Stay (2005 Film)
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''Stay'' is a 2005 American
psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...
directed by
Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', ''Finding Neverland (film), Finding Neverland'', ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' ...
and written by
David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–201 ...
. It stars
Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...
, Naomi Watts,
Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling ( ; born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. His work includes both independent films and major studio features, and his accolades include a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, a ...
and Bob Hoskins, with production by
Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
and distribution by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
. The film represents intense relationships centering on
reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...
,
love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
,
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
,
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
, and the
afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
.


Plot

Henry Letham sits next to a car crash on the
Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
. Then, he gets up and leaves. Psychiatrist Sam Foster and his fiancée Lila meet up before work. Sam's new patient, Henry, is a college student and aspiring artist whom he describes as depressed and paranoid, with feelings of guilt and remorse. During Sam's first meeting with Henry, Henry mentions that he sometimes hears voices, and seems able to predict future events. Henry is also suspicious of Sam because his regular psychiatrist, Beth Levy, has suddenly taken leave. Sam meets with Henry after playing chess with a blind friend. When he introduces his friend, Leon, Henry is upset, because he says the man is his dead father. Not recognizing Henry, Leon leaves the room. That night Sam attempts to call Beth, to no avail. The next day, Henry hints to Sam of his plans to kill himself that Saturday at midnight. Lila, who survived a past suicide attempt, offers to help to dissuade Henry from killing himself. Henry disappears that night. Sam investigates Henry's circumstances and, after attempting to reach Dr. Levy, comes to her apartment and finds her disoriented and lethargic. Henry, who earlier claimed his parents were dead, has his account contradicted by Sam when he finds Henry's mother and her dog living in a bare house, confused about Sam's identity and refusing to respond to questions. Henry's mother's head starts bleeding and when Sam attempts to help her, her dog bites him. At the clinic, while having his dog-bitten arm treated, Sam discusses the visit with a police officer who is curious as to why he would visit that house. Sam explains what happened, but the police officer tells him that he had attended the funeral of the woman who lived there several months ago. This seems to send Sam into a fugue in which the same scene and dialogue is repeated several times. Later, Sam contacts Athena, a waitress with whom Henry has mentioned that he had fallen in love. She is an aspiring actress and he meets her at a script reading where she is reading lines from ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' with another man. She agrees to take him to Henry, but after a long trip down winding staircases he loses her. When he gets back to the rehearsal room, she is there reading the same lines as when he first encountered her. The search continues until 11:33 pm on Saturday, less than half an hour before Henry plans to kill himself. At a bookshop known to have been frequented by Henry, Sam finds a painting that Henry painted and bartered for books about Henry's favorite artist. The artist killed himself on the Brooklyn Bridge on his 21st birthday. Henry's twenty-first birthday is Sunday, and Sam realizes that Henry plans to commit
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
on the Brooklyn Bridge, imitating the artist. Sam finds Henry on that bridge in a physical atmosphere that is increasingly unraveling. Sam admits to Henry that he does not know what is real anymore. Henry tells Sam that he now knows the world is a dream, and shoots himself with his gun. The car crash of the first scene is then reprised. Henry was fatally wounded in the crash but, in his last moments, is suffering
survivor guilt Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) happens when individuals feel guilty after they survive a tragic, near death, or traumatic event when others perished. It ...
, thus spending his final moment in the dream in which the story occurred. Each of the characters introduced earlier was actually a random spectator at the site of the crash, including doctor Sam and nurse Lila, who treat Henry in an attempt to save him. They fail to rescue Henry, and Henry dies, but not before seeing Lila as Athena and proposing to her, which Lila accepts out of sympathy. Sam asks Lila out for coffee, saying he cannot sleep after what happened.


Cast

*
Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...
as Dr. Sam Foster * Naomi Watts as Lila Culpepper *
Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling ( ; born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. His work includes both independent films and major studio features, and his accolades include a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, a ...
as Henry Letham * Bob Hoskins as Dr. Leon Patterson * Janeane Garofalo as Dr. Beth Levy *
Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films '' Stay'', '' The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' ...
as Athena *
B.D. Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in '' M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...
as Dr. Bradley Ren * Kate Burton as Maureen Letham *
Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...
as Toni * Isaach de Bankolé as The Professor *
Michael Gaston Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent List of Prison Break minor characters#Quinn, Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', List of Jericho characters#Gray Anderson, Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho (20 ...
as Sheriff Kennelly *
Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (, ; November 26, 1939 – August 3, 2023) was an American actor known for his portrayal of the character Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011) and '' Better Call Saul'' (2016–2022). His performance in ''Breaking Ba ...
as the book store owner * Michael Devine as Security Guard * Riley G Matthews Jr as Officer #1 * Vito Violante as Officer #2


Production

Marc Forster's directorial style is artistic, referencing many other films including ''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...
''. Details such as the length of a character's trousers and what he is wearing on his feet are significant, too. Forster has spoken of the film's stylistic link to the films of
Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...
as there are what appear to be continuity mistakes, which are in fact tied into the plot. Forster said filming took place during late fall 2003, and editing went through several stages, as he took some time off to promote his 2004 fantasy drama film '' Finding Neverland'' in order to release the two films separately. The final draft of the movie was finished by January 2005.


Reception


Box office

The film was a massive box office failure, with a domestic gross of $3,626,883 and a foreign gross of $4,856,914, making a total worldwide gross of $8,483,797; it did not come close to making up for its estimated budget of $50,000,000.


Critical response

At review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, 26% of 121 critics positively reviewed the film, and the average rating is 4.66/10. The critical consensus reads: "A muddled brain-teaser, ''Stay'' has a solid cast and innovative visuals but little beneath the surface." According to
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which compiled 29 reviews and calculated an average score of 41 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews"."Stay (2005): Reviews"
Metacritic.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' gave the film 3½ stars out of four, saying, "The ending is an explanation, but not a solution. For a solution we have to think back through the whole film, and now the visual style becomes a guide. It is an illustration of the way the materials of life can be shaped for the purposes of the moment."
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' also praised the film, awarding it three stars out of four and saying, "Some people find this twisty and twisted psychological thriller arty and pretentious. I find it arty and provocative."
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...
of ''ReelViews'' gave ''Stay'' 2½ stars out of four, calling it "interesting" but finding it "hard to recommend to anyone but the small cadre of
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
devotees who will inhale anything with a whiff of similarity to their favorite auteur's scent." Lisa Schwarzbaum of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the film a "C", praising the "profuse imagery" but ultimately feeling it to be "a tepid film" with "flat characters" and "anchorless performances". Many critics had far more negative assessments. Rex Reed of ''The New York Observer'' wrote, "This is the kind of flop that makes even the popcorn taste lousy." Andrew O'Hehir wrote in ''Salon'', "A lot of talent gets expended in ''Stay''. (I'm not including whoever dressed McGregor.) Too bad the movie they made, while effective in short spurts, is almost a complete waste of time. Michael Booth wrote in ''The Denver Post'', "What's this movie about?" and added, "''Stay'' goes nowhere for far too long, then tries to go everywhere in just a couple of final moments. I can't tell you how they try to explain it, in part because that would give away what little satisfaction the movie holds, and in part because I have no blooming idea.


See also

* An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge *
Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder () is a ladder or staircase leading to Heaven that was featured in a dream the Biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of the dream has been de ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stay 2005 films 2005 psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films Films about road accidents and incidents Films directed by Marc Forster 20th Century Fox films Regency Enterprises films Films with screenplays by David Benioff Films produced by Arnon Milchan 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language thriller films