This film was incredible?

Wow. Fantastic movie. I'll write something later (or rather, expand upon and clarify what I've already written), but this is currently top ten material, B+ at worst. (Though I'd rate it A-)

0%? I just don't understand. : (

Great news.

Hopefully it will come out here.

It hasn't been zero in a while.

I think it is about 20%.

Anyway, you knew that this wasn't a critics movie but hopefully it will be a fun or interesting movie.

Now here is a puzzle movie! This one's not gonna be understood by popular culture or the general population for at least a decade. Sure internet fan forums will discover, document, and debate all of this film's hidden meanings, but for the average person, this film's gonna fly right over their heads. Plus, the theme of suicide is hardly a crowd pleaser. Good work by the actors, but this is primarily the director's baby (Marc Forster in his follow-up to Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball). If you're up for a spacey headtrip, and ya don't mind being confused, why not Stay...

4 out of 5.

(Note: Just for the record, I want to declare myself today (Oct. 23rd, 2005), to be one of this film's supporters before the big rush next decade...)

Oh yeah...let's see.

Decent acting, except for Gosling who is fantastic; surprisingly good dialog never feels unnatural or fake. The editing, cinematography and directing are all fine, with the former two being especially notable (visually stunning, and the editing is not really distracting, despite using more tricks than Snoop Dogg. It actually fit quite well with the film's tone of uncertainty.) It's certainly a brain workout, which is actually one of the few flaws I had with it. As soon as something becomes apparently apparent, they throw something else into the mix. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just felt almost as if there was an act trying to be upheld, and some of it could have been taken down a bit. I actually think the film as a whole was rather straightforward, and not that hard to understand. It just doesn't unfold that way.

Fox should be shot for the treatment of Stay, dumping the film with no advertising and nil interest. Stay isn't the best film, however there is a lot to enjoy and something Fox should have considered putting a bit more effort into. The simple version of the plot is about the attempts of an Ivy League Professor (McGregor) to prevent one of his students (Gosling) from committing suicide. This is as much as I am going to tell you. This film is brilliant for what it is. The film asks you to build your own interpretation of events and draw your own conclusion.

Thanks largely to some excellent casting decisions and talented direction this is a visually stunning film. However, its peculiar plot is spoiled by some very weak writing. It treats the audience like idiots, and has the need to overanalyze things and turns the film on its feet.

This film deserves to be watched. With films like White Noise, Boogeyman and Hide and Seek infecting audiences minds to enjoy crap its no wonder films like Stay aren't taken seriously. The film is best enjoyed with an open mind, if you're expecting the Sixth Sense, then I suggest you stay away. I wish Fox was burned at the stake for not even attempting to advertise this properly. With Ewe Boll's Alone in the Dark making more money this ultimately is a cruel film that deserves to find its (intelligence) audience.

B+

this is a deeply sad film that demands a lot from it's audience. if you're patient with the film, and let it's images and themes work it's way under your skin and inside your head, the final five minutes will reward you with stark clarification. if you let it, this might just be one of the most haunting films you'll see this year. there are some moments in the film that, once you known the outcome, you will look back on and be overwhelmed with sadness and despair. stay is, at it's core, a very bitter and desperate story of missed opportunities. whether that is never getting to ask the person you love to marry them, or never giving your loved ones a proper goodbye. on top of all of this, marc forster pulls out all of the stops to deliver one of the most artistically satisfying films of the year.

One of the best films of the year. It's a shame how neglected it is. Gosling is a revelation.

It's darn good.

Besides the excellent performances, twisted plot and stunning imagery, I liked the film because it kept me guessing until the end, and even after it was over, I still had to think about what I just watched.

B+

C+

The ending pretty much ruined it for me, though it was still decent in a way. But yeah, I did NOT like how they unfolded the last couple minutes. It just seemed like such a cop-out.

Gosling is great though.

B


This movie is hard to review, but I will say hat I like it. There are hints at the ending of the film throughout the entire movie, big hints, that is, so it didn't really comes as a huge surprise. However, rarely did an ending ever make me rethink the entire movie as much as this one. Some say the ending is a cop-out, but I certainly don't see it this way. The movie was constructed towards this very ending to begin with. This ending is the entire point of the whole movie.

