Stay -A DVD Review-

There's nothing I hate more than a predictable film. This is not one.

Stay, directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball) and starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, and Ryan Gosling is a mind-bending thriller on par with some of the greatest thrillers of the past ten years.

I've seen three other films that, while viewing, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I thought maybe I was asleep and dreaming the insanity I saw onscreen because of it's otherworldliness. Those films are David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Christopher Nolan's Memento, and Brad Anderson's The Machinist. Stay is so unsettling and beautiful I would rank it up there with the previous mentioned films because I know it will stay with me for a long time.

Here's the deal; Ewan McGregor plays a psychiatrist who takes on a patient previously treated by a colleague who has taken time off for 'exhaustion'. The patient, Ryan Gosling, is a student of art who has decided to commit suicide in three days. McGregor must save the boy before he follows through on the threat at the cost of his own sanity. The stakes are slightly higher for him because his girlfriend, Naomi Watts, attempted suicide years earlier, and so he wants desperately to intervene in Henry's (Gosling's) case.

The film is visually stunning. Scene transitions are done so artfully and creatively, and special effects are used not to make stunts more believable but to enhance the background. The result is stunning!

Although perhaps thin, the story is engrossing with help from the visuals. That aspect is what makes this a truly genius film for me, because all aspects of the filmmaking process are relied upon equally.

One thing I couldn't help notice is that the principal cast is all foreigners playing americans, with the exception of Gosling, whose Canadian accent isn't an issue. Ewan McGregor is Scottish, Watts is Australian, and Bob Hoskins (who appears in a small but pivitol role) is English. They all cover american accents flawlessly.

McGregor's performance is typically brilliant, and the rest more than add to the perfection.

This film isn't for everyone. Rottentomatoes.com gave it a sad 26%, but Roger Ebert, in whom's opinion I place great stock, said, "When the movie is over, and we know all that is to be known, it deserves some thought." He gave the film three and a half stars.

As Henry, Gosling is a tragic figure, tormented by voices and images of the carcrash that killed (?) his parents. He is a sad boy tortured by his mind and wholly believable at all times. I wanted to cry for him more than once. As Lila, Watts is newly healthy after a failed suicide attempt. She's dating Sam (McGregor), and persuing her career as an artist. Her character is sad, but strong, and she gives the film a soft, beating heart. McGregor is Sam, a psychiatrist used to treating rich people for depression suddenly faced with a suicidal student and although not out of his league he's certainly challenged. Henry asks how to tell the difference between reality and the voices in his head, and Sam thinks he can explain. He soon realizes he doesn't know how to answer. Brilliance ensues.

Again, I don't recommend this film for everyone, but if you like any of the films I mentioned in the first paragraph you might want to give this a try.

I expect big things from director Marc Forster. He's a fucking genius when it comes to putting together a film. I can't wait for his next film. I'll be looking.

This film was released in 2005 and made no blip on my radar. I saw the video cover at my local news agent and picked it up for the cast. Don't make the same mistake. Seek it out. It'll blow yer mind!