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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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Stay

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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Stay away.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
10/20/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Ultimately empty.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
10/20/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

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

Rod Serling would have wrapped this mysterioso story about a psychiatrist and a suicidal patient dislocated by time, space and a lot of crazily raked angles into a tight half-hour episode.

comment Comment
10/20/05
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The visual effects, especially those used to enhance the metaphysical elements, are impressive, but the story lacks that certain something.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/20/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

A woozy, pretentious would-be thriller that aims to be mind-bending but instead is patience-trying.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/20/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A great big blurry mess.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
10/20/05
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

Most will likely sniff this one out for what it is, a would-be mystery thriller with pretensions to being something more that actually delivers a good deal less.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/20/05
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

After an hour or so, despite the heroic efforts of cast and crew, torpor and impatience slither between the movie's trapdoors.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
10/20/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

Stay, it won't.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
10/20/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

Though visual prodigies abound, the nightmare never gets real enough.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/20/05
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

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

All of this leads up to a promising reveal but what we get is a great big "huh?"

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/20/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

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

A steaming compost heap of high-art pretense and half-cocked psychoanalysis.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
10/20/05
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

Forster's symbolism goes from clever to exasperating to, finally, sort of klutzily endearing — the work of a gifted art student who can't resist piling on the glitter.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
10/20/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

...fussily enigmatic.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
10/20/05
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

The viewer's confidence and attention are not only undermined, but completely disregarded. You get the same feeling as Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls the football away.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
10/20/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

A metaphysical film that has no existential thoughts in its head.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/19/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Maybe he's also Sam. Or an aspect of Sam. Or else Sam is an aspect of Henry. Maybe Henry is an aspect of Lila. Maybe what we think is reality is all an illusion. Maybe illusion is actually reality. Maybe we're all jacked into the Matrix.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/19/05
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text 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...

See All

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