Stay
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling
Directed by: Marc Forster
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Rating: 4 (out of 5)
It's a good thing that I'm a few days late with this review. Originally I was going to post this the day it came out. I was going to predict that it would be a huge critical success, and that it would be the sleeper hit of the year, with audiences spreading the word about that really cool but strange movie they just saw. It would have a decent opening weekend, which would improve through word of mouth.
But now, a few days later, I realize that all my predictions would have been about as accurate as all those John Kerry election win predictions last year. The movie opened in 13th place. To put that into perspective, Good Night And Good Luck opened in 12th, on almost 1500 FEWER screens. Oh, and the critics hated it too...according to Rotten Tomatoes, it got only slightly better reviews than Doom.
Which just goes to prove what I've been telling people for years...everybody is stupid but me.
"Do you mean to tell me more people want to see DOOM than this? What's WRONG with people?"
I kid, of course. I knew after seeing it that this movie would be a love-it-or-hate-it situation. Stay is one of those twisted, strange movies that people who like David Lynch will get into. Of course, unlike a Lynch film, this one actually makes SENSE at the end. Nearly 10 years later, I'm STILL trying to figure Lost Highway out. And don't even get me started on Mulholland Drive. Whenever that one comes on, I just watch long enough for the angry masturbation scene and then switch over to My Name Is Earl or something.
The point - and I do have one - is that Stay will probably end up on my "Best of 2005" list...like I said, it's love it or hate it. I love it.
The movie starts off with some bizarre, dream-like sequence involving a car crash. I kind of half expected James Spader to swoop in and start fucking everything with a pulse at that point, until I realized I wasn't actually watching Cronenberg's Crash. At least, I didn't THINK I was.
Cut to Sam Foster (McGregor) biking his way to work, looking quite frankly like a bit of a tool. Car crash? What car crash? No time to worry about that...we've got some mind-fuckery to get to. It starts quickly...when he gets to "work", he has a quick chat with his girlfriend Lila (Naomi Watts). He tells her that he couldn't sleep all night because their neighbour's baby was crying. Lila patiently explains to him that their neighbours have no baby, and that there was no crying.
"Sorry, I'm a little off my game. This movie has decent dialogue and no CGI characters...it's just not what I'm used to."
Now, this would lead one to think that maybe Sam might be a few Canadians shy of a hockey team upstairs. Not a big deal, except for the fact that he's a SHRINK. It's always good to know that your mental health professional is nuttier than you. If you play your cards right, you can exploit that weakness and get all kinds of neat prescriptions from him that way. I haven't seen MY shrink in years, and I've still got a medicine cabinet full of Xanax, Vicodin, Lithium, Valium, Celebrex, and (for some reason) Plan B. That's my version of a Grand Slam Breakfast.
It turns out that Sam isn't in his office. He's actually gone down to the local art college as a favor to a fellow head-shrinker. She's been treating a kid named Henry Letham (Gosling) for general fucked-up-edness. Of course, since Sam isn't his usual doctor, Henry doesn't feel much like talking. He simply makes a comment about how it's going to hail later and wastes Sam's time.
Of course later, it starts to hail. For some reason, Sam deduces that this means that there's something special about Henry. Of course, the LOGICAL conclusion is that Henry simply picked up a newspaper or watched Al Roker earlier in the day. To be fair, we find out that later on Sam double checked the weather report and saw no indication of hail...but he doesn't AT THE TIME, meaning that for all he knows, anyone in possession of a fucking barometer is the next coming of Nostradamus. John Edward would take this poor shmuck for every penny he had.
McGregor gets pelted with spitballs by angry people who wasted $12 to see "The Island"
The next day, Henry is kind enough to pay Sam a visit at his office, where he normally treats stockbrokers with mommy issues. To get Sam's attention, Henry tells him that he's planning on killing himself Saturday night at midnight...his 21st birthday. Now, Sam may be a little goofy, but he's not stupid, so that's when he resolves to help Henry NOT kill himself.
Of course, there's some selfishness involved as well. We learn that Lila was an ex-patient of Sam's who tried to kill herself. He managed to save her, a favor that she repaid by apparently sleeping with him a lot. Oh, I'm sorry...falling in LOVE with him. Sam apparently judges his own self worth by the number of people he can prevent from offing themselves...and if his penis is involved, so much the better.
Of course, that's when the REALLY strange things start happening. For the most part, I'm not going to get into them, because that would be spoiling them. But, if you've seen the trailer, you know that Bob Hoskins plays a blind shrink. Henry is convinced that Hoskins is his father...his DEAD father. The thing is, that very weird moment isn't even a blip on the mind-fuck radar when compared to some of the other twisted shit that happens.
The cruel part is that Ewan told him that they were playing Monopoly.
Obviously, this movie isn't really on the "must-see" list of most moviegoers. But fuck them...I say that it's one of the best movies I've seen this year. That's not saying much, considering the fact that I've been exposed to Stealth, Waiting..., and Boogeyman. But I stand by my assessment nonetheless.
For starters, it kind of redefines the term "Art Film". See, art plays a huge part in this picture. Henry is a gifted art student, and is also obsessed with another dead artist. Lila is an art TEACHER. The art theme becomes one of the visual cornerstones of the picture. As a result of this, Stay becomes one of the most beautiful LOOKING movies I've ever seen.
Scenes don't transition with a single cut. Instead, they sort of melt into each other in a very dream-like way. Henry will walk through an office door, and all of a sudden his surroundings become an aquarium. In fact, the majority of the movie progresses very much like a dream does. Let's face it...when most of us dream, there isn't any sort of linear narrative. Things just happen. For example, the other night I dreamt that I was on top of a pyramid, wearing these kind of sun-god robes, while a thousand naked virgins threw little pickles at me. The next moment, I turned around and I was naked in front of my 8th grade math class forgetting the Pythagorean Theorem. Dreams just sort of happen that way. Then again, I'm on about 10 different prescription drugs, so that might have something to do with it.
There it was, in the window. An Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle...with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time.
The point being, this is the first movie that I've ever seen that HONESTLY simulates a dream-state. That made it cool to watch.
Normally, I don't get into the whole arty-ness of a movie. But this time, I have to make an exception. The art director and cinematographer on this movie - Jonathan Arkin and Roberto Schaefer - deserve awards for their work here.
There's one scene in particular that has stayed with me ever since the screening. Henry and Sam are talking at his school, while a lecture is taking place. When the lecture ends, people flood the hallways. During this entire sequence, groups of students will walk and talk...but they all LOOK alike, and are dressed identically. But Sam and Henry don't even notice. It's little things like this that kept my mind working overtime while watching...and that's a good thing.
In terms of performances, I've got to say that this could be one of the best ACTED movies of the year. McGregor hasn't been this good in years. Then again, look at the movies he's made. And Gosling steals the show with a tortured, yet sensitive performance. He's phenomenal. Also very good are Hoskins and Janeane Garofalo in small but memorable roles.
A paranoid Garofalo sees the vast Right-Wing Conspiracy everywhere she looks...for a change.
But this all leads us to the "reveal"...where we find out what's really going on. I hate to say it, but I found it a LITTLE disappointing. See, I've seen the same "reveal" in another movie. This is the better film by far, but a more original ending would have been nice.
But that's just the ending...the real fun is getting there. That's my opinion, anyway. Apparently, everybody else would rather see The Rock shooting bad CGI aliens and swearing. But if you like movies that are off the beaten path, and involve a little grey-matter work, this is perfect for you. Besides, the theatre will be empty, so you can put your feet up.
Now, if you'll excuse me, It's breakfast time, and I have to guzzle about a gallon of orange juice in order to get all these pills down.
