickey outside with Leon's corpse. The funeral is only a day away. Mickey puts Leon's body in his truck. When Mickey goes to sell the meat from the theft, the buyer refuses it after seeing the corpse in the truck with the meat.

Sal and an accomplice visit the flower shop run by Aunt Sophie (Joyce Van Patten) in search of Arthur, who Sal blames for the attack on the men (one of whom was his cousin). Protecting Arthur, Sophie shoots both men dead and calls the police, claiming they were trying to rob her store.Mickey tries to sell his truck for money to pay for the funeral services. He doesn't want the buyer to see what's in the back. When the buyer's employee takes the truck for a test drive, Mickey chases the truck on foot. Seeing Mickey in chase, the driver runs a red light, causing a crash that spills meat and Leon's corpse onto the street.

Mickey forces the buyer to give him six grand for the truck. He uses the money to pay Smiling' Jack, and Leon's body is back in the morgue.At the bar, a patron tells Mickey that everyone thinks Richard and Jeanie are sleeping together.

The movie then returns to its opening sequence. In a voiceover, Richard calls people of the Pocket "dirty faced and uneducated" in his column.

Richard returns to McKenna's bar but is told he is unwelcome. The patrons think his article insulted them. Despite his insistence that he's on their side, a group of men drag him outside to beat him. Mickey tries to protect Richard but is told by McKenna "you are not from here either." Richard is beaten as Jeanie watches from her house across the street.Mickey visits Arthur and Sophie in Florida, where they are hiding after she killed Sal.