Stay (2005)
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: D
Marc Forster’s Stay (2005) wants to be some kind of
existentialist, psychological thriller with deep meaning, but it turns out to
be a real waste of time for its cast, including Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and
Ryan Gosling. Is Henry (Gosling) a
pyromaniac and self-destructive?
McGregor is the psychologist who might be able to help, but he is having
visions (or is it Henry) and how will his girlfriend (Watts) play into
this? After watching this, it is
apparent that David Benioff’s screenplay is beyond clueless as what to do with
the situation, actors or anything.
The film loves to morph the actors’ faces all the time,
finally surpassing the Michael Jackson Music Video for Black Or White in
this respect. What is amazing is that
the film just keeps on going, thinking it is so smart, to the point of being
one of the smuggest, most arrogant productions of its kind in a long time. What was Foster thinking? This did not do well and its losing streak
will continue on DVD and beyond.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is softer and
more colorless than usual, plus the editing is not as clever as it thinks it
is. Cinematographer Roberto Schaeffer
could do better than this, though this might look a bit better on film. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is the kind that
has all kinds of pans that try to make up for the lack of story and may think
it is adding meaning somehow. Forget
it, and that goes for the music too.
Extras include a trailer, two featurettes and two sets of scene specific
(read abbreviated) audio commentary segments that do not explain this mess any
further.
- Nicholas Sheffo
