Is STAY a Misunderstood Gem? - Analyzed and Explained
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Chris Stuckmann
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Chris Stuckmann analyzes Stay (2005).
This movie literally made me feel like I was dreaming, because this is exactly how dreams feel. It even gives me a feeling of nostalgia, it's crazy.
I feel the same right now
Same
I watched this movie when it came out, leaving a deep dream like impression. Almost 10 years later i get this memory resurfacing and making me wonder if it was real. When i watched it again, man how grateful i am this movie exists!
You know what happened to me tonight, so i was watching it last night at like 11pm i was feeling kinda sleepy too so i watched it for an hour then slept, then idk why i just kept dreaming about it, like my mind was telling me to watch it completely before sleeping so i woke up at 2 am and watched it completely, it was so freaking surreal, i have never ever experienced anything like this in my life, and you are right it feels so much like a dream, an absolute masterpiece
felt like Lynch and Fincher had a baby
At one point i thought Ewan McGregor and Ryan Goslings character were the same person
I was thinking that too
IKR i thought it would pull a fight club on us XD
I thought at first that Sam was Henry from the past, and Henry was the adult version of the character. this theory came from the recurring 21s, and the short childlike pants of Sam.
Luke Duke Sam is a product of Henry's imagination. So, in a way, they are the same person.
kind of was at least in the dream
I worked on Stay as an extra. The amount of dedication and attention to detail that went into the scenes shot was absolutely incredible. Marc Forster had Bob Hoskins play a rain scene, barefoot in 33 degree weather 27 times. In between takes, shivering and teeth chattering, yet when shooting, incredibly on queue. Every actor was intense. Glad I had a chance to be a part of the genius. Marc Forster is impressive, as is the movie.
That's awesome, would you be up for sitting down some time to talk about your experience working on the film?
I just have to say that this movie is in my top 5 favorites. I find it incredibly artistic, beautiful
and nostalgic. The videography and music is ethereal. I have watched it many times and always
discover something new. Its an onion to be peeled back. Fantastic Marc Forster
@@3Sanibel33"Synecdoche New York" shares some of the wackiness, brilliant performances and melancholy undertones...
@james conlin Being an extra isn`t exactly something to brag about, they pull them right off the street in many if not most cases.
james conlin it’s not hard to be an extra in a movie. Especially when there are lots of shots outside in crowded areas.
"Stay" is a film that requires his audience to "stay" with the film until the end to appreciate it. Quite poetic
Something you missed: Tristan Reveur, the artist Henry idolizes and is quoted in the film as writing "an elegant suicide is the ultimate work of art", is not a real poet. Tistan means "an outcry" and Reveur means "dream", in french. This movie is Henry's final outcry, in the form of a dream, his ultimate work of art.
Wow, that's another neat fact! Thanks for pointing that out.
thats insane
Native French speaker here. Let me please correct you.
"Tristan" is an an archaic but still popular given name in both French and English, which probably comes from the Celtic word for thunder. But in French, it sounds very close to the word "triste", which means 'sad'. As for "rêveur", it means "dreamer".
So "Tristan Reveur" actually sounds like 'sad dreamer'.
Love this film I 've never Heard before. M'y turns to share something I didn' t see in the different analysis : the bricks/the rock on this famous bridge is all over the scenes and the "vault/arch/roof" of the bridge ( see from below, because of Henry point of view) is also everywhere : In Sam's appartement, in his building (that looks like a prison as Henry's statue of mind, in the stairs, the theater, this sort of museum with big beauriful column like thé bidge etc... I also beleive this NY bridge has two level, one for cars and another one for People walking, and is very symetric. And we're also getting this many time in the movie plans with the stairs upside down repeating like the Inception movie.
wow didnt even think about that
If you watch the movie with headphones on like I did, you'll hear "stay" and "stay with me" whispered throughout the movie.
Stephanie oooh! I just got chills
Me too
That's cool. Like really cool
Amazing
Oooh, I couldn't hear what were those whispers saying, that's awesome!
The whole movie is explained in one sentence IMO, there it is:
"Henry Letham has a fertile, powerful imagination. If he maintains his concentration, he will create new worlds with his art."
Stunning catch.
Thats two sentences
Of course you're right. Lets look at some of that amazing art born out of his concentration on the bridge. Sadly Henry gave up painting after he died. Next explanation.
@@mperhaps hahaha LOL good reply.
This is a story about dying. Soul gots 3 days to ,,live'' in limbo like Jesus had.
This is actually one of the most accurate visualizations of a dream to me. I dream in the same fashion, with blurry cuts between locations, characters and sometimes, play back a scene several tries to change what happens.
I love hearing things like this cause what you're describing is nothing like how I dream. To me its amazing to me that it can vary so much from person to person how we dream or think.
@@khaxjc1 how do you dream? I dream like a 15 minute short film after another with non coherent plots.
I think this is what draws the fans of the movie to this movie
@@khaxjc1 some just dream and some see prophecies, visions
i agree. imagine how hard it would be to accurately portray a dream. some people do it more subtly but in the early 00's, the mainstream aesthetic was trash and technical filmmaking wasn't at the level it is today obviously
this felt more like a real dream to me than vanilla sky, mulholland drive, or eyes wide shut even though its not exactly how a dream feels
Most saddest thing is that Henry probably had enough energy to dream further, or even stay alive in real world in some way, but he realised truth about his state and committed an actual suicide under immesurable weight of loss. He just refused to go further with it
I think the saddest thing is that his life is cut short and he'll never get to find out if he's remembered or experience his artistic potential. Perhaps what you mean by 'refusal' is his preoccupation with death prior to the accident having something to do with manifesting a fatal accident.
come on, not only that. I'd say he gave up fighting for his life, because he was aware what happend and was imagining his life without beloved girlfriend and parents, the life where he would be blaming himself for their death. "Living would be too painful".
@@nancynancy1587 right. the henry in this world was the imagination of the life he would have had to live after those events, if he had chosen to live
This hits too close to home for me. When I was 16 my little brother fell off a cliff during a beach trip. I was the one who found him. We had to drag him up the beach because the tide would have taken him if we didn't. He kept asking me and my dad if this was a dream. Broke him back. Shattered two vertebrae. Doctors said he'd never walk again. But miraculously he made a full recovery.
Hey I dont mean to sound ignorant but I watched the movie and still didn't get it....in my understanding Simon is Henry and it was all in his head..can u pls explain the movie to me
@@jahziahanake5795 essentially Henry got into a car accident and the entire movie is a dream/hallucination. He can tell the future because he's saying things that are happening around him in the real world I.e. Hail just being a light he sees while laying on the bridge. All of the characters in the movie and the lines that are repeated in the movie are the people surrounding him on the bridge
Sorry you had to go through that, but glad he recovered, that’s amazing.
I was in a car accident with my family that happened because of the tires everyone was pretty much fine but i broke 2 vertibraes as well, but i made a full recovery. Your comment made me realise the similarity hope you and your brother are doing well!
I was so happy when you got to the part where you mentioned he still lived... god bless
This film is really really heartbreaking when it finally ends and you realise what you've just watched.
#05/30/2022---And yet, Henry gets to see his mother and father again. It's just in another realm of existence . In the end, Henry will still be able to see them, again, just not in the physical, but in a spiritual realm. Only the body dies. Your conscious state lives to eternity ##
This is my all time favourite film. If you watch it again, you'll see the 3s that are everywhere- symbols of the 3 people he loved who had just died. Three stripes out of place on the sleeve of Dr Sam Foster (McGregor), three scars on Lylas wrists; and everyone is seen or heard three times.
My favourite scene is nearing the end on the Brooklyn Bridge when Dr Sam Foster is trying to talk Henry (Gosling) into staying telling him that if Lyla were there she'd tell him there's just too much beauty to quit. Henry answers him saying, "I can't (stay), it hurts too much." I burst into tears before I even knew the ending. There is something so wounding about that scene and it still gets to me every time. Thank you for dissecting this beautiful film that no one ever talks about, but that stirred something in me that's still alive when I watch it today. 👍🌹
Elisa Mastromarino right!!!!!!
Oh shit, that explains the triplets!!!
Yeah, the "I cant, it hurts too much" is so real and full of sadness it breaks my heart every time as well.
This is just so mind-blowing
21 2+1=3
Wow, NICE! You should totally do more in-depth reviews like this!
Absolutely agree. This was fascinating.
He has.
+
true
analysis request: American Beauty!
As an author, I have always believed in one quote, "They don't make statues of critics." This movie was superb and kept me on the edge of my seat. I write SciFi thrillers like this with twisting turning plots and cranking endings, and I said to my wife, "I wish I would have written this novel." Great job with this video and the explanation. I tell people to go back and watch this a second time and you will have a brand new perspective on how well this movie was thought through, filmed, and edited. Thank you for this, Chris. CG
The 3 analytical videos of Chris Stuckmann about Ryan Gosling movies not only show how much Chris understands them but also, how great Ryan Gosling is at choosing his scripts. That's why he isn't the richest or a bankable one. I think Gosling sees these scripts the same way Stuckmann does. He goes in depth and understands them. This is just amazing.
Gosling is a fantastic actor
It kills me that he's mostly only popular for the notebook
Ewen McGregor, (Sam), is suing his tailor for the terrible mistake in the length of his trousers. There was simply not enough material left to add more inches, so McGregor has no recourse except to sue for richly deserved damages. (although, 500 million DOES seem a tad excessive!)
@@aleckramer333 ummm what tf are you talking about he’s popular for the notebook, drive, la la land, the big short, crazy stupid love, blade runner, first man, half nelson and more
@@comedownmachine4682 nah man most people still see him as “the guy from the notebook” or La La Land. Most of the other movies are extremely underrated and aren’t that popular
"Your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you." 💗
I stopped the video right in the middle of me watching it just so I could watch STAY.
And I'm not gonna lie...
I cried after I finished it.
I don't see how people can hate this movie after seeing it all the way through.
I can understand if you stopped in the middle of it and never watched it again, but if you watched it all the way to end...
I honestly don't know how you can dislike this movie.
Thank you, Chris.
Subscribed.
Yeah, it's a really feelzy movie. Ryan Gosling always plays those feelzy roles very well.
My thoughts on the movie: The mind is a complicated machine ... When dying we see a man "fade away" or faint in his last moment. If he fades away there are more chances of a shut down (that is death). Hence, paramedics or any medical professional present at the scene. Try to keep the victim "Awake" by usually saying "stay with me," (hence the name: "STAY").... So this is what was happening ... Henry was dying slowly his mind was shutting down, however, the life in him was trying to frantically cope up with the situation. As he was fading he was loosing consciousness, and meanwhile his mind was picking up the voices and faint visuals around him as he lay and trying to make sense of it. However, as he was not in his Normal consciousness his mind was making up a story like it happens when we "dream" ... The movie was that "dream" or the jumbled up fragments of Henry's last thoughts.
It was a good concept. We often see a fainting man. We may not often see a dying man but we know how a dying man reacts/behaves. This movie has dared to explore the other side of the perspective. I think it was cool. So there!
@@JoseGonzalez-lb5mv try Netflix or Amazon prime
I know people as deep as puddles who cried watching this film lol. I think that says something!
I have seen it more than six times and I cry after each time!
