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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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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Before you die you get to a world where you can be who you want to be... A visually compelling, disturbing drama where everything you thought was real falls into time loops and evasive replies by the main protagonists. The ending rather unnecessarily removes the irrational charm of the whole mosaic, but even so it’s very tolerable. Excellent McGregor, excellent Gosling.
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The film starts as A, then goes to B, then turns out to be C, in the next twist it acts as D, and in the finale it is actually E, which is somehow hidden behind it and not explicitly stated. Mindfuck games with the viewer, imagination and creativity, all supported by top performances from Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling. It's its own thing, it's novel and it's... special. On the other hand, I have to agree with other users that, although this is one of those "WTF movies", I'm not completely impressed and I don't think I'll want to ponder the film for weeks to come. Either way, it's quality craftsmanship and for me a bit of an unconventional Marc Forster film that will keep your head spinning throughout until the very end.
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