Stay

Stay (Director: Marc Forster)

Forster directed Monster's Ball and last year's Best Picture nominee Finding Neverland. Written by David Benioff (Troy, 25th Hour).

The trailers for this movie seem to suggest a sort of new Sixth Sense, where our main character sees dead people. And we have to see if we can figure out the surprise. The surprise here is that this movie is almost completely different from anything you've ever seen. It's almost a new genre, as you may see, although I'm sure there are a great many movies that can lay claim to this kind of picture. But you'll find it hard to fit it comfortably in horror or thriller or drama.

Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor in film #5 this year) is a psychiatrist who is filling in for Henry Letham's (Ryan Gosling) usual shrink. Letham is an artist who idolizes another painter who committed suicide, and he seems to be following in his footsteps. Foster tries to figure out the kid's puzzle with his girlfriend Lila (Naomi Watts) who also has a passion for art and has tried suicide in her distant past. Weird stuff starts happening, like Foster is able to see people who are supposed to be dead, and people start calling him, "Henry." So, let the, "What the hell?" portion of the movie begin.

The answer is more satisfying than you'll believe. It's a simple answer, perhaps it will enfuriate some, but I thought it was a very good explanation and one that will make you want to see the movie again. The answer is what makes or breaks a movie like this. Ryan Gosling is an actor I feel will always be mentioned with Oscar later in his career. Everything he's doing now is better than good. McGregor is solid, as is Watts. The editing by Matt Chesse, Forster's editor on his previous movies, is very slick and ass-kicking, one that I feel deserves Oscar consideration even if the movie doesn't get one (it's certainly not one of those movies made for Oscars, but the editing deserves a mention).

One of the surprises of the year.