Directed by:
Marc ForsterScreenplay:
David BenioffCinematography:
Roberto SchaeferCast:
Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Elizabeth Reaser, Bob Hoskins, Kate Burton, Janeane Garofalo, BD Wong, John Tormey, Jessica Hecht, Mark Margolis (more)Plots(1)
A dedicated New York psychiatrist Sam Foster urgently attempts to stop a secretive and unusual young patient he inherited, Henry Lethem, from carrying out a planned suicide on the eve of his 21st birthday. But Sam's investigation of Henry has reality-shattering effects on the psychiatrist. As Sam is drawn deeper into the web of Henry's life--and then into the labyrinth of his subconscious--it puts stress on Sam's relationship with his artist girlfriend and former patient Lila. 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. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
Forster plays Lynch and with a gradually escalating plot, interesting visuals (occasionally delicious cuts between locations) and hand in hand with the growing confusion in the viewer's head, he moves towards the climax, the big reveal that clarifies nothing at all and forces many interpretations, namely: a) the twist is so trivial it hurts, b) it's so sophisticated that nobody gets it, c) Forster is just taking the piss. For me it's a), and while Lynch’s movies are exciting in their bizarreness even after repeated viewings, Stay is a one-shot mess. And by the way, Gosling was excellent, Mc Gregor did his standard and Watts is just there for decoration.
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Marc Forster has made a film so strange and atypical that the actors don't really know what they're playing. Of course we have to approach Stay differently than other films. We can absolutely ignore any genres. Stay is like a dream, and that's how it should be seen. Just as everyone can find something different in their dream to explain what it came from, so too everyone can interpret this film in their own way. Disregard the spoileroid concoctions of the distributor, what the film is really about is pretty much up to the viewer. Even that alone is enough for an absolute rating, and even if it isn't, the visual gore definitely makes up for it.
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The perfect atmosphere, full of paranoia, fear, mystery, and confusion, all supported by a great soundtrack. I am giving it a practically neutral review because even though the movie absorbed me and I was holding my breath the entire time, I expected the climax on the bridge to provide me with some answers, but as it so often happens with movies like this, it turned out to be the complete opposite. I understood the main plotline in my own way, perhaps incorrectly, and the secondary one (Henry's father) almost not at all. However, the visual aspect, full of camera tricks, is enough to rate it this high in my opinion, even though the ending cooled my enthusiasm a bit.
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One of those “is this reality or is it a dream?” games the relies mainly on how smart the screenwriter is and on the talent and feeling of the director, because it can very easily become a dud that doesn’t make any sense. Fortunately, this one turned out well. I will study Forster and will keep an eye on him for the future.
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A picture that immediately captures you with its great visuals and then with its powerful story. It gradually turns into a good example of a Lynch-style movie where you have no idea where you stand, who is who, etc. The excellent cast just goes to enhance the overall impression. But unlike movies by David Lynch, Stay has a clear message... And that it where its downfall lies. The message luckily isn’t served up absolutely word for word, but it doesn’t leave much room for the viewer to make up his own mind. I can shake the feeling that, if it weren’t for the final scene, this movie could have been a beautiful experience overflowing with “dreamy" magic, despite being incomprehensible. This way it remains just a showcase for Forster and, in a way, a trick on the viewer, because the cheapest explanation is always correct. In the end, this is just an over-combined variation on Jacob’s Ladder.
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