Stay Reviews and Ratings


  • InfamousHugo
    March 14, 2008
    InfamousHugo
    STAY (2005)
    directed by Marc Forster
    starring Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts

    A psychiatrist tries desperately to help a patient who claims he'll commit suicide in three days. Thats the plot of Stay, or maybe t
    ...( read more)he film tells another story as things gets stranger. Personality switch and seizures in time makes everything confusing.

    Stay is one of thjose film you arent really supposed to understand until the end. It lets you guess and have fun with it. It messes with your mind and the ending isnt totally satisying even if it makes very much sense and is the most plausible conclusion.

    What makes this film interesting is how stylish it is. Yeah, there are lots of stylish movies nowadays but Marc Forster seems to have found a way to make is film different from other movies overusing style. Here it serves the story and its rendered pretty well with good effects.

    The entire cast give great performances. Ewan McGregor does one of his best act in a long time and is quite convincing as the psychiatrist. Ryan Golsing is the patient, and obviously he fins ways to make his character memorable. Naomi Watts as McGregor's girlfriend with suicidal tendencies in the best is solid, even he she has a smaller part and Bob Hoskins as a blind mentor is quite good as well.

    Stay isnt the best of films but its kinda original even if it might remind a bit of Jacob's Ladder in its larger subject. Its easy to dislike cause it messed too much and gets frustrating but I found it somehow fascinating and liked it, just not a lot, but enough to recommend it and the cinematography alone makes it worth seeing. Not bad.
  • kilicpinar
    March 7, 2008
    kilicpinar
    what exactly happens in this movie?
  • i8love3gon0
    March 2, 2008
    i8love3gon0
    This movie is really amazing!
    Every scene is really beautiful and the back music is sooo mached.
    The actors are really cool and really beautiful.
    A little bit comlicated but really cool!
  • robfearon
    February 23, 2008
    robfearon
    What an absolute mess! Gosling managed to mumble his way through the entire film, and I didn't give a crap about his character at all. In fact, he was so drab, not even the star-power of the Naomi Watts-Ewan McGregor combo could save the film. The screen direction was horrendous ...( read more)- I found the camera movements far more distracting than they were engrossing. The only reason I'm giving Stay .5 of a star is because the tiny cameo by Amy Sedaris was a pleasant surprise.
  • mypeanut
    February 15, 2008
    mypeanut
    good movie but kinda confusing
  • Exsanguinar300
    February 10, 2008
    Exsanguinar300
    SHIT this is messed up. I'm not sure i understood what this movie was about. Don't get me wrong i liked it, a lot, it's very good, but thought this one for a while and what, what's the morale, "where there's death new life beginns", at first i was thinking of split personality, b...( read more)ut i changes my mind when Henry cured a blind man of his blindness. After that i thought it might be some sort of forecast for the future by the way it ended to be honest i still can'd qualify to tell you enough because i'm going to have to watch it one more time or maybe a few more times LOL. Otherwise...Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling and naomi Watts in this bizarre surreal thriller with plenty of mistery.
  • AgentLexi2132
    February 3, 2008
    AgentLexi2132
    Want to see at some point in the future...

    Photobucket
  • Creasy
    February 2, 2008
    Creasy
    One of the best movies I've ever seen. And probably the best cinematography in movie history. Marc Foster is my new favorite director (besides Mr. Scott).
  • 8nello
    February 1, 2008
    8nello
    confusing and disturbing. Great performance by Gosling
  • SweetestDownfall
    February 1, 2008
    SweetestDownfall
    i've seen half of it..and MUST watch again
  • youkaishinigami
    January 28, 2008
    youkaishinigami
    Pretty Psychological. Nice photograph and AWESOME plot!
  • SuicidalPromises
    January 24, 2008
    SuicidalPromises
    I LOVE this movie!!WONDERFUL!!!
  • izzy742003
    January 22, 2008
    izzy742003
    a very confusing movie hard to understand.
  • littlesheep28
    January 21, 2008
    littlesheep28
    Not so much for the story, but the cast
  • ccbbgcsp19
    January 17, 2008
    ccbbgcsp19
    creepy and mysterious, love it
  • bSpiker
    January 16, 2008
    bSpiker
    This movie totally blew me away. One of my favorites next to Eternal Sunshine. I thought the story was kind of confusing the first watch, but my girlfriend and I had fun discussing it. After the second watch though, we completely understood it's complex meaning. Marc Forster'...( read more)s directing style truely shines in this movie. All of the scenes flow together in these genius ways, and even though I don't think I'll like Marc's newest movie Kite Runner, I'm sure he'll do a wonderful job of directing. Check this movie out people.
  • childish289
    January 15, 2008
    childish289
    Well, its quite hard to understand. But overall this movie is great.
  • moonpriestess
    January 14, 2008
    moonpriestess
    Amazing. Very interesting story and shocking ending.
  • borntoact813
    January 13, 2008
    borntoact813
    Wow. Amazing plot. Confusing, but its supposed to be. Ryan blew me away.
  • SarahTheMovieLover
    January 12, 2008
    SarahTheMovieLover
    Its very intrigeing. First to get the foolish comments of my shoulders I must say that Ryan was beautiful! and i found it hilarious how Ewans pants were always too short. But as to how i liked the movie, it was unlike anything i have ever seen. Its really the kind of movie that y...( read more)ou need to be in the mood to watch because its confusing and not very usual. it engages the mind and forces the viewer to set aside the general principles of understanding and just release the mind to a crazy ride. You really have to be able to accept that there is no real explanation to what happens. And usually i wouldnt like a movie like that but somehow this one was different. Even though I was left puzzled at the end I still didnt once consider stopping the movie.
  • made2bsweet4u
    January 8, 2008
    made2bsweet4u
    It is a very good one
  • abevan2
    January 7, 2008
    abevan2
    omg trippy. i love it.
  • limoradalloway
    January 6, 2008
    limoradalloway
    This movie tried to be smart and was saved by above-average acting.
  • xmkatx
    January 6, 2008
    xmkatx
    The fancy camera shots got on my nerves after a while. As for the story, I'm glad I didn't pay to see this in a theater.
  • Eastersausage
    January 1, 2008
    Eastersausage
    Really Good movie, it would have been 5 stars but there was something on it that i didn't like, it was really BORING aswell but i was tired dat day, one of those movies dat makes u think not just for minutes or hours but for days or even weeks.
  • EdwardFurlongLuver
    December 31, 2007
    EdwardFurlongLuver
    Well lets see I thought it was pretty good at the front but then it kept getting stranger and stranger! Like at the end! WHOA!! lol!! well if your into strange movies then this one you should see! It was an alright movie!
  • afilmbymichaelmargetis
    December 30, 2007
    afilmbymichaelmargetis
    "I burned myself...practicing for hell." - Henry Letham

