A psychiatrist, Sam Foster,  (Ewan McGregor) takes on new patient Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling) who claims to be hearing voices and seeing people who are dead.  As Sam digs deeper into Henry's life, strange things begin happening around him that make him question his own sanity. 

 

Stay is directed by Marc Forster of MONSTER'S BALL fame and written by David Benioff who also wrote TROY.

 

This is a really trippy film.  If find this film hard to summarize because the trailers really can't do it justice and I don't really want to give away too much.  It has a very David Lynch like feel.  Many times during scenes there are things happening on the periphery that make you go....wait a minute...did I just see that?!  Forster does a great job of transitioning from one scene to the next so that you almost have the feel of a continuous loop instead of separate scenes.  The imagery is very vibrant and the colors in the film almost have a mat painting vibe at times.  This is one of those films where you really do have to pay attention because there are clues everywhere. 

 

Ryan Gosling is a real stand out in this film.  His performance is brilliant and you really want to watch all of the little accents he adds to his role.  Ewan McGregor is great as I almost always find him to be and shows the subtle ways he seems to be losing his grip on what is reality.  Bob Hoskins, Janeane Garofalo, B.D. Wong and Naomi Watts all give nice performances as well. 

 

I was really affected by this film.  It slowly draws you in and I became totally surrounded with this world.  It definitely messes with your mind a bit!  Totally unlike any other film I have seen recently. 

 

4 out of 5 rings on this one!