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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 date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat
2/5

Matthew Leyland

A head-scratching thriller...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 06 2006 02:47 PM

BBC

splat
2/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 01 2006 03:37 AM

Empire Magazine

N/R

Peter Bradshaw

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 04 2006 03:40 AM

Guardian [UK]

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

splat
1/5

Matthew Turner

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2006 03:16 AM

ViewLondon

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

splat
D-

Cole Smithey

Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling all lower their box office merit with this unbaked psychological thriller about a suicidal man (Gosling) taunting his eccentric psychologist (McGregor) after surviving a horrible car accident.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Apr., 19 2009 09:53 AM

ColeSmithey.com

tomato

Anton Bitel

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: | comment Comment | Aug., 06 2007 03:40 AM

Eye for Film

splat
1.5/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 06:36 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

splat

Lewis Beale

Stay wants to be good, creepy fun, but by the middle of the film, I was so uninterested in the plot I became obsessed with McGregor's pants

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:58 AM

Film Journal International

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 30 2006 04:41 AM

Los Angeles Daily News

splat
1.5/4

Peter T. Chattaway

Ultimately the film delivers such a weak payoff that it makes nearly everything that came before it seem rather pointless.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 11 2006 02:33 PM

Christianity Today

tomato
3/5

Jim Lane

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 12 2006 03:15 AM

Sacramento News & Review

tomato
4.5/5

Kevin Carr

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: | comment 1 Comment | Apr., 05 2006 09:07 PM

7M Pictures

tomato
6/10

John J. Puccio

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 25 2006 11:57 AM

DVDTown.com

tomato
3/5

Scott Weinberg

Pretty to look at, tough to follow, and, ultimately, difficult to swallow, Stay certainly isn't a bad film ... but it sure as heck isn't one you'll be raving about anytime soon.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 21 2006 05:44 PM

DVDTalk.com

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 17 2006 03:15 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

splat
3/5

Pablo Villaca

Revela-se apenas mais uma variação de uma premissa utilizada por vários outros filmes.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Dec., 29 2005 01:09 PM

Cinema em Cena

splat

Andy Klein

...there is nothing interesting about the payoff; it seems like little more than a convenient excuse for a director to have fun, throwing a bunch of wild stuff up on the screen.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 23 2005 02:49 AM

Los Angeles CityBeat

tomato
3/5

Todd Gilchrist

A psychological thriller in a category by itself.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 10 2005 12:08 PM

IGN Movies

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

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...

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