Why do was film so hated?

*Why was this film so hated

I haven't watched the film yet, but I plan on doing so after watