5 from the Watchlist: Stay, Marnie
Of psychosis, hallucinations and delusions
Good morning and welcome back. Today is going to be a bit insane — you’ll say soon enough what I mean. But don’t worry, it’s the good kind of insane. Let’s have a look, shall we?
Stay
Directed by: Marc Forster
Release year: 2005
Runtime: 1:39h
How do you even talk about a film like Stay? It feels so counterintuitive to discuss its story, so awkward to talk about individual performances. There’s actually very little I can say without giving anything away. But eh, here goes:
Psychiatrist Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) takes up the treatment of a patient from his colleague. From the start, Henry (Ryan Gosling) is less than cooperative and keeps talking gibberish. Concerned, Sam starts to look deeper into the troubled man’s life. But what he finds is more than a bit unsettling.
This description doesn’t really do Stay justice, but its tight-knit plot is so intense and packed with revelations that I can’t give you anything more than the cliff notes. It just pulls you in with its initial weirdness and only continues to get even stranger from there, in a Lynchian way. Unlike Lynch’s films you are treated to a sort of solution, though. The stellar cast that includes Naomi Watts and Bob Hoskins is really selling it, especially Ryan Gosling.
Stay seems engineered to confuse and to unsettle, which it achieves through a unique visual language that boasts some of the best and wackiest scene transitions I’ve ever seen, along with some editing choices that will leave you equally befuddled. I couldn’t help myself, I was fully engrossed in the plot and in the weirdness. The film is basically a giant maze that slowly unravels itself, and I absolutely loved it. Fair warning though, it might not be everybody’s cup of tea.
Marnie
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Release year: 1964
Runtime: 2:10h
Similar to Stay, actually, the basic premise of Marnie is not a good representation of the film. It starts simple enough but goes deeper and deeper, more than any Hitchcock film I’ve seen so far did. It left me questioning what I was actually watching for a while, so I suppose the question is if it paid off in the end.
The professional con-woman and thief Margaret “Marnie” Edgar (Tippi Hedren) steals thousands of dollars from her employer and leaves the city. A while later, she takes up another job for the same purpose — but her boss Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) recognises her. And be sure he will use this knowledge to his advantage.
See? If you only know this general idea, it sounds like Marnie will be all about her trying to get away and Mark trying to expose her, maybe with a few added wrinkles to the proceedings. But no, that is just a part of it. Instead, Marnie discusses topics like childhood trauma, sexuality and power, and the difficult relationship between the three. For its time, the film was outright scandalous. I can’t deny that some aspects continue to be a bit icky, but nevertheless fascinating.
I’m impressed that Sean Connery was available, being busy fighting evil as James Bond in the 60s and all, but I’m glad he did. While his character seems like a misogynistic macho, there’s more to it, though I won’t give it away. Still, it’s Tippi Hedren’s slow descent into madness that you are watching Marnie for. The finale is as heartbreaking as horrifying; I didn’t expect the twists and turns the story takes. Just because it is so uncomfortable, it’s occasionally a hard sell, but a fascinating film nonetheless.
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The Hunter
Directed by: Daniel Nettheim
Release year: 2011
Runtime: 1:42h
Yet another one from the category “can’t even remember how it ended up on my watchlist”. Retrospectively, I’d say Willem Dafoe sold me on it, since I honestly thought the film was similar to the Mark Wahlberg action film Shooter — which it decidedly is not.
Hired by a shady biotech company, mercenary Martin David (Willem Dafoe) travels to Tasmania to track down and kill the last Tasmanian devil. The species is supposed to be extinct, but rumor has it that a single one is still roaming the island. Posing as a researcher, Martin moves in to a family home only to discover that their father has gone missing while looking for the same thing he is.
I won’t claim The Hunter is an awesome film. It’s pretty okay for the most part, highlighted by Dafoe’s good performance. There are also glorious shots of Tasmanian nature, which looks almost untouched by man — makes me wonder if there might actually be a Tasmanian devil hiding somewhere out there. And the tension builds up nicely to a bittersweet ending that was effective and mildly depressing.
Other than that, though, the film is a standard thriller about a man taking a job that turns out to be more dangerous than he thought. Aside from environmental messages and a good character arc for Martin David, there’s not that much to latch onto. I’d recommend it for Willem Dafoe, but the rest is take it or leave it.
At Eternity’s Gate
Directed by: Julian Schnabel
Release year: 2018
Runtime: 1:50h
Speaking of Willem Dafoe. If you had to choose between this and The Hunter, I’d prefer you to watch At Eternity’s Gate. I like Vincent van Gogh’s art, and his life’s story is a tragic one, so throwing a thespian like Dafoe into the mix feels like a good fit. Spoiler: It is!
His art only became popular after his death, he was ridiculed by his peers and told time and time again that his work is worthless. Still Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) went into the French countryside and painted, painted, and painted. Desperate relations keep his sanity together, but the cracks begin to show.
Some might describe At Eternity’s Gate as “artsy” or “pretentious”, but I don’t think so. I loved the unhinged camera style that jumped back and forth between POV shots and an almost unsettling handheld style, riddled with awkward and unconvential perspectives. Almost every frame is distorted in some way, and there are a few unbroken long shots as well (which I always appreciate).
Yes, actors like Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen and Rupert Friend make appearances, but this is undeniably Willem Dafoe’s film. He brings a real sadness to van Gogh that transpires. Together with the more than unusual style, the film allows you to truly jump into the artist’s troubled mind. Part biopic, part psychological drama, part visual drug trip, At Eternity’s Gate had me in its grasp and didn’t let me go. It is a mesmerising masterpiece.
Dracula
Directed by: Tod Browning
Release year: 1931
Runtime: 1:14h
Going back to basics now. After Nosferatu (both the original and the Robert Eggers film) and The Last Voyage of the Demeter, it is time to watch the OG vampire film, Dracula. This will also not be the last time I’ll be talking about vampires this year, but I guess it makes sense to take a look at where it all started.
Going to Transylvania to settle a real estate deal, Renfield (Dwight Frye) reaches a remote castle. Here, he encounters Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) who quickly entrances the young man. Soon they are on their way to England, where Dracula lays eyes on the beautiful Mina (Helen Chandler).
Tale as old as time, Beauty and the Vampire. It was fun to see a film that bridges the silent movie Nosferatu and the more modern interpretations of the famous source material. In its gothic atmosphere and the rightfully famed performance by Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi, the film still delivers. While outdated in modern eyes, the effects actually still work well, and despite a lack of scares it is drenched in darkness and eerie moments.
All that to say, it is not the most engaging adaptation I’ve ever seen. The short runtime doesn’t allow for much character development, leaving key figures like Van Helsing or Jonathan Harker a bit flat. But the cackling madness of Renfield was awesome, I have to admit that. Where it really disappointed me was the anti-climactic ending which felt rushed and unsatisfying. But I feel any cinephile and horror fan needs to give this a go at least once.
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There we have it! Diving into some psyches and some vampirism for good measure. I hope you enjoyed today’s article — have you seen these films, and which would you be most interested in? And what’s your favourite movie monster? Please let me know! Have an amazing day, treat yourself to a cookie, and I’ll see you next time!