    Feeling guilty, I'll admit that I had very high expectations for multi-talented filmmaker Marc Forster's new psychological thriller. Why wouldn't anyone? It's directed by the guy who did 'Monster's Ball' (an Oscar winner)...( read more) and 'Finding Neverland' (another Oscar winner), and it featured a talented cast from Academy Award Nominee Naomi Watts, the terribly underrated brilliant actor Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling - who in all respects is pretty solid for the most part. It had all this great stuff behind it...but it all went to absolute crap. 'Stay' promises to be innovative and enthralling but it turned into an absolute train wreck. I could speculate the reason they named it 'Stay' is for it to be a plea for the audience not to exit in droves.

    The story surrounds a deeply disturbed and possibly bi-polar young Bohemian in New York named Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling - The Notebook, Murder by the Numbers). After threatening to kill himself at midnight on Saturday, his caring psychiatrist Sam (Ewan McGregor - The Island, Trainspotting) becomes interested in his life-story and starts investigating him. The deeper Sam looks the more disturbing things come and it starts to appear that family members of Henry who have passed on are walking around almost like zombies. Sam tries to get to the middle of this with the help of his soon-to-be fiancée (played by Naomi Watts -21 Grams, Mulholland Drive). The film throws a bunch of weird events that don't make any godd*mn sense at us, but they never take the time to explain anything. It gets so tiresome after the film's first half-hour and it starts to become absolutely painful to watch. Watching 'Stay' is almost like being constipated. It doesn't get much more wearisome and disappointing than this.

    I have to give credit where credit is due and say the acting in the film is pretty good. Ewan McGregor is solid in all his scenes and Naomi Watts is a pleasure to watch for her mostly brief screen time. The actor who really steals the show however is Ryan Gosling. I was impressed with how good he played an emotional disturbed human being and he certainly was the main attraction of the tedious film they call 'Stay'. Marc Forster's direction is nothing like his elegance and grace in 'Finding Neverland' or even 'Monster's Ball', but instead flashy and pretentious. The script is an absolute mess and it makes me wonder if it was actually written by a monkey or any other member of the animal kingdom. The absolute worst part of the film is the ending (I won't reveal it to all of you wanting to see the movie, though). All I will tell you is that it definitely ranks into the Top 20 most disappointing and lackluster film endings of all time.

