Stay poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, Janeane Garofalo, B.D. Wong ... see more see more... , Bob Hoskins , Becky Ann Baker , Kate Burton , Jarleth Conroy , Isaach De Bankolé , Oni Faida Lampley , Mark Margolis , Angela Pietropinto , Mary Testa , Michael Gaston , Jessica Hecht , John Chiang , G.A. Aguilar , Douglas Crosby , Jose Ramon Rosario , Noah Bean , John Tormey , Blaise Corrigan , Lisa Kron , Gregory Mitchell , Amy Sedaris , Robin De Jesus , Tom Titone , Elizabeth Reaser , Michael Devine , Riley G. Matthews Jr. , Sterling K. Brown , John Dominici , Jolly Abraham , Vito Violante , Hank Eulau , Caroline Leppanen , Carolyn Dorfman , Emily Gayeski , Noel MacDuffie , Kevin Osgood , Elizabeth H. Parkinson , Karine Plantadit-Bageot , John Selya , Kyle Sheldon , Pamela B. Wagner , Mam Smith

A man struggling to save the life of another finds himself drawn into a strange netherworld he didn't know existed in this stylish thriller. Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) is a psychiatrist living in New ... read more read more...York City with his girlfriend, Lila Culpepper (Naomi Watts), who was once one of his patients. However, it's another one of his patients who becomes the focus of his obsessions when Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling), a disturbed young man whom Foster took over from a colleague, announces during a session that he intends to commit suicide in three days, on his 21st birthday. Sam takes the threat quite seriously and tries to track down Henry, who seems to have disappeared. Sam speaks to a number of Henry's friends and acquaintances -- his mother (Kate Burton), the man he claimed was his father, Dr. Leon Patterson (Bob Hoskins), a waitress who regularly served Henry at the coffee shop where she works (Elizabeth Reaser), and his former therapist Dr. Beth Levy (Janeane Garofalo). As Sam talks to people in Henry's circle, he finds he's learning more about himself than the man he's supposed to save, and he begins to drift into an emotional netherworld where the supposedly dead and the living cross paths. Stay was directed by Marc Forster, who had previously enjoyed breakthrough hits with two very different films, Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

70,595 ratings

Critics

26% liked it

121 critics

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Marc Forster

Release Date: October 21, 2005

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006

Get It:

Stats: 4,138 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Ryan Gosling ryan gosling Stay Ewan McGregor Stay Stay Stay Ryan Gosling Stay Ryan Gosling Stay Stay Stay Stay Stay
Upload a Photo | View All Stay Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (4,138)

  • 76Majikat
    December 21, 2010
    76Majikat
    Ryan Gosling dazzles once again in this film, in a deep, mind twisting tale on the edge of sanity, that will gradually lose you if you allow it.