Could you do more of these reviews? I honestly love how in depth you go with your usual reviews but these are a work of art. You've inspired me to want to analyze films this way
i think the reason he don't do it often is that these take not only extra passion but finding a personal connection with the movie
You can only do them with DVD releases too. It probably takes the ability to pause/rewind/replay a ton of times to go this in depth.
i wish he had more of these too... it's gold
I liked it as well.
+1
I don't often feel the urge to comment on TH-cam videos, but I watch your channel often and I couldn't even believe my eyes when I saw you made a review for "Stay". For literally years, this has been one of my favorite films of all time. And NO ONE I have ever met has even heard of it. It is seriously a master work of cinema in my opinion and it melts my heart to see that someone is finally taking initiative to get it's name out there. You're examination of it is perfect and I am so glad you finally got to see this amazing film with so many amazing performances. And can we please talk about the soundtrack! I have it on my computer and I'm pretty sure you can't find it anywhere. If you'd like a copy, I'd be more than happy to send you Zip ^_^.
Lightmares Yes! I came to comment nearly the exact same thing! I was fortunate enough to have seen it in theaters and it has since been one of my all time favorite movies! I try and show it to everyone I meet.
link me that sound track
The soundtrack is available on Spotify, search for Asche&Spencer.... Amazing soundtrack. My favourite movie
could you please send me the zip @lightmares ?
So happy more people love it as passionately 💗
Stay is not a film I'd easily recommend to everyone, but it's a film I want everyone to watch. It hits both emotionally and conceptually. Truly a hidden gem.
P.S.: the only thing the meaning of which I still don't get is the piano porters were trying to lift into the apartment. I have no idea if it's supposed to refer to something or it's just a random bit inserted to draw the viewers attention.
Good question. Heavy load in life? We all have our burdens?? Not sure. He had the joy but burden of being such a young father...only 21, not sure if he could financial achieve as an artist, knowing his father thought it was a frivolous endeavor??? I wonder.
A piano being hauled outside a building and then falling on someone is a well used scene in movies and comedies, I took it as a meme for impending doom which we have all seen used in one way or another
@@davewalker7126 is that how ppl actually move pianos in apartments cuz that looked insanely negligently dangerous…
@@davewalker7126 Same. I actually laughed when i spotted it
The reason they're are twins in the art show is because In a dream you can only dream about the people that you saw recently in this case is all the people he saw crowded around him and in order to make it so there was a lot of people his brain duplicated the extras he saw near him during the accident
Just my thought
Sounds plausible
+JokerQuizz haha no but sorta same idea applies there too
Or double-vision at a distance (while he can see the doctor and nurse more correctly up-close).
In my opinion, Henry Letham is the artist he is obsessed with. I think he was suicidal at one point, had plans to kill himself, destroy all his paintings, give the world his ultimate piece of art. But then he met Athena and he wanted to live his life with her.
I just watched the film...
I knew i just watched something strange , yet provoking..So i searched " stay explained" ...
Now i'm speachless...I just connected all dots and its just brilliant film making but it struck my heart as well..Can u imagine the eagerness of humans to live more at the time of imminant death..They way Henry's mind created a tiny world by elements of his memories and the final images of his vision is astonishing..I felt something similar when i saw the movie 'SPLIT , when a kevin(Mcavoy) has to make multiple personalities himself to protect , love , take care himself becoz nobody is there for him...Its so sad.....
.Dude , i just found myself another most favourite of all time Hwood movies....
Thank you man..Great Review..
I didn't search for this movie's explanation back when it was out. It gave me some unease feeling and i knew there was something dark/hidden meaning behind. Still, i dont feel like watching explaination online cos i think me figure it out by myself would be such a breakthough and that would leave me the best impression of that movie. Still, after all those years, i finally clicked on this video and find out way better interpretation than mine.
The Split one is not really hard to swallow tho, it's rather a very straight forward movie. I would have called it a masterpiece if the Beast twist was just an imagination or a mindset rather than physical enhanced. The physical alternative plot is well explained to pave the way for the Beast, but to go that extreme to have inhuman ability, kinda throw me off compared to the rest of the movie.
I understood the film but wanted to see everything I missed in this film clueing the ending and this video was perfect
i am doing the same thing rn.
Mulholland drive is like this too, I love dreamy mystery movie like this 😊
Just saw for the first time but I watched straight through and the ending blew me away. Twas good, definitely a hidden gem.
“If this is a dream, the whole world is in it.”
I think those memory flashes in the end that you referenced were alluding to the theory that there is some sort of interconnected subconscious that connects all humans. In that shot, I believe Ewan McGregor’s character has a vague recollection of the experiences born out in Ryan Goslings dying dream and this pushes him to ask Naomi Watts out to coffee.
I always found that kind of cheapening an otherwise perfect masterpiece.
@@lunasa4387 no, he is talking about the very ending scene where sam sees flashes of him and lila
Also, Chris, I think the ending flashes are made for us to believe that dreams, while "unreal" can actually intervene with reality and are not as fake as it seems. Not sure I agree on that 100%, but I think that's what it's about. I mean all the world he has imagined, had a little piece of it leaked into reality through the power of his imagination and fueled up their (Naomi and Ewan) relationship. The feeling of "I dont know how, but we seem to have a connection", if you know what I mean.
Thats what I thought. Thanks for the note.
Yeah like Donnie darko
The use of color, the tilt of the camera, all of this was brilliant...
The chess pieces are in the form of New York landmarks including Brooklyn Brdige
I like that 😁
I watched this movie 10 years ago and it has been one of the movies that stuck in my head. While watching the movie I was going through a phase where I was losing the grasp of reality and this movie was makeing me feel that.
