With slick and self-assured performances in Fracture, Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Ides of March, off-beat turns in Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson and Drive, and dramatic skill in Blue Valentine, The Notebook and The Place Beyond the Pines, sex symbol Ryan Gosling has catapulted himself to the A-List of Hollywood.
While I am a strong supporter of the vast majority of those films, my favorite of Gosling's is actually Stay (2005), a lesser-known entry on his impressive resume. Though to be fair, since he isn't top billing, it isn't exactly his film.
Stay, directed wonderfully by Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction and World War Z), stars Ewan McGregor as Dr. Sam Foster, a psychiatrist who has been asked to try to help Henry Letham (Gosling), a gifted art student who is threatening to commit suicide on his upcoming 21st birthday. Letham's favorite artist is Tristan Reveur, an immensely talented painter who killed himself on the Brooklyn Bridge on his 21st birthday.
Tasked with understanding Henry's motives and general state of mind, Sam becomes increasingly intrigued by him, at times appearing to inherit some of Henry's issues or even switch places with him. Henry claims that he has nothing to live for and that he deserves to die, but why?
We learn that the woman Henry pines over, a friendly and unassuming waitress named Athena, (Elizabeth Reaser) has no inkling of his affections and that his parents are both dead -- or are they? And if they are, how did they die?
As the movie progresses, Henry meets Sam's friend, Dr. Leon Patterson (the late Bob Hoskins), a blind man with whom Sam plays chess. During their initial meeting, Henry adamantly claims that Leon is his father, much to Sam's dismay and Leon's utter confusion. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Henry asks with pain and disbelief in his eyes, "I saw you die."
Later on, Sam has a disturbing encounter with a woman claiming to be Henry's mother (Kate Burton). So what the hell is going on? Are these people Henry's parents? Who is telling the truth, and where is the line between delusion and reality?
Much of Stay's intrigue lies in those questions.
It's difficult to truly categorize the film -- it has strong elements of suspense, mystery and drama, all of which are handled with flair and style by the director, Mr. Forster. I'm a fan of Gosling, McGregor (see Beginners, not for everyone but I found it soothingly bittersweet), Hoskins and Naomi Watts -- who plays Sam's girlfriend, Lila, who also attempted suicide in the past -- but in my opinion Forster is the star of Stay.
There is a story developing in the foreground, but the story Forster is manipulating in the background is equally as interesting and at times, puzzling. Pay close attention to the visuals, and you will be rewarded.
I can't divulge much about the ending except that, the more times I've seen this movie, the more I've liked it. Stay ends up packing a surprising emotional punch. In today's era of formulaic crowd pleasers, isn't it a great joy NOT to know the ending of a film within the first ten minutes of the proceedings?
"Stay" with it, keep an open mind, and you will enjoy it. I know I do.
** JOHNNY FRO'S RATING: 9 out of 10 **
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