This is the kind of flop that makes even the popcorn taste lousy.
Stay (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:117
Fresh:32
Rotten:85
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: A muddled brain-teaser, Stay has a solid cast and innovative visuals but little beneath the surface.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some disturbing images
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Thriller, Theatrical Release
Theatrical Release:Oct 21, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $3,349,167
Synopsis: In the space between desire and fear, between reality and illusion, between life and death lies a whole other alternate world that is brought to life in the mind-bending thriller STAY. From the... In the space between desire and fear, between reality and illusion, between life and death lies a whole other alternate world that is brought to life in the mind-bending thriller STAY. From the acclaimed director of the award-winning Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland, Marc Forster, comes this moving and mesmerizing double story that plunges beneath the surface of ordinary experience to take a man on a spiraling descent through the mysteries of identity, dreams and the very fabric of existence. STAY appears at face value to be the suspenseful story of dedicated New York psychiatrist Sam Foster (EWAN McGREGOR) and his urgent attempt to stop a secretive and unusual young patient he inherited, Henry Lethem (RYAN GOSLING), from carrying out a planned suicide on the eve of his 21st birthday. But behind the primary tale of STAY lies a far more unsettling and surreal mystery: that of the reality-shattering effect that investigating Henry starts to have on Sam. As Sam is drawn deeper into the web of Henry's life -- and then into the labyrinth of his subconscious -- at first it simply puts stress on Sam's relationship with his artist girlfriend and former patient Lila (NAOMI WATTS). But soon Sam's own tightly-held grip on the rational world begins to melt away. Faced with increasingly surreal encounters and a Manhattan transformed into a wildly shifting dreamscape, Sam can no longer figure out what is true and what is happening only in his head, nor where he begins and Henry ends. So just who is Henry Lethem and why is he fracturing Sam's reality so profoundly? As clues and suspense simultaneously build to the story's climax on the Brooklyn Bridge, both Sam -- and the audience must grapple with thought-provoking questions about perception, awareness, forgiveness and final moments of redemption. For it soon becomes clear that what is happening to Sam and Henry is taking place not in this world but in the twilight state between living and dying . . . a place where no one can stay for long. [More]
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, Kate Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, Kate Burton, Bob Hoskins, Elizabeth Reaser, Janeane Garofalo, B.D. Wong
Director: Marc Forster
Director: Marc Forster
Producer: Bill Carraro, Guymon Casady, Arnon Milchan, Tom Lassally, Eric Kopeloff
Composer: Asche & Spencer
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Reviews for Stay
What Forster’s missing is an emotional connection — identification with something primal beneath the surface disorientation.
There’s a lot of talent at work here from the cast to the screenwriter to the director and the visuals, but it’s all so arbitrary and cheap and the payoff is so, so lame.
Audience members probably fluttered their eyes in disbelief at this convoluted tale.
It's rare that movies are made with such devotion to detail, even if the details are more frivolous than significant.
Its sole purpose appears to be to confuse, to muddle and to blow our minds.
Very stylish, nice to look at, but a good cast and good director, doesn’t always mean it’s a good movie. It doesn’t draw you in and make you want to stay through the end.
Was the conclusion unforeseen? Definitely. Did it make me think about or learn something about the human condition? Not really.
Films like this don’t allow you to anticipate what’s coming, deciding to instead sneak into your body and astound you with the widest range of emotions
A richly detailed, fascinating, and insightful puzzle that should prompt many to go back for a second look
A richly detailed, fascinating, and insightful puzzle that should prompt many to go back for a second look
S lot of talent gets expended in Stay. (I'm not including whoever dressed McGregor.) Too bad the movie they made, while effective in short spurts, is almost a complete waste of time.
The movie is so carefully made and well-acted, it's never really unwatchable and Gosling has been playing pallid, tremulous special-case guys so long he could do it napping.
Stay is crowded with layers and symbols, probably too many for one movie, and it ultimately wears out its welcome. But its images are compelling, even as its story fades away.
Forster's disjointed cuts and camera angles fail to spice things up as intended. Instead, he seems to be killing time until the film's trick ending.
Some people find this twisty and twisted psychological thriller arty and pretentious. I find it arty and provocative.
Latest News for Stay
June 28, 2007:
Ryan Gosling Signs On to Peter Jackson's "Lovely Bones"
The 27-year-old actor will be playing the husband to 36-year-old Rachel Weisz. They'll be playing the parents of a (dead) 14-year-old girl in the Peter Jackson pic. More...
June 20, 2007:
The Next "Bond" Director Has Been Chosen
And it's certainly nobody you'd expect! More...
April 17, 2006:
Casino Royale Enlists a "Vice" Villain
IGN FilmForce notes a 007-related Variety report, and it's news of the casting ... variety: Up & coming actor Isaach de Bankole, seen recently in flicks like Stay and The... More...
March 28, 2006:
DVD Tuesday: Planet of the Ape
Movie geeks love Tuesdays, and here's why: It's DVD Day! With each new Tuesday comes the promise of varying DVD goodness, so I thought it might be fun to do a reminder-piece... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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