Sadly, the movie is not nearly as involving as it could have been with its truly sad main theme. Ryan Gosling delivers a great performance, but McGregor and Watts disappojnt somewhat. Bob Hoskins is quite good in his short appearance, though. The visual style of the movie is great and rarely seems like a simple gimmick. It is just...the movie never really grabbed me, had me in suspense or truly invested into it. This is all made up by the fact that the whole viewpoint of the flick is simply interesting. That's it. It is a very interesting take on a person's final minutes before death, but it could have been more, could have been better. It was certainly a difficult topic to tackle on.

Hohum. There are some great visuals, the direction gets irritatingly manic though. And Ryan Gosling does turn in a good performance (he's sorta cornered the "tortured young adult" character in films these days, eh?) but both Ewan McGregor & Naomi Watts seem to be phoning it in. In the end it just failed to engage me on any level really. I thought it was interesting for about 20 minutes, but then it went here, there and everywhere for what reason I don't know. You don't need to see the whole film to get the gist of it, just a few scattered scenes and the last 5 minutes would suffice. I've read reviews that liken it to a stretched out Twilight Zone episode, and I think that is fitting. It's intriguing on a certain level, but there's not enough meat in the story to justify a full-length film no matter how stylish or peculiar it may be. When the credits started to roll I was left thinking "so what?" Great to look at but ultimately the movie feels flat, and oddly lifeless underneath its eye-catching visage. grade - C-

8/10 (B+)
I thought it was very good. I was glad I blind bought it. Naomi Watts gave a fantastic performance as well.

Great movie, but i didnt get it. I was watching it and my 8 year old niece was bugging the whole time so i didnt put much attention to it and i dont want to see it again!. Can somebody please explain it to me briefly?!....

A guy dies.

Thank you bradley!.... you were a big help!.

i went and read it in some message board and i get it now

B

One of the most visually stylish films I've ever seen. The camera work and editing are so innovative, so original, you can't help but watch in awe. Not a shot is wasted in this movie. And if this film had no plot, or a clichéd, pointless plot, I would give it a B just for the look of the film.

But there is a story. A twisted, confusing, frenzied story that, at the end, all makes sense. I don't think the ending is a cop-out because the whole film was building toward that ending. It's not like some films where there's just a random twist tacked on at the end - this ending made sense in the context of the entire film. It may be open to some interpretation, but it's obvious what is going on.

The acting here is uniformly solid. Gosling is surprisingly great, this would have been a breakthrough had the film been bigger. I've never been a big fan of McGregor, but he's relatively good in this. Naomi Watts is great, as usual. And the supporting roles are great. Everything about this film was great.

I'll probably have to watch it again, now that I know the ending, so I can catch everything I missed, and let the whole film sink in. This is one movie I'm glad I didn't have the ending spoiled for. In a way, it reminded me of that Christian Bale flick "The Machinist", which had a very similar theme. Both are excellent films.

Marc Forster has to be one of the worst directors working today. He takes a script that has a lot of potential and translates it onscreen in the most uninteresting and unconvincing way possible. What should have been stylisth and atmospheric is intead bland and amateurish. C-, but could have been in the A-range in the hands of a more capable director (same situation w/ Finding Neverland & Monster's Ball, where Forster's direction is the worst aspect of each film).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay_%282005_film%29

That explains so much. Seriously me and my roommate were watching it and it ended and ... I didn't get anything really. Stunning imagery, beautiful to watch, well written and excellent direction but ...

So, I read up on it. And it clicked. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention but when it finally clicked... I realized how great the film was. Easily an A- just on the direction alone, but ... I'd go for a straight A once it all set in.

I was quite surprised by this movie. Caught it on Cinemax this weekend remembering the previews and thinking it was slightly intriguing. I usually hate these kind of endings, but that's when the entire previous moments really are just a waste of film with no point to them. This is different, there is a point, and you can see a somewhat hazey picture of the ending to come. Great style, great acting, and an ending that left an impact (and actually had me staying through the entire credits just thinking about the movie).

***1/2

The ending really makes this movie.

Yeah, this was a surprisingly little movie that I really think could get a cult fanbase a few years down the line. I don't say this much, but good call bradley!

At least you "got" The Core, Dude.

However, sooner or later everyone will appreciate the Unfailing Vision of Witherberry (UVW®)...

Just watched it on Cinemax. It was pretty good.

BTW guys, How do I get my hair like Ewan McGregor in this movie?????????

An interesting, yet somewhat dissapointing film. I'm not sure what I gave this initially, but it had to hover somewhere in the B range.

B-