    I've seen this film several times now and have to admit, this is the first time I have watched it and got the ending!
  • McKittrick
    November 29, 2010
    McKittrick
    I really can't waste my time on this one - I'm far too depressed as it is. Put succinctly, possibly the most painfully annoying film of all time (not including 'Vanilla Sky')... Hurry UP and die already!
    And I've so had enough of Ewan McGregor and his phony American accent.
  • ythelastman89
    August 27, 2010
    ythelastman89
    This is actually a lot better and more deep than it gets credit for. Some truly great performances from Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and especially Ryan Gosling. The whole nightmare aspect is so interesting and manipulative, it's just a bonus to the already well done story and char... read moreacter development.
  • MovieGeek13
    July 30, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    Stay is a film that almost requires at least two viewings. The first will take you on a ride where you will have no idea what's going on until the last fifteen or so minutes. The second viewing will allow you to see how the film's style explains what the last fifteen minutes wi... read morell reveal. It's quite frustrating, but also fascinating.
    What Stay is essentially about is how the mind pieces together life. We always form one simplified impression of a particular person, and usually that impression stays with us. Many of the characters appear to the main character in the same way he last remembers them. This film also allows its main character to come to terms with certain aspects of his life that have left him in a state of remorse, of constant grief. In a sense, Stay is a twisted redemption story. For who, I cannot say, for I would need to reveal spoilers. The less you know of this movie, the better. Hell, you won't even know what this movie is about until the last fifteen minutes.
    Some people will be turned off by this mystery-thriller. It calls to mind the work of David Lynch, mainly his masterpiece Mulholland Dr (coincidentally, the film that made Naomi Watts a star). Stay is a far lesser film than Mulholland Dr, mainly because its payoff is underwhelming. Any movie that hides its secrets for as long as Stay does can't live up to its promise. But nonetheless, Stay is fascinating to watch. It's a competent exercise in style over substance. Strangely enough, in this case, the style IS the substance.
  • ironclad1609
    July 12, 2009
    ironclad1609
    A pretty confusing, sometimes even nerve-wracking psychological thriller with an excellent cast and very interesting camera work and editing. The story follows a psychologist who is trying to save a new patient, who announces his suicide for the following weekend. As reality, pas... read moret and imagination starts to melt into one more and more, it requires quite some concentration on the audience's side to stay focused on the events. The hints are there, so the ending may come as a huge twist to some, but is not entirely unpredictable. In the end everyone has to make up their own mind about this. The talents included are top notch, but up until the end it left me emotionally cold, which it probably shouldn't have. Still, decent and worth checking out.
  • 366weirdmovies
    June 13, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A psychiatrist is assigned to a suicidal art student when the boy's regular therapist has a breakdown, and finds the case has metaphysical as well as psychological dimensions. Neatly done psychological thriller is well scripted (up until the final revelation) and is likely to im... read morepress newcomers to the genre; unfortunately, while dedicated fans of this sort of stuff may have some fun, they're likely catch the twist early on and to have seen it executed more spectacularly before.
  • pier007
    April 25, 2009
    pier007
    Marc Forster is another filmmaker that falls into the category of visual onanist, though his style has served him well in other works, here is almost irritating, besides the story doesn't help a bit.
    A multicoloured, nice looking artsy cinematography (if only was handled with mea... read moresure) and the acting are the only worthy departments.
  • DerekA101
    October 28, 2008
    DerekA101
    Stay is a lot like fine wine. If you don't like it, then you REALLY don't like it. But if you like it, then you appreciate it for it's beauty. This is exactly how this film is.

    Stay is a thought provoking film that most people won't actually understand , but those who do ca... read moren talk about the events in this movie for hours. It's one of those films that will confuse you until the shocking end. Once you realize the ending, you can go back and analyze everything that happened and draw a symbolic reason for it happening. It's amazing, and extremely smart. I can't go into anything because even the slightest bit of information would be a spoiler. If you have seen it and wish to ask, feel free.

    The acting was great, most notably by Ryan Gosling. The camera-work was unique and very effective. I loved it.

    If you can enjoy thought provoking, intelligent movies, then this movie is up your alley. I need to thank a friend on Flixster here who personally recommended this to me.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    September 21, 2008
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    Henry Letham: I burned myself.

    Sam Foster: You burned yourself? Why?

    Henry Letham: Practicing for Hell.

    Standing in for a sick colleague, renowned New York psychiatrist Sam Foster is confronted with disturbed art student Henry Letham. Seemingly inspired by his idol, a ... read morepainter infamous for committing suicide on his 21th birthday, Henry announces he will shoot himself Saturday at midnight--the moment he turns 21. Foster, once having saved his suicidal girlfriend Lila, takes the threat seriously but fails to simply have Henry taken into custody. Instead, while trying to track his patient down, Sam is gradually drawn into the world of Henry's obsessions.