No matter what the reviews said I endorsed the movie but rarely anyone liked it. I am so glad u gave me a prospective about what u thought of it.
People are so obsessed to ''get'' the ''plot'' or ''twists'' of a movie, they forgert to enjoy the simple imagery and emotions of the scenes. I would watch a plotless well sound designed shot of indoor corridors for hours, no need for plot.
Turn off the dialogue, this movie still works. It is so enjoyable to watch, because it is so surreal, i like dreamy movies, and the message behind the whole movie is so humane, tragic and heartbreaking. It also explores the human psyche so well, the movie is a masterpiece.
I watched this movie and absolutely loved it. The director is a genius
thank you, i enjoyed making this one and was disappointed at first with the reaction
What about the writer?? I’d say they both are equally genius
Ewan McGregor watched this!!!
Really? Link?
@@calvinklienpope4224 on Chris' Twitter
@@Saffron-sugar yo can you give me a sum up of what he (ewan mcgregor) said?
@@PuddingXXL he told chris that he did a good job on the review
Something you missed! After lila and Sam agree for coffee the shot changes and they're 10 ft apart walking away from each other, this could be them returning to their cars but then sam turns back at the ambulance to remain, then the shot switches to Henry in the body bag now covered. I think that was the cue to the end of his dreaming and that Sam and lila talking about coffee was the last of his life. Thats just my take.
I agree with the whole interpretation. A few more notes: the emotional tone of the movie moves from anger and guilt to acceptance and gratitude, showing Henry's working thru his final moments of life. The brief flashes of Sam and Yvonne at the end serve 2 possible purposes: 1) a symbol that Henry's death will bring the 2 of them into a relationship, sort of taking the place of Henry and Athena who are gone, or 2) to make us wonder if Henry's hallucination was just a dream, or something more...
Chris!! thanks for making another one of these explained videos. they're always so so good!!!
+foxmouth No, its pretty mediocre.
+foxmouth think you're looking into a fairly average film too much, I get you like it and it's your favorite but as a movie goer it's important to remember that when it comes to films we love we often tend to place them higher on a pedestal and view them from a different perspective then we would do with other films. I don't believe Dirty Pretty Things should be a movie we need to look back on and analyze trying to find a deeper understanding. It's not a bad movie but it's certainly not one that I would consider a hidden underrated gem.
Well, now i am even more confused. it was a morse, a manatee or a walrus?
2 bros and 1up It was a feminist.
I think that the reason we see clips of the dream at the end between Lila and Sam, is not in a literal sense Sam seeing visions... but more-so a visual representation of the feeling that both him (Sam) and Lila felt during the short time they were both trying to save Henry. Henry brought them together on that bridge, and Sam felt that once Henry passed away, and the clips were used to showcase that Sam isn't "seeing" those visions, but "feeling" them; inspiring him to ask her for coffee.
They simply happened to have an attraction towards each other, and Henry instinctively felt this and made them lovers in his dream. Its that simple
Should I Stay or should I go now?
Stay (badum tssh)
Stranger things , fantastic song, perfect comment.
The Clash good song.
+toadman2723 I disagree, song is pretty lame & mediocre. Far from being a perfect comment as well
+Captain Mutato that's your opinion, a majority of us love song...
Watching for the umpteenth time, I just realized that Sam's explanation that the wreck was not Henry's fault but a totally random accident completely liberates and exonerates Henry, allowing him to die in peace. If you watch carefully you can even see a faint smile of relief. What a gift. Also, did anyone notice a cellophane wrapped mangled baby doll hanging in the subway car? Not sure of its purpose but sure there is one because nothing in this movie is unintentional .
One of the most underrated movies of all time.
Thanks for making this video, I stopped watching at the time point where you warn of major spoilers and urge to go see the movie for ourselves first. And we did, and it required a few bottles of wine and discussion to try to sort things out but, clearly, there was a logic behind it with these deliberate weird cuts, impossible angles, transitions, morphings, twins/triplets, repeat scenes. We thought of Lost Highway, Ubik, Inception, Lost, Sixth Sense, some religious angles, etc.
Only after we ran out of ideas we finished your movie analysis... and it made us discuss and drink even more until late at night, discussing our dreams, nightmares, and how our last moments before we die could look like. That was a heck a lot of fun.
Thanks for the opportunity to make us discover this film via this video!
For years I have watched this film over and over again, realizing that it has far beyond what one sees and that one really needs to peel it off to discover the meanings hidden in it. If I remember correctly, back in the days on DVD they added a documentary explainer that deals with people who have had a near death experience. It helped to get direction on the subject the film deals with, but the truth is that the analysis you gave is the most in-depth I have come across so far. It's wonderful that you raised this movie to awareness. It's so worth it.
So happy you did "Stay"I've always been a huge fan of this film since it was released!! The score honestly still haunts me, it's so beautiful and so complimentary to the elements of the film
My take on the two ambiguities mentioned... the ill-fitting pants and the coffee/deja vu moment.
Henry is exploring the trope of "life flashing before his eyes" through both Dream Sam and Lila. He has created these avatars from snippets of reality that are seeping into his death vision, choosing a less painful, more emotionally distant way to observe and reconcile his life as it fades away.
Henry is not aware of this construct and the inconguities that point to this not a being "real" experience. Sam's pants don't fit because he in fact is not Sam, but is Henry. Sam doesn't really fit in this narrative as it is Henry's journey.
Henry chose Sam to be his objective self to navigate through his EXTERNAL conflict from a disengaged (safe) distance, explaining the flat affect of McGregor's performance. This is also expressed with the visual dualities, flipping POVs, Lila calling Sam Henry, and just about everything else.
As Sam, Henry searches for meaning of and resolution to regret and pain of his relationships. Sam is discarded as Henry finds answers or reaches acceptance. Henry appears as himself, rather than as Sam, in each of his final interactions with his family & Athena.
