A Passagem

I can understand why the reviews for this run the gamut. It's not the type of flick one is likely to appreciate unless they've experienced vivid dreams that seem real and disjoint; cutting from one incomprehensible scene to the next. I'll admit, this movie had me vexed. I was about to throw in the towel when it suddenly struck me: I've had dreams that flowed as incomprehensible! They made sense to me in the moment, yet they made no sense otherwise. Could it be that in his final moments, in a state of shock, Gosling drew on the faces around him in a fantasy to rationalize the tragedy that just became him?

If that's the Director's intent, then this is a brilliant movie and the reviewers who panned it are at a sad lack of imagination.

I saw this in the cinema solely because I had nothing else to do and that Ewan McGregor was in it. I had no idea what it was about. I am so glad that I watched it, because this film left me thinking for ages.

This is a thriller about a psychiatrist (which I happen to be one) trying to help a depressed & suicidal patient. The film twists unexpectedly all the time without getting bizarre. The visual effects are stunning, and the soundtrack created the eerie atmosphere which gave me creeps. The best thing about this film is that the film keeps you in suspense throughout the film, without the use of sudden loud noises, gore or scary scenes. Everything in the film seemed so every day life (to me anyway) and yet it keeps you on the edge all the time. The interspersed scenes of unrelated objects creates suspense in a way that is surreal. In the ending, I was totally surprised at that happened. I had to really think a lot to figure out what happened. Usually, when I don't understand a film, I say it is bad bad bad, but for this film, it leaves me wanting to find out more about it.

I strongly recommend anyone to watch this film!

While the direction is flawless, the art direction unparalleled, and despite Ewan McGregor providing another breathtaking and engrossing animation of character, the film is, unfortunately, fundamentally flawed. It's story is lazy.

Images will stay in your mind for months afterward. The wall of books, Sam's too short pant legs, the staircase that seems to have been built on its side, the film is nothing short of a breakthrough visually. It never really cuts, it's absolutely seamless from scene to scene. The special effects are truly special. The movie is absolute eye candy, and shot totally unconventionally, breaking the 180 degree rule almost constantly to brilliant affect.

First, how the story works. The way the narrative unfolds, the story itself becomes a kind of character, and a very good one at that. Sam is a wealthy psychiatrist, seemingly beginning to break down, prone to bending the rules of the trade, while Henry, a patient, is undeniably a mess mentally. As a result, we see the events through the eyes of, well we're not sure. Probably one of these two characters. This is the gimmick-going-for-genius-but-fails of the film, the audience is only ever as sure of anything as either of the main characters seem to be. We plunge with them down to the depths of their ever increasing madness. We accompany them on their journey, trying to make sense of an utterly senseless world.

Now, how it doesn't work. The twist is just not tight enough. If you're going to write a story where ultimately nothing happens, then the twist better be brilliant, I mean perfect. Here it is not. While it is interesting and complicated and even good, it pales in comparison to the other components of the film. It fails at any psychological or philosophical profundity, and fails as a rewarding narrative. The story alone, I'd only give 3 stars. So, while I'm unsure just how this movie ever got made based on its story, I am glad that it was. A true treat for the eyes and the imagination.

The film was trashed by most, but not all critics, and lost like 40 million dollars.

I found it engrossing, beautifully acted, and directed with imagination, nuance and touching sensitivity.

I want very much to encourage people to watch it, so I will avoid spoilers which is not easy to do in discussing this film.

Although it is rightly classified as a drama, it is in many ways a mystery, and like the best mysteries, the clues are all there, but the story itself becomes so compelling that the viewer is too involved in what is happening on the screen to put the clues together and solve the mystery.

Please watch it and decide for yourself. It really deserves serious attention. After you have watched it and thought about it for a while, go to YouTube and watch one of several analyses of the film which may help you appreciate how skillful a film this really is.

Ultimately it's a richly textured, multi-faceted look at the relationship between guilt and love, death and life. Suicidal themes run amuck, so, as you can imagine, there are many dark, intense scenes between talented actors. And the performances really are great, as is the mind-bending cinematography. But its way overwritten...the truly brilliant "interesting plot device" mingles but never bonds with the characters or dialogue, so everything falls flat. It's not rewarding, because insignificant elements overshadow details crucial to experiencing the intended impact of the film.

If you want to see an astonishingly filmed, well acted movie, here it is, have fun...But Stay breaks the first commandment of film-making because it takes itself more seriously than its subject. At the end of the day, the message the filmmakers seem to communicate is, "see what we did!" instead of "see what we mean."