This spellbinding cinematic trip is still awaiting cult classic status.
The long-delayed Blade Runner sequel is here complete with breathtaking visuals, interesting characters and Ryan Gosling at the center alongside returning cast member Harrison Ford. Response to the film so far has been more than enthusiastic, much to the relief of the first installment’s many fans.
It really intrigues me when Gosling takes on a film which requires him to step into another world mainly because it’s where he unique form of acting is as its most visible and alive. For me, its been just this way since the first time the actor ventured into a world which tested the bounds of reality; the 2005 psychological thriller Stay.
In Stay, psychiatrist Dr. Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) is referred a patient by one of his colleagues; a depressed college student named Henry Letham (Gosling). When Henry announces he is about to commit suicide before vanishing, Sam immediately sets about finding him with the help of girlfriend/former patient Lila Culpepper (Naomi Watts). However a number strange occurrences, which include random appearances from Henry, force Sam to question his shaky hold on reality.
The most noticeable aspect of Stay which stands out from the start is the film’s visuals which are a mix of the beautiful and the bizarre. There is never a single moment which features a traditional shot with every camera angle being decidedly bent, sometimes even in the slightest of ways. Meanwhile, the type of close-ups throughout Stay are so jagged and are so literally in your face, that they prove both intense and almost invasive for the character as well as the audience. Director Marc Forster has a true field day creating this fragmented reality. The director films the most ordinary actions, such as Watts opening a mailbox, in the most offbeat ways and making them come off as dark and intriguing. Meanwhile, the use of colors throughout Stay add to the twisted reality with even light elements, such as Lila’s beige sweater and Sam’s yellow pants coming off as dark and bleak as the dark coat Henry is constantly seen in.
As Stay proceeds further down its cinematic rabbit hole, the battle lines between fantasy and reality all but disappear. Every perception of Sam’s life (in particular his relationship with Lila) becomes unraveled and challenged as a result of the strange hold Henry has over him and the unexplainable connection Sam is certain they share.There are plenty of moves made on behalf of the filmmakers to ensure that very little of Stay feels ordinary such as Henry hearing voices as disembodied electronic sounds play softly in the background, Lila casually calling Sam by Henry’s name and a sequence involving a seemingly never-ending winding staircase. The move of having the majority of Stay’s scenes end abruptly gloriously adds to the film’s jarring nature, not to mention the overall slantedness of the film’s reality as one big puzzle that needs deciphering.
Stay proves to be the perfect vehicle and Henry the perfect role for Gosling after his successful turn in The Notebook. The project gives him the kind of complex and tortured character his acting is perfect for and proved a ripe opportunity for him to further hone his talent. As the film’s primary lead, McGregor slips well into the role of the amateur detective who is forced to question the reality surrounding him, leading to great moments of bewilderment from the actor. Watts’s character may appear to be “the girl” on first glance, yet she brings out Lola’s past damaged nature and the hold she is trying to keep on her life. Meanwhile, there’s a great amount of solid and surprising work on behalf of Bob Hoskins, Janeane Garofalo and Kate Burton.
To say that Stay was a box-office disappointment would be putting it oh so mildly. The film was one of the biggest bombs of the year, failing to even make the top ten upon its opening weekend. Making matters worse were the reviews which, despite praise from both Roger Ebert and Peter Travers, tore the film apart, all but ensuring that Stay would be forgotten almost instantly.
There’s so much about Stay which both served it well, yet also proved responsible for its undoing including an edgy, off-center script and name actors more than eager to operate on its wavelength. The beauty of the film is how it’s never overtly mind-bending, choosing instead to sparsely dole out its themes of suicide, obsession and the afterlife. This is a movie with atmosphere and mood for days, yet saves its greatest strengths for the ending where Stay’s perceptions of time, memory, reincarnation and immortality all harmoniously come into play. Stay can well be considered one of those movie experiences which doesn’t make sense until its conclusion, leading people to think it’s a dud before revealing itself to be an incredibly moving and visually stimulating trip into surrealist cinema.