Lila is also a vehicle Henry uses to navigate but for his INTERNAL conflicts of self worth/self doubt, artistic expression and hopelessness. This is shown with shared suicidality (scars on wrist), artistic expression (signed paintings) and manifests with direct introspection. Where Sam is confused and conflicted, Lila is much more grounded in recognizing her/Henry's shortcomings and mistakes but still holds on to shame with a defeated, flattened and self deprecating world view.
Henry discards Lila by trapping her in the stairwell on her way to the bridge because he no longer needs her, finding self-forgiveness with the Real Lila/Dream Athena at the accident.
I think the deja vu/coffee dialogue is not a part of Henry's death vision. I believe he died when all the repetitive dialogue of the witnesses on the bridge was accounted for. His dream stopped and reality continued without him... sort of
Which takes us to what I believe may be the theme of this movie. The barrier between life & death/woke & dream states is porous.
Just as all the people and conversations surrounding Henry were incorporated into his dream, Real Sam and Lila may have incorporated bits of Henry's visions into their own realities. They were intimately interactive with Henry while he was dying which could have facilitated such a transferrence. This manifested itself in Real Sam and Lila as faint memory and familiarity.
As self-aware creatures, dreams and death are universally shared experiences. This film may be proposing that the lines between these uniquely human experiences might blur or even intersect on a common "spiritual" plane. Reality continues for the living but those who have left us persist in our dreams and consciousness.
Loved every moment of this film and grateful for the opportunity and trust for the audience to think it through for themselves.
Really profound explanation!
So excellent
The key to this movie is weathering the frustrations of the unexplained and forcing yourself to "Stay" until the end. All those who hated it checked out, tuned out, &/or walked out before the end. The great aspect of this movie is that all of your frustrations and annoyances towards it turn into tremendously tearful empathy when the ending is revealed. What a complete and utter emotional release!
The Life of David Gale is another misunderstood gem... terrible reviews like Stay but such an incredible story and ending.
how the hell did I find MattHDGamer on a old Chris Stuckmann video at 1 am?
miketheczar 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 WTF
Not a fan of David Gale
Agree!!!
The Life of David Gale is plain political propaganda.
I was about 15 years old when I first watched this movie, and it still remains to be one of my favorite, 15 years later.
There's something really sad yet soothing about this film, and I come back to it when I myself feel sad or depressed.
By the way, I think Henry predicted it was going to hail not because of the light he sees, but from seeing the shattering glasses of a car he was in.
10 things not mentioned here.
1. 9X65 / 3Y62 - The taxi number. Not so easy to decipher numbers & words in a dream. Or I think there's another significance to it that I didn't get.
2. Sam, Lila & Henry wore mostly grey. Note Sam wore grey on his bike & nearly had an accident. Also the silver balloon. There's a couple of silver things keeps on appearing too. Sam's actual car that was behind Henry is grey/silver. Henry's car too.
3. Olive bites Sam probably because Henry felt guilty or pain of the dog's death.
4. There's old phone everywhere because Sam keeps asking if anybody makes the call. Probably Henry reflecting that the calls would not serve any purpose.
5. Note the yellow phone. Note the yellow taxi. And a few time the color yellow appeared. Among the last thing Henry saw.
6. Athena have brown eyes. Lila have the bluest eyes.
7. Diamond exchange. Jewelry shops.
8. Twin girl wearing yellow with silver briefcase.
9. The piano & the mention of weatherman kinda reminds me of Groundhog Day; where the same thing happen all over again.
10. Books, a lot of books.
For me, it's about the last thing that crosses your mind before you die. Regrets, legacy, guilt. Henry didn't want to die.
By the way, Ophelia died. Hamlet didn't marry her.
ハリケーン北極 Might be. But I think it stem from Henry guilty feelings. Olive death might have been the trigger for his depression. I can't recall correctly but wasn't Sam injured wrist was the same side as Lila & when Henry put out his cig?
And his Mom might have nagged him all the time for being left alone in the house.
Jedaqia Angel of tyvy
Wow! You are quite an observer!
I'll like to share My thoughts on the movie: The mind is a complicated machine ... When dying we see a man "fade away" or faint in his last moment. If he fades away there are more chances of a shut down (that is death). Hence, paramedics or any medical professional present at the scene. Try to keep the victim "Awake" by usually saying "stay with me," (hence the name: "STAY").... So this is what was happening ... Henry was dying slowly his mind was shutting down, however, the life in him was trying to frantically cope up with the situation. As he was fading he was loosing consciousness, and meanwhile his mind was picking up the voices and faint visuals around him as he lay and trying to make sense of it. However, as he was not in his Normal consciousness his mind was making up a story like it happens when we "dream" ... The movie was that "dream" or the jumbled up fragments of Henry's last thoughts.
It was a good concept. We often see a fainting man. We may not often see a dying man but we know how a dying man reacts/behaves. This movie has dared to explore the other side of the perspective. I think it was cool. So there!
he absolutely wanted to die
Thank you for making this, Ive literally watched it over 25 times as there are so many easter eggs to be found that you cant find them in even 5 thorough viewings. It really is a masterpiece hidden in the corner and deserves the respect that this enigma that is the last moments of someones life deserves.
There's only 1 thing you didn't explain that i was very curious about with my attention to detail... I kept noticing that when Henry appeared in the dream the ppl that were walking around him were carrying metal briefcases all throughout the movie. Maybe those those the briefcases brought in by the ambulances on the bridge
This all is impeccably other-worldly. Peak intelligence, peak art, everything at it's best. A mental adventure, a roller coaster for the psyche. Thank you sir for this beautiful video.