    From this point of the review, I can already tell you that this movie is not what it seems. Yes, there is a big, fat, juicy twist at the end but for the sake of the spoilers, I will leave it to you to find it out. Marc Forster who also directed such films like Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner and Finding Neverland is at the helm of this film working a David Benioff screenplay. Stay is one of those bizarre, weird, oddball kind of film so from the get-go you have to pay attention and look closely. This is not a story where everything has got to be spoon fed to you, you have to guess and guess and piece all the clues and puzzle pieces and trust me, you will have a hard time doing the task. I had to re-watch this again to fully understand the concept and with every passing scene, the scenario gets even weirder and more bizarre than the previous scene so you really have got to pay real good attention.

    Once you reach the ending the big, fat, juicy twist at hand and you realize: "Wow, that was really good but I think I've seen that before though". That's exactly what I felt when the supposed shocking ending wasn't really that shocking to me, it was a so-so twist, nothing new to offer to the table. The acting, quite okay, though this ain't Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts' defining moment in Hollywood. They were just average to my taste but Ryan Gosling on the other hand, was pretty amazing as always. He nailed the role and I think he's the best thing in the movie.

    Stay is a film in the same vein as a Lynch film but nowhere near it. A David Lynch film is like having a wide awake brain surgery and Stay though quite good, is not in par with Mulholland Dr or Inland Empire.

    3.5/5
  • hobster1
    July 21, 2008
    hobster1
    Ponderous film is somewhat challenging to watch, but its provocative plot twists will compel to you find out what happens next.

View All Stay Reviews

Critic Reviews

James Berardinelli
October 29, 2005
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Stay is interesting, but it's hard to recommend to anyone but the small cadre of David Lynch devotees who will inhale anything with a whiff of similarity to their favorite auteur's scent. Full Review

Rachel Aviv
October 27, 2005
Rachel Aviv, Village Voice

In Marc Forster's humorless thriller, going insane is an exciting, luxurious affair. Full Review

Rex Reed
October 26, 2005
Rex Reed, New York Observer

This is the kind of flop that makes even the popcorn taste lousy. Full Review

Richard Roeper
October 24, 2005
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

There's a lot of talent at work here from the cast to the screenwriter to the director and the visuals, but it's all so arbitrary and cheap and the payoff is so, so lame. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
October 21, 2005
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

S lot of talent gets expended in Stay. (I'm not including whoever dressed McGregor.) Too bad the movie they made, while effective in short spurts, is almost a complete waste of time. Full Review

Steven Rea
October 21, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

It's all very deep, but in a tricked-up, art-directed sort of way.

Neva Chonin
October 21, 2005
Neva Chonin, San Francisco Chronicle

A pretty package that's empty on the inside. Full Review

Peter Travers
October 21, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Some people find this twisty and twisted psychological thriller arty and pretentious. I find it arty and provocative.

Susan Walker
October 21, 2005
Susan Walker, Toronto Star

Sometimes artful doesn't make up for annoying. Full Review

Roger Moore
October 21, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Stay is a heartless puzzle that builds no empathy for its characters, no pathos at all, as it is giving us many cryptic clues that don't really lead to that finale. It's an intellectual exercise, not ... Full Review

View more Stay reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Butterfly Effect
    The Butterfly Effect (71%)
  • Donnie Darko
    Donnie Darko (60%)
  • Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
    Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (61%)
  • The Sixth Sense
    The Sixth Sense (50%)

More Movies like Stay

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Sam Foster: If this is a dream, the whole world is inside it.
    • Henry Letham: An elegant suicide is the ultimate work of art.
    • Lila Culpepper: There's too much beauty to quit.
Submit a Fact | View All

Stay : Watch Free on TV

Stay Trivia

  • Hey, you stay away from the frozen food section. Your boobs'll harden. - Adam Sandler in.....  Answer »
  • Who has been a robot twice, was a funny doctor, and dressed up like a woman to stay close to his kids?  Answer »
  • 3...4...better lock your door 5...6...grab your crucifix 7...8...gonna stay up late  Answer »
  • Who tried to persuade his daughter to stay immortal, rose a vendetta, shot his own photo repeatedly to prove his existence and waged war against Neo?  Answer »
More Stay Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Stay Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Stay to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

BellaRayChill Skin by BellaRayChill
21 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins