Stay (I) (2005)

This movie focuses on the attempts of a psychiatrist to prevent one of his patients from committing suicide while trying to maintain his own grip on reality.

Director:

Marc Forster

Writer:

David Benioff

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Kate Burton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	Dr. Sam Foster
Ryan Gosling	...	Henry Letham
Kate Burton	...	Mrs. Letham
Naomi Watts	...	Lila Culpepper
Elizabeth Reaser	...	Athena
Bob Hoskins	...	Dr. Leon Patterson
Janeane Garofalo	...	Dr. Beth Levy
BD Wong	...	Dr. Ren
John Tormey	...	Custodian / Piano Mover #1
José Ramón Rosario	...	Cabbie / Piano Mover #2 (as José Ramon Rosario)
Becky Ann Baker	...	Paramedic #1 / Butch Cook
Lisa Kron	...	Paramedic #2
Gregory Mitchell	...	Dance Instructor
John Dominici	...	Boy / Young Henry
Jessica Hecht	...	Boy's Mother

Storyline

A thought-provoking and haunting exploration of how reality and dream-states may combine to form complex interactions. The line between the imagination and reality blurs when an accomplished Psychiatrist takes on a patient that appears to be suicidal.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | patient | suicide | bridge | painter | 

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Taglines:

Between the worlds of the living and the dead there is a place you're not supposed to stay.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Twentieth Century Fox [fr] Twentieth Century Fox [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El umbral

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$165,388 (Brazil) (30 December 2005)

Gross:

$165,388 (Brazil) (30 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Epsilon Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first screenplay David Benioff sold. It sold for $1.5 million.

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Goofs

Many times throughout the film when an emergency siren is heard, the siren is not the shrill US siren, but an obvious European style siren.

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Quotes

Lila Culpepper: You know, the day I did it, I took two razorblades to the bathtub. You know why? Because I knew that once I started to bleed, I'd get weak. And I didn't wanna drop one blade and leave myself half done. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine hating your life so much that you'd wanna bring a backup razor?

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Connections

Featured in Writing the Music for 'Stay' (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Cold Water"
Written and Performed by Damien Rice
Courtesy of Vector Recordings, LLC / Warner Bros. Records, Inc., 14th Floor Records
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing and Warner Strategic Marketing UK
(played in the end of the movie)

User Reviews

More about the journey than the destination

It would be cruel to reveal anything about the story before seeing this film because most of the enjoyment is learning which path the story will choose.

The film has masterful visual style. At times it appears to be a normal picture until the surreal aspects make themselves known with subtlety. The editing is seamless, almost but not quite confusing, and the callbacks to earlier scenes are never overused.

It is not a spoiler to state that early on Something Isn't Quite Right, and there are story elements that the avid moviegoer will know to be central to the conclusion. However, it's the path that leads to the end that makes the time enjoyable.

Naomi Watts, as usual, is perfect, and Ewan McGregor has again picked one of the scripts that was for the art and not the money. Ryan Gosling is effective, and Jeanine Garafolo's three minutes were eerie. I'm certain that Elizabeth Reaser will be seen again.

Not a perfect movie, but definitely worth the time if you enjoy surrealistic stories.

8/10