Stay is a bad movie. It’s an unruly piece of cinematic trash that’s so nihilistic in its style it’s frustrating from beginning to end. But that’s not an entirely bad thing. In fact, it may just be what director Marc Foster intended.
Stay (2005)
Directors: Marc Foster
Producers: Arnon Milchan, Tom Lassally and Eric Kopeloff
Writers: David Benioff
Features: * 2 Scene-Specific Audio Commentaries * 2 Featurettes * Theatrical Trailer
Characters:
Ewan McGregor...Sam Foster
Ryan Gosling...Henry Letham
Kate Burton...Mrs. Letham
Naomi Watts...Lila Culpepper
Elizabeth Reaser...Athena
Bob Hoskins...Dr. Leon Patterson
Janeane Garofalo...Dr. Beth Levy
B.D. Wong...Dr. Ren
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Review:
Stay is a bad movie. It’s an unruly piece of cinematic trash that’s so nihilistic in its style it’s frustrating from beginning to end. But that’s not an entirely bad thing. In fact, it may just be what director Marc Foster intended.
Roughly twenty minutes into the film, Henry Lethem, a troubled young college student who is experiencing a sort of ‘psychedelic living hell’, quotes an imaginary once famous artist named Tristan Reveur (who killed himself on his 21st birthday) to his psychologist before exclaiming that he’s going to kill himself in three days on his 21st birthday. Henry says, "Bad art is more tragically beautiful than good art, because it documents human failure."
This line continued to resonate throughout the entire picture. As I said, Stay is a frustrating mish-mash of ideas and overcooked Gen-x directing. Like a lot of films with the same style, the director never seems to know when enough is enough. The structure and narrative flow of the picture just keep getting confused and messed up because of the quick cuts, odd transitions, 180 degree switches and other cinematic rule breaking. The brush strokes used to paint the picture here are so obvious; it’s distracting to the viewer. It’s like watching a David Lynch film that’s aware of its own distorted quirkiness.
This could easily be construed as bad, and it was by most professional critics when the film was released theatrically. However, look at the people involved with the film and you may notice something slightly unusual. The film itself stars such acclaimed actors as Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling and Naomi Watts in addition to Bob Hoskins and comic Janeane Garofalo. Each of these actors is respectable in their own right, some are even award winners. Naomi Watts plays a relatively thankless supporting role, a departure from her typical lead stature in Hollywood. The film was written by David Benioff known for his thoughtful, historically sound script for Troy and his amazing novel and screenplay for Spike Lee’s The 25th Hour. He’s also penning a script based on the popular X-Men character, Wolverine. Finally, the film was directed by Marc Foster, known for his Golden Globe and Oscar nominated films: Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland. Neither of those films was overcooked. They were straight forward dramas told using a typical cinematic structure. So ponder this: Why would a filmmaker change his or her style unless the change holds some sort of meaning?
It would seem that, for possibly the first time in mainstream cinema, a film has been made to be intentionally bad. It’s intentionally overcooked. It’s intentionally nihilistic and intentionally Gen-x driven. Marc Foster is making bad art to prove the point of the fake artist Tristan Reveur, Henry’s idol. The film is a tragedy on multiple levels. The characters are tragic. The plot is tragic. The film itself is tragic. Everything leads to human failure. Thus the film documents human failure, something more beautiful than good art.
Additional evidence can be seen when the film is deconstructed more thoroughly. There are instances of quirky characters, odd scene notations, repeated characters and clichéd plot threads. Most viewers will likely be able to guess the twist very early on and will likely be disappointed by it as it’s not as satisfying nor is it as horrifying as it could have been. The film is an unsatisfying venture without the knowledge that everything, right down to the style and attire of the characters, is 100% intentional.
Now, this is just a theory of course. Perhaps the film actually is just a pathetic waste of time. Maybe I’m looking too far into it. Granted, there is no spoken evidence from the filmmakers or the cast that relate to my theory. The commentary tracks on the DVD make very little mention to this theory, though it is slightly hinted at. That makes sense though. Fine art,or bad art, isn’t really beautiful if it’s explained by the artist.
*Film Scorecard*
As entertainment: * * * ½
As a film: * * * ½ (if intentional, then brilliant)
As a film : * ½ (if not intentional, then a waste)
Overall:
DVD REVIEW:
Video:
Presented in both Full Frame and Widscreen 2:35:1, Stay looks pretty good. It’s a very vibrant and distorted looking film riddled with saturated colors, out of focus shots and digitally altered sequences. Thankfully there is no digital or film grain present to distract the viewer. Darks and lights are dead on. A great transfer.
Audio:
Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, this is an oddly muted, though surround heavy track. I had to turn the volume up so that dialogue could be heard. Sound effects, however, where mastered properly and several scenes will be too loud if the volume is turned up. This could be intentional again, adding to the confusing nature of the film. But probably not. I think someone forgot to properly tune the center channel. Disappointing.
Again, no DTS track for hardcore audio enthusiasts.
There’s also Spanish and French Surround tracks in addition to English and Spanish subtitles.
Extras:
Extras are fair, but this is far from a special edition. There are two Scene-Specific Audio Commentaries on select scenes on the widescreen side of the disc. The first commentary is from director Marc Foster and actor Ryan Gosling. This is the more engaging of the two tracks, but not much info is given away. The second track again features director Marc Foster, now with editor Matt Chesse, Director of Photography Roberto Schaefer and second unit director Kevin Tod Haug. This track is fun, but not very informative. I was hoping for more here. There’s a lot of back patting and self reference. Again, there are hints throughout each track relating to my theory, but no hard evidence. Too bad.
There are also two Featurettes, one on each side. The first, "Departing Visions", deals with the look of the film. The second, "The Music of Stay", is pretty self explanatory. The full frame side also contains a Trailer for the film.
Each side of the disc contains the always annoying and thankfully skippable ‘anti-piracy’ spot at the beginning of the disc. This time they're asking you not to buy pirated movies. Come on Fox, we are the ones BUYING or renting the real discs! We aren’t stealing them. We’re the GOOD GUYS! We aren’t downloading movies and we’re not buying bootleg movies, so stop telling us not to with your "cool, hip promo". It's bound to irritate consumers and make pirates laugh rather than feel guilty. I can’t stress this enough!
Final Thoughts:
Stay will be an upsetting and irritating film for some, but others will likely find themselves glued to the screen. No matter how you look at it however, Stay is destined for cult status. Give this one a rent for sure. Cult enthusiasts, particularly those who like David Lynch or Donnie Darko-type films, will want to own this one.
*DVD Scorecard*
Video: 8.5
Audio: 6.5
Extras: 7
Overall: 7.5
Rated R for language and some disturbing images.
* Running Time: 99 minutes
* List Price: $27.98
* Available on DVD March 28th 2006.
Email Me with Comments, Concerns, Questions and Complaints regarding this review, but please, be nice.
----R. L. Shaffer