Stay Reviews and Ratings



  • January 7, 2008
    omg trippy. i love it.
  • January 6, 2008
    This movie tried to be smart and was saved by above-average acting.
  • January 6, 2008
    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.
  • January 1, 2008
    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.
  • December 31, 2007
    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!
  • December 30, 2007
    "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)
  • December 27, 2007
    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.
  • December 24, 2007
    I enjoyed watching this but in the end I just didnt get it!?
  • December 23, 2007
    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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  • December 20, 2007
    A perfect thriller. (If you plan on seeing this movie, though, pay attention, so you don't join the community of confused people.)
  • December 19, 2007
    Very vivid editing. Nice dream movie about dreams and how we dream them.
  • December 17, 2007
    (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.
  • December 14, 2007
    dude this movie rocked!!!
    [hardcore]
    i<3 ryan gosling!
  • December 12, 2007
    I've only seen the middle, looks really interesting will have to catch the rest.
  • December 12, 2007
    A movie that will keep you intrigued and confused until the credits roll.
  • December 7, 2007
    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
  • December 4, 2007
    pretty decent, could have been so much more, but still totaly worth wathing :) like psycological movies :)
  • December 1, 2007
    slow long and drawn out...did not really know what i was letting myself in for,
  • November 27, 2007
    I was a little confused at the end, but the movie kept me interested the entire time.
  • November 27, 2007
    This movie is full of win.
  • November 25, 2007
    I have to give this a thumbz down...I didnt care too much bc it waz drawn out and it was boring and it made nooooo sense...a must notttt...
  • November 20, 2007
    Visually stunning.About the rest...I`m not so sure.It was confusing,puzzling and exciting, no bad criteria for making a movie interesting.Though the clues that were raised during watching it, weren`t really satisfied in the end, nor did the movie offer another plausible solution ...( read more)or sense of the plot.
    I thought it had elements of "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" and "Matrix" in it, but other than those it reserved this sudden flash of genius "Aaah..I got it!"
    Still, the montage was awesome,( haven`t seen something like this in a while) and the actual story was quite smart.
  • November 17, 2007
    Want to watch a movie that makes you wonder,and makes you look at it a second time. This movie is definitely warped but comes together in the end. Not to ruin it for others but its similar to the Others.
  • November 16, 2007
    Beautifully photographed and directed. It will ring familiar with anyone who s or has known artists near the edge. I almost gave it a five, but not quite there for me. I don't know what I would have wanted but the ending is not quite there for me. Reminded me of "The Wizard o...( read more)f Oz", so nice, but maybe too familiar or contrived or something.
  • November 12, 2007
    menos exercicio de estilo e mais roteiro, vai...
  • November 10, 2007
    Interesting concept. Acting was good. Ewan's pants were floods though, which was distracting.
  • November 7, 2007
    3 things make me saw this movie: 1.-Ewan McGregor, 2.-Ryan Gosling, and 3.-Naomi Watts, plus a bonus, because is directed by Marc Foster, but the movie is weak, the ending is lame. Good performance from my 3 reasons, and beautiful transitions of one scene to another. The plot at ...( read more)moments is hard to follow, and the end isn't too surprising or unusual for remember the movie.-
  • November 5, 2007
    I felt like this was just muddled eye candy that didn't go anywhere and had no real pay off.
  • November 5, 2007
    Good movie I really liked the twist at the end but it is a little bit confusing at times. Worth a watch though
  • November 4, 2007
    The movie was good but it was so confusing that I'm not really sure what happened or what it was suppose to mean.
  • November 3, 2007
    crazy... tripping with death
  • November 3, 2007
    This movie is so good you have to watch it more than once.
  • November 1, 2007
    very confusing and bizarre
  • November 1, 2007
    This is one of the best thrillers if ever seen, it represents all the personal style of David Lynch....
  • October 31, 2007
    A great David Lynch style movie.Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Could'nt tell you why this movie got bad reviews. It was a masterpiece.Smart, with an amazing cast..very strong performence by Gosling
  • October 29, 2007
    it was a little confusing... but at the end the entire thing made sense... and one thing, what was up with Ewan McGregor's pants in this movie... they went to an inch above his ankles when he stood up, and a lot farther up when he sat down...
  • October 29, 2007
    To be honest I think I need to watch it at least one more time to really get it, but this is an interesting film, kind of real-unreal, which is reality which is dream type of film. Certainly very interesting and I will definitely watch it again, if only to watch Ewan McGregor :) ...( read more) Oh but Ryan Gosling gives good performance too!
  • October 28, 2007
    First thing I'm going to say about this movie, do not watch it if you have no patience for complex and bizarre types of film, if how ever you do like this type of movie then you will be treated to a thought provoking masterpiece, I wont go on about the plot outline, that would on...( read more)ly spoil it for you, what I will say is that this movie is very confusing at times, even to the point of wanting to turn it off and it will need your full attention to understand it but its well worth it in the end!!!!!
    Very similar to a David Lynch type of film!
    Remember"Patience" and it will all come together in the end.......
  • October 28, 2007
    Very cool, much like "An occurence at Owlcreek Bridge"
  • October 25, 2007
    actors/actresses are really good. luv the pictures and the cutting.
  • October 22, 2007
    The movie itself at the time kinda sucked. I mean, it was neat to look at, but I really didn't understand how awesome it was until afterwards when I thought about it. It's about a guy dieing in the middle of the street, and the whole movie is his dilussional interpretations of ...( read more)the people around him trying to help him, and him deciding whether or not to die. Pretty cool all the symbolism in it.

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