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Stay

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Stay (2005)

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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Thriller, Theatrical Release

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A head-scratching thriller...

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/06/06
Matthew Leyland
Matthew Leyland
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A disaster from beginning to end. If you're going to Stay anywhere, Stay at home.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
03/02/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
03/02/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/04/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The effect is something indescribably cinematic, as the inner mechanics of the mind's eye are vividly translated onto the big screen. Beautiful, haunting and ultimately transcendent...

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
08/06/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

It's a puzzle that tells you not to blatantly trust what you see. It just asks you to trust the wonders of the imagination -- from whatever direction it comes.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/20/05
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/21/05
Chris Cabin
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com

Stay means to unsettle us, and it does.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/20/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Gosling and McGregor deliver beyond-the-call-of-duty performances that hold you riveted even when the story goes silly.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
10/20/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

...a striking piece of work, one that stays with the viewer long after the end credits have rolled.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
10/20/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

It's rare that movies are made with such devotion to detail, even if the details are more frivolous than significant.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
10/22/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
10/21/05
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Works best as an intellectual cinematic essay on the veiled subject at hand (and a director-driven art film at that), rather than as a narrative drama.

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
10/21/05
Jim Chastain
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

More of an abstract than trick, Stay is a satisfying examination.

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
10/23/05
Jimmy O
Jimmy O
Film Snobs

The technical virtues of the film may outstrip the content, but it's an entertaining film, nonetheless. You might want to stay around for this one.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
03/25/06
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Perhaps the most challenging film released this year.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
10/27/05
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

So often, I have seen films like this that try to walk the fine line between creativity and confusion. Director Marc Forster manages to walk that line with precision.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment 1 Comment
04/05/06
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Part thriller, part mind-bending absurdity, it will definitely leave you scratching your head. But try to stay until the end--it might make up for the rest of it.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/21/05
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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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...

See All

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