    In conclusion, 'Stay' isn't worth your money at the theaters or even in the videostore. If you still want to see it, wait for a Sunday afternoon when it's playing on HBO. 'Stay' is a film with a bunch of poor aspects except the great acting (especially from Gosling) which can't even begin to boost the overall crappiness of the movie. On a high note Bob Hoskins has a small role in the film, and on a low note so does Janeane Garofolo. Grade: D+ (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona, 10/23/05)
  • michaelcorleone
    December 27, 2007
    michaelcorleone
    This is a stylish, mind-rattling film filled with intriguing characters and labyrinthine plot turns. The acting is fantastic, particularly from the brilliantly talented Ryan Gosling. Its complexity would be overwhelming if it weren't for the amount of emotional depth and compelli...( read more)ng character development. One of the best films of 2005.
  • razer02
    December 24, 2007
    razer02
    I enjoyed watching this but in the end I just didnt get it!?
  • lavenderleeloo
    December 23, 2007
    lavenderleeloo
    i tried so hard to change the channel. Like my finger was literally on the button. I thought this movie was a bit confusing in the beggining. Like its one of those movies u just gotta be patient because in the end you know the puzzle pieces are gonna come together. The acting of ...( read more)ryan gosling was practicaly narcotic. To see him play that role it was cool. The art in this movie i want one sooo bad to hang up in my room but seriously the movie was great!
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  • kyl3258
    December 20, 2007
    kyl3258
    A perfect thriller. (If you plan on seeing this movie, though, pay attention, so you don't join the community of confused people.)
  • xabbu
    December 19, 2007
    xabbu
    Very vivid editing. Nice dream movie about dreams and how we dream them.
  • rifffinger
    December 17, 2007
    rifffinger
    (Originally written as part of a 2006 Top 10 List - Number 6)

    This is really a spectacular film. I knew that much when I watched it three times within five days. As many of you know I also have been hosting a RAW24hour film festival these past two years about twice a year and S...( read more)TAY screened at it in '06, though maybe somewhat regrettably, too late in the night when people weren't able to traverse the multiple levels of engagement that are required from a viewer both visually and intellectually, for fear of their brains exploding after eight movies in a row. Needless to say, no matter how switched on you are when you see this it's impossible to give STAY the attention in deserves in one viewing.
    There are no easy solutions here. While you may be able to explain the film after viewing it (and without the help of my friend JD, on first viewing it would definitely have been tricky), you may realize that the real brilliance of this film is in the innumerable levels of its narrative. Besides the mind-bending task that awaits you, of unfolding the basic mechanics of the plot, almost everything that appears on screen carries metaphorical or symbolic significance. With so much to talk about in the wake of the credits, I had a discussion that lasted almost as long as the movie afterwards, as JD and I tried to dissect all it's levels of interpretation and how they locked together.
    At its core, it is a basic psychological thriller. Simultaneously, and perhaps subconsciously, it also meditates on multifarious issues of reality and identity. One of the discussion points raised both then and at RAW24 fest, was the imperative nature of the title at different points in the film, which causes you to constantly question your assumptions about the story and individual scenes in that greater context. When STAY finally clicks into place (hopefully it will!), you may find yourself watching an entirely different movie than what you originally thought.
    The visuals in this movie actually provide their own context and narrative regarding the fragile nature of human memory and perception.
    It is a truism that film, as a photographic medium, mostly resists the psychological. In the hands of a less gifted director, this would have been equally true of STAY. Despite its overt plot in which a professor of psychiatry struggles to find a psychological clue in order to prevent a young artist from committing suicide at a precise time and location the artist has planned, most of it feels like a set-up to tackle bigger questions.
    Without altering the plot as written, a rigorous control of transitions and point of view is employed by director Marc Forster to accomadate this objective. In fact, the filmmakers have invented a totally unique editing style from which a complete parallel plot to the film is created, in which the professor must contend with the horror of his own descent into full-blown psychosis. The parallel plot is enacted on a purely visual plain to express how the young artist's psychotic identity (more expected brilliance from Ryan Gosling) implicitly consumes the identity of his psychiatrist. The consequences are made all the more disconcerting, because of the fresh approach of showing the meltdown purely visually. We feel the terror of the realization of losing one's mind in a way tenfold more real than any actor moving from point A - B - C in a gradual degradation of overacting and overwrought monologues.
    In much the same way of one character becoming another, the visual plot consumes the written plot of the film, and succeeding with such an ambitious design we are given the impression of unconscious motivation overcoming a conscious one. Between them director Marc Foster and 25th HOUR scribe David Benieoff have invented a new kind of film in which the psychological, in all its frightening depths, is made visible.
    I said it when I saw it those many months ago and I was right. You're looking at the best thriller of 2006 and other directors in the genre will have to sweat bullets to achieve anything close to what's being accomplished here. A failure at the box office, let's change it's fate on DVD as this deserves to be seen and discussed by all those who can keep an open mind.
  • fallenangel1619
    December 14, 2007
    fallenangel1619
    dude this movie rocked!!!
    [hardcore]
    i<3 ryan gosling!
  • tisasecret
    December 12, 2007
    tisasecret
    I've only seen the middle, looks really interesting will have to catch the rest.
  • lizzi08
    December 12, 2007
    lizzi08
    A movie that will keep you intrigued and confused until the credits roll.
  • SpeakOutloud16
    December 7, 2007
    SpeakOutloud16
    i've only seen the last half of this movie, and from what i saw of it... it was AWESOME! can't wait to see the rest..

    edit: wow, i don't remember seeing any of this... but it's a great movie
  • Devarim
    December 4, 2007
    Devarim
    pretty decent, could have been so much more, but still totaly worth wathing :) like psycological movies :)
  • redantfan
    December 1, 2007
    redantfan
    slow long and drawn out...did not really know what i was letting myself in for,

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