Awesome video!! Some things I noticed:
There is a picture of the aquarium behind Lilly in her apartment.
There appears to be downward spiral theme that keeps reappearing with all the stairs.
The use of the color yellow. What's up with that?
The burning boy story is analogous to the movie itself. A man dreaming of what's happening in real life.
Is the scene in the "doctor's office" something from his childhood? The office seems to be really claustrophobic, there's that old phone on the wall, and the sheriff almost hits his head on the door as he's walking out. Now either the sheriff is a giant, or the door is built small. As a kid, authority figures appear to be giants. Furthermore, the sheriff mentions "bluest eyes in town". I noticed that Lilly's eyes shift from blue to brown several times in the film.
In the scene where Henry and Sam have a confrontation in the courtyard, before the gun is pulled, there's a man who shuts the blinds on them. Is that the father?
Why does the filming often align Sam and Henry. Many overlapping transitions, switched positions, etc.
I love movies that make you consider them long after they are over.
One major thing you got wrong:
Henry shooting himself in the head isn’t merely forcing himself out of his hallucinatory state. It’s his conscious decision to stop trying to stay alive and die on the bridge because he can’t bare his guilt.
The whole movie is him negotiating with himself if he thinks he deserves to live. That’s why he deals with therapists in his hallucination.
Damn I didn't think of that, great analysis!
This gave me a Donnie Darko vibe...I actually really enjoyed my first viewing.
Two words; Dark City, a film nobody has ever heard of, and was pretty much overlooked when it came out, yet it considered a classic to many people, and highly sought after by collectors, and was the inspiration for a lot of popular sci-fi shows going forward, most notably fringe, which used elements from scanners, as well as other films, and visual media.
So the moral of the story is: Listen to Rodger Ebert
Even a dead clock is right twice a day.
Fight Club
and pay close attention to critic reviews vs user reviews.
Rodger has missed some but he’s pretty good
roger ebert fucking gave the master only 2.5 stars so no thanks
This is been my favorite film for over 10 years. It's amazing, and its quality is something I aspire to as a filmmaker. I Love this review and you caught some things in the film that I have missed throughout dozens of viewings. I do however have a theory for you on the ending of the film.
See, I think that the flashes of the film that occur when Sam and Lyla are talking are a throwback to a line Sam reads about Henry's art in the film and an expression of Henry's actually artistic ability. One of his professors commented on a paper (which Sam should have no access to) something to the effect that Henry could create new worlds with his art. Lyla immediately knows who wrote it and mentions that this professor want's to sleep with every cute boy in his class. Again this represents Henry's own lack of confidence in his own work and gives a reason why the professor would say it (I'm guessing that quote was meant to be taken as something that was actually said about his work.) This line is brought up again later by Sam on the bridge. "If this is a dream then the whole world is inside it." This is not only a reference to the world being an illusion but Henry's potential. Henry didn't believe in himself but his art really is this good. He's a genius. The flashes represent the "world" created in Henry's head and the effect they have on others. The film suggests that the two go for coffee because of the love they shared in Henry's dream. This shouldn't be taken literally, I think they bonded over the bad experience they both had, but the idea here is that Henry's art, the WORLDS he creates are capable of making people feel profound things. Taken a step deeper this could also represent the idea that Athena fell in love with Henry because of this ability, as again, the film suggests that Sam and Lyla share a romantic connection because they did in the dream sequences, and the film makes parallels between Sam and Henry and Athena and Lyla several times. I hope you find this comment as insightful as I found your review.
This was very very interesting. The only explanation for Lila and Sam's scene near the end that actually makes sense. Thank you.
Damn, 30 minutes?? Time to make lunch.
Haha
First 6 minutes he just keeps repeating himself, skip to around 6:15 for the actual analysis.
+James Alcocer nope,I,am.watching the whole thing.
I just finished lunch lol
or do like me, watch the first 6 miutes and stop. i dont want spoilers.
I cried in the middle of watching this movie for the first time, and I didn't understand why... Theres something about it that tells the story in a way that can be comprehended without comprehension... Our subconscious understands alone, essentially. At this point I've watched it enough for both sides to make perfect sense... and it's haunting.
I mean... I find it almost ridiculous that they can't understand the story. After watching it enough, it suddenly becomes so simple..
I stopped at 6:18. I'm off to watch this film now.
so, how was it?
Had almost the same experience as you. First watch, i was like... "what the hell?" but once i re-watched it, "Stay" has become one of the most beautiful and amazing movies I've ever seen. Top 5 for sure. Love it. Also, amazing break-down Chris. I've been watching many of your reviews lately, that i can't believe how thorough and well put together this one is. Very very well done.
It's interesting, my experience first watching STAY couldn't have been more different from yours. I cried at least 5 times through the film, was completely emotionally invested, and had no clue what the plot was.
I saw this movie opening weekend, a matinee screening with just my mom & I with a nearly empty theater. Somehow, even at 18, I understood what was going on “it was all a dream his mind had conjured up in his last remaining moments on Earth” & it has stuck with me ever since. It was the ONE & ONlY movie my mom & I ever got to see just the two of us. I wish I had seen this review of it earlier this year, as now the movie holds even more significance to me…My mom passed away 3 months ago on July 9th & we both dearly loved this movie. My mom was my entire world & I don’t know where I’d be without her. I hope her final moments - before they whisked her away to the OR to do CPR on her - were of the two of us & all of the wonderful family, friends, pets, and times we had together. I had 37 priceless years with her & her life was cut short because she was severely & purposely neglected by her doctors during & after a simple procedure. God how I miss her & hope my final moments are of she, my wife, and my family all together having one more “family day” together. Thank you for this beautiful tribute to a movie that means so much to me!
-Robin
You mentioned this movie and I went to watch it and fuck I loved this movie. I was hesitant on how it would end, but man that ending closed everything and it was just so damn perfect. I'm glad I watched this movie.
Chris can you do the same for "Enemy" or any of these movies like this one? I think you did an amazing job with this one and would love more of these explanations.
He did do one for Enemy actually. The movie actually made sense after I watched his video about it!
Chris Davis Oh really? Awesome will watcfh it later!
He already did enemy:)
I watched Enemy because of him. I wasn't disappointed
Yep, this movie is goddamn perfect in every scene, written and edited perfectly, it's unprecedented.
Who came here after Stuckmann stated that Ewan and Marc Forrester told him that they watched this video and were amazed by it ?!
This was so amazing! Please do more of these in-depth explanations to movies!
30:25
I think I know what is going on here, and it's actually immensely touching and creates a heart-warming, bittersweet ending if you think about it closely. In interacting with Henry, someone with clearly such a strong imagination and vision, these two people make contact with his dream, and therefore still have that dream literally inside their own consciousness now. Henry's dream lives on and makes them decide to actually hook up. Henry has the lasting impact on the world that he wished for, and the love he lost lives on in others. It's the most, let's say supernatural, part of the film, but it's immensely powerful.
Damn, this made me love this movie even more..i just watched it today, what a masterpiece.
I LOVE the 'broken promise' theme. It just goes so well and your love of anime just sweetens it. And this review...AMAZING!
Brilliant video. Can you do the same thing for the movie 'Primer'?
nah he should do "The lobster"
Can we please?
Typical artsy fartsy wannabe hipster movies.
donnie darko isnt really that misunderstood but YES PRIMER PLS
Most of wes Anderson's films are misunderstood gems
There is something deeply personal about this movie. It's terrifying and yet I can't get enough of it. All those errors we can't understand, maybe they come from the fear of the unknown. Still underneath all this vague, scary world, there is literary a message of hope: "your troubles will seize and fortune will smile upon you"; or is it just a mock at our daily problems and stress over unimportant things, instead of focusing on the realization that everything can end in a second. No wonder roman generals were shouted "Memento mori" (remeber you will die) when they were marching victorious after a successful campaign.
Good job Chris, you made me watch this gem and pay attention to every detail.
appreciate
the hard work that went into this, keep em coming!
I love this movie. I've watched it a million of times. It's incredible. I adore soundtrack, brilliant performance of actors. I do really think that this role is one of the best roles of Ryan Gosling. It's a gem, a masterpiece, it's beautiful and brilliant 👍🏻😍💎
This film is so eerie for me because I'm a portrait artist, I've survived many suicide attempts & I am constantly told I look like Ryan Gosling. I can't go anywhere without hearing it. I had a guy like me on hinge this week and one of his pictures was him with a Ryan Gosling wax figure. He messages me "It's the Ryan Gosling Fantasy"😂 I've even been referred to as "The Ryan Gosling one". Really happy to hear someone talk about it so indepthly, even though Ryan Gosling is a frequent topic that comes up in my life I have never met anyone who has seen this film. Incredibly underrated!
I drive 🚗
@@hellz23456 I get sent drive memes by strangers or told 'I loved you in drive'. I find it hilariously ironic given I've failed my driving test 6 times 🤣
@@wazburg lmao thats literally me 🤣
I must admit, this has really made me want to watch this film. You're clearly very passionate about it, and you articulate your thoughts impressively well :)
+1. The wife & I watched the movie (I came away perplexed) and then watched this analysis. As Stuckmann was explaining everything, and the puzzle was coming together for me, all I could think of is, "Stuckmann is a f-ing genius!"
I came here right after seeing the film. So glad you posted this analysis. I needed help processing it all. This is a forgotten gem for sure.!!
Anyone here after Chris posted the picture of him and Ewan McGregor :)
Everybody is!
This type of analysis of a fairly forgettable movie could only come from a real fan of cinema. Good on you Chris.
Seriously. I've never even heard of this movie! Chris probably has a lot of movies on his list that he needs to watch. Especially new releases. I wonder how this movie came about for him.
+LilyBean I think it is on Netflix
+LilyBean hmm maybe a dream....
After seeing this movie now, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it
Probably because, as he said, he's a film-buff and he loves these rare kind of movies. It's not like there's getting made a lot of these. I can understand why Chris takes a break from all the mindless action remake hollywood movies and sees this little gem.
"stay" has been my favorite movie since i saw it in the theatre. i wanted to see it again the next week & it was already gone. i've shown this wonderful film to so many new people.
Its on Amazon prime. You could watch it
@@samb8054 i have it on blu ray now. that was in 2005.
Extremely a rare gem, a forgotten masterpiece for sure. Thank you for this analogy, very smart film, watching it again.
I absolutely love this movie! I never understood the hate... Great in depth analysis man! You should do more of these!
Stay is actually my favorite movie since I've watched it as a teenager 10 years ago. I simply love the overall premise that every aspect of the main part of the movie originate and culminate in this very melancholic ending.
The last scene of Sam inviting Lila after a last sequence of flashing images of Henrys lucid dream puzzles me as well. I've always thought of it as a somewhat mystical manifestation of Henrys reflection of his unfulfilled love/life in the instinctive notion of attraction between Sam and Lila.
Nevertheless it is nice to see someone giving this movie the praise it well deserves.
The Berserker comes
Love love LOVE this movie. I have seen it more than six times to this day. Even if it brushes a very sensitive topic, I love that you really can't fully understand it at times, and I think that is one of it's charms. That and its use of contrast and color.
just finished watch it in Sat, 11 Jan 2025. Damn, this 2005 movie, they don't make this anymore, at first I was caught by the Sam's office setting with well known designer chairs and modulars, but then this movie is visualizing dreams, or thoughts when you have in between sleep or awake...I'm glad to see this movie. its def a gem!
