Stay is a film that won’t please everyone. The trailer initially had me interested simply because I got the feeling the marketing department had trouble knowing how to sell the film.
This comes as no surprise, as it’s impossible to describe this film for two reasons: a) you might spoil the plot, and b) your interpretation may differ greatly to someone else’s. Writer David Benioff, who will apparently be penning the upcoming Wolverine movie, has woven an incredibly tricky thriller, that never goes out of its way to explain or apologise for such unconventional storytelling. Unconventional may be exaggerating a little, but I can assure you I heard many murmurs permeate the theatre during Stay, most of which involved the phrase ‘this movie is really weird’ or ‘I don’t get it’. The movie certainly has some fierce debates raging on IMDb, particularly concerning – believe it or not – Ewan McGregor’s pants.
Stay isn’t perfect, effectively being a one-trick pony, but the central narrative is so darn entrancing that it doesn’t matter. Roberto Schaefer’s cinematography and Asche & Spencer’s score is fantastic. One particular scene featuring Massive Attack’s ‘Angel’ is a brilliant combination of sight and sound, being sexy and heartrending and dizzying at the same time.
Lovers of psychological thrillers, this is for you. A lot of people may find Stay a little too disorienting for their tastes, but this film had me thinking the whole time. Great films have the potential to be infinitely complex but are at their core wondrously simple. Stay fits that description perfectly.