Stay (DVD)
The running time is 1 hr. 39 mins..
Based on his opinion I was scared to even pick up this film, he hated it something fierce, and while he made some valid points I was able to see where this film wanted to go and take some appreciation out of the fact that it made me think a little more than some other films do. This is by no means a recommendation, but it is a "for your consideration", a film that falls into the "just in case there is nothing else to rent" category.
Stay stars Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling in which McGregor plays Sam Foster, a psychiatrist who has been given the duty of counseling Gosling's character Henry Letham. You can tell from the very beginning of this film that something is a bit off; it takes about two seconds, or at least one look at the trailer. Beyond that the trailer can give the entire film away if you pay enough attention, but in an effort not to do that myself I am going to try and be careful with my words but not misleading.
Sam's world is turned on its head after he meets Henry, things begin to not make sense and Henry's condition seems to be getting worse and worse. Naomi Watts stars as Lila Culpepper, Sam's girlfriend, and for the most part she serves as a pretty face considering a name of her magnitude is not necessarily needed for the role.
Where this film struggles is in its editing. If you are looking for a film that tries to be clever at every moment plug in Stay, this one can't decide if it wants to tell you a story or impress you with fancy cuts from scene to scene. Marc Forster (Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball) claims directing duties on this flick and I think we can now say this ain't a movie for his talents. He is highly talented and I am a huge fan of Finding Neverland but this one was one step outside of his capabilities, then again I am not sure anyone could have woven this into a coherent picture.
On the DVD front there isn't much to talk about. There is a small amount of commentary, scene specific mind you, with Forster and a few of the other cast and crew members and a couple of featurettes. One warning, if you don't want to know what the film is about before watching it don't watch the featurette "Departing Visions" it gives it away immediately. As for the commentaries, these are okay. They aren't great by any means and they won't blow your mind, but fans of Forster and Gosling especially should enjoy them.
On a whole, I would recommend Stay as a rental only, and that is only if there is nothing else that peaks your interest. It isn't a horrible film, but it really isn't all that good.