Review of Stay (2005) by Allen B — 18 Apr 2010

Hmm. Not a bad film. Its twisted narrative and confusing structure could be off putting to some, and Ewan McGregor's performance is downright terrible, but I enjoyed the various weird structural elements throughout and the final revelation of it all at the end. This is a movie that works more in concept than in execution.

It's also a bit dull at times, namely because of McGregor's aforementioned terrible acting. Not sure what's up with him in this movie; he's usually a half decent actor, so what happened here? Luckily Ryan Goslin is pretty good, as is Naomi Watts, and they both manage to keep things interesting whenever they're on screen.

Also, the mystery is somewhat intriguing. You'll often find yourself asking: what's going on here? What the hell was that? What the? A movie that can illicit such reactions and still manage to remain somewhat interesting isn't all bad.

The ending was also interesting, and sad. I was surprised by how sad it all turned out to be, actually. And how it all comes together for the most part.

Overall, an interesting, but somewhat difficult film. But not entirely terrible. Sure, watch it.