Two words- Jacob's Ladder.
Yep, a psychiatrists view of death vs the spiritualist take.
Oh Jaysus, so we all need to find a f$$$$$G chiropractitioner or Jennifer Love Hewitt to get to Paradise?! Argh!!!
Lazarus1095-So glad you mentioned Jacob's Ladder. The whole time i was watching Chris talk about Stay, I appreciated his wanting to defend Stay, but it's just a shameless rip off of Jacob's Ladder, which was a far better movie then Stay. Stay has practically the same hidden plot from Jacob's Ladder with a car accident in place of the injury Jacob Singer dies from in the Vietnam war.
It’s possible that he also felt guilty due to not taking his medication, because Lila said that the she couldn’t work on meds and he was seeking for recognition. Or the lack of medication only explain the hallucinations at the end.
Idk what movie you watched, but when I watched this movie I was into it the entire time. I had never heard of this film, like you mentioned, and I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was. This is definitely one of my favorite unknown films! I think some people just pick at movies too much while they watch them and distract themselves from getting sucked in.
Just rewatched Stay and had to come back here. God I loved when Chris would do breakdowns. Such an amazing video.
Ewan McGregor approves!
59ersfootball how do you know?
Preston Road chris’ twitter
I have no idea why I didn’t know this movie existed until I saw this clip. This “break-down” of the movie woke my interest and I found a challenging masterpiece - now one of my all time favorites.
Thank you, Chris! 👍
Stay is one of my favorite films, and I'm really glad this in-depth analysis exists. I was recently reminded of Stay after watching the latest Charlie Kaufman film on netlfix, I'm Thinking of Ending Things. You could write a master's thesis on comparisons between the two films. And yet, in terms of the central theme, they sit almost diametrically opposed to each other.
thanks again for this analysis - i've watched "stay" a million times but you still showed me new bits: the 21s & the ads with gosling on the walls, plus i never noticed the car tire in the stairwell. in exchange, i'll share a couple things you missed: remember that henry's art professor said that he could create new worlds with his art - if you look at henry's entire life as an art piece, especially as heavily artistic as this movie is (love stefanie schneider's work), he really has created a new world for himself. & i haven't seen this on my home tv, but i **vaguely** recall from seeing it in the theatre that the slamming-each-other-into-the-wall scene has sam & henry's eye colors swapping. what a phenomenal movie, & the most visually stunning film i've ever seen.
also, at 28:38 you called sam henry, which is an extremely clever joke if purposeful. X)
Negation of R.I.P. is what drives the dream forward before it ends to fade out. Hope it solidify further the thing you up for, for which I thank you, when it comes to the analytical cinematic deconstruction part... May be the whole of it. 👍 With lots of ❤️
Fantastic. You're great at reviewing and analyzing these types of movies that don't capture the majority of audience (stay, drive, enemy).
How about eyes wide shut explained / analyzed video?
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" meets a more literal David Lynch.
I have avoided this movie because of the bad reviews but something compelled me to seek it out and stream it. It had such an impact on me that I had to find someone else who could try and explain what I thought I was feeling. This analysis is spot on. This movie is smart. One thing I might offer is the end with Ewan and Naomi. Henry may have been practicing or studying Buddhism, as referenced by something his father said. It could be that the Buddhism thing carries over in the real world and these two characters actually knew each other in a past life. Maybe a stretch. I’m glad I found this movie and this analysis.
yeah I feel you on this one. you should review mr nobody
Oh my goodness, make this happen!
I second that!
I've been saying this!!!
YEAH!!!
paris lawless Kyle Kallegren already did a philosophical breakdown of that movie, and reached pretty much the same conclusion as the majority, 3.5/10
i remember seeing this movie when it came out. I missed most of the nuance, and yet i understood it. It broke my heart in the end.
Thank you for appreciating this film. I watched it years ago and it's still one of my favourites.
Such a heartbreaking movie, especially on a second viewing.
I still judge most dream sequences compared to this.
4 years later and yeah this analysis video shows your best talents, love your analysis’s man. Wish more people could think like you
Ive seen this movie so many times. I always loved it and I could never explain it to others. No one ever understood what the movie was. And I think what you did here was amazing and I am so glad that someone else finally sees everything I saw and more lol. And what I like to believe is that in the end where they see flashes of the previous scenes well I think that as Henry died he was definitely dreaming but it felt like a astral plane kind of world. And I think the subconscious of those that were around him were pulled in to this dream plane world. So I feel like the minds of those people connected with his in this moment as he died. I think that's why at the end there are flashes of memories that they never had. It always felt to me as if all of their minds kind of helped to carry him into death and they connected deeply.
The writers of STAY have definitely smoked something good
*snorts* needs more craziness
amphetamines
David Benioff, may know him because of Game of Thrones.
you are so primitive
David sort of...forgot about being a bad writer when he did this movie. Ruining the script just...didn't seem right to him for this moment
This movie is on a totally different level, almost creating it's own genre. This movie suffered from not being liked due to the level of intellect the viewer needs to understand the depth of the film.
not necessarily an intellect in itself , but a damn EFFORT to understand - for sure
I didn’t have a clue what I saw after I first watched it. But I knew that I just experienced an unparalleled masterpiece, without knowing exactly why. You could just feel it.
The movie is too similar to muholand drive tho
@@guillermocarrillo8377 I haven't seen Mulholland Drive so I am thankfully ignoring it.
@@Ozzywozzy you should watch it, it's pretty damn good, movie of the decade
Chris, You are one of my bragging rights when i talk about films/movies!!!