Stay DVD Review

Taking over a patient from a colleague, psychiatrist Sam Foster (McGregor) takes on the treatment of Henry Letham (Gosling) but he is not prepared for the intensity of his new patient. In their first session he tells Sam that he is going to kill himself on his 21st birthday, that coming Saturday but as the psychiatrist tries to help him, he starts to realise that Henry might not be just suffering from depression and delusions. When Sam starts to suffer from the same delusions as Henry, he thinks that something might not be right.

Psychological dramas that twist and turn throughout are stalwart of the genre but can ‘Stay’ make you keep watching and guessing?

Acclaimed director Marc Foster, who brought us ‘Monsters Ball’ and ‘Finding Neverland’ changes direction again to bring us a psychological thriller that is as confusing as it is obvious. You have to applaud his decision to not stick to the genres that he knows and bringing David Benioff’s, the writer of ‘Troy’ and ‘25th Hour’, script to the screen but the film is just far too predictable for its own good.

As the film starts, anyone who knows these types of films will make an instant observation and draw a conclusion that will reveal the ending before the movie even gets going and they will be right. However many twists and turns the writer and director throw in, you know that they are going to end up at the extremely obvious conclusion. This takes away much of the enjoyment of the film and takes too much away from the amazing look of the movie and the good performances.

Set in New York, the Big Apple has never looked so different. As Sam and Henry’s world becomes more and more dreamlike, the city becomes just as much of a character as the human players. Famous locations and buildings change as the film progresses, culminating is an amazingly visual reimagining of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The performances are also first rate. Ewan McGregor puts on his American accent again as psychiatrist Sam Foster, the main protagonist of the piece who gets drawn into Henry’s delusions. Naomi Watts plays his girlfriend Lila, who is recovering from depression and a suicide. Bob Hoskins, Janeane Garofalo and Elizabeth Reaser have small but important roles. The exceptional Ryan Gosling steals the film however. As the troubled Henry Letham, he shows again why he is one of the most gifted actors of his generation and will go onto great things.

‘Stay’ is an exceptionally well-acted film that is visually stunning but it let down by the completely predictable plot and the obvious ending. This takes away so much from the film and all of the twists and turns just become meaningless and inconsequential as you know exactly what is going to happen. It is still worth watching however as there is much to enjoy.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the presentation is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Scene Specific Commentary by Marc Foster and Ryan Gosling The director and star provide short, scene specific commentary for the scenes entitled ‘Sam and Henry meet’, ‘Strip Club’, ‘I met your mother last night’, ‘Henry heals Leon’ and ‘The last memory before you die’. The pair talks about each scene and offer only slight insight into how it was produced.

Scene Specific Commentary by Marc Foster, Matt Chesse, Kevin Tod Haug and Roberto Schaffer The director, editor, visual effects designer and director of photography offer their opinions on the scenes entitled ‘The Opening’, ‘Nothing makes sense’, ‘The End’, ‘The Spiral Staircase’, ‘Club meds’, ‘The noodle scene’ and ‘The Columns’. These are more technical takes on the movie, explaining how it was made.

Departing Visions (6.45 mins) A collection of people talks about their own near death experiences and how it affected their attitude to life and how it made them not scared of death.

Coming Soon Previews of ‘Night Watch’, ‘Shopgirl’ and ‘Walk the Line’

OVERALL

The DVD package for ‘Stay’ isn’t bad but it could have been better. The scene specific commentaries should have been full ones and the lack of any making of… featurettes about the film is disappointing. The ‘Departing Visions’ featurette is an interesting watch however but fans might still be disappointed.