Stay
Contemporary World Cinema
Director: Wiebke von Carolsfeld
Stay, based on the novel by Aislinn Hunter, tells the story of a historian, Dermot (Aidan Quinn), living in a small coastal village in Ireland with his much younger lover, Abbey (Taylor Schilling). Early in the film, the two learn that Abbey is pregnant, causing a rift between the two. Abbey goes back home to Montreal to mull over her situation, which Dermot is forced to confront his near debilitating need for isolation.
Both characters go on something of a journey, dealing with traumas from their pasts that have kept them from fully committing to other people in the present. There’s mild drama regarding whether the couple will end up back together, and whether Abbey will have her child, but the operative word is “mild.”
While Stay doesn’t do anything particularly bold, it finds beauty in detailing the smaller moments. As the story goes, the number of characters expands, and each new character feels like a full person, always engaging the audience to learn more and become more invested in the lived-in world director Weibke von Carolsfeld crafts. It’s not strictly as a story that Stay succeeds, but around the edges and in those finer details. (Corey Atad)
Screens:
Wednesday, September 11, Isabel Bader Theatre, 10:00pm
Friday, September 13, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1, 9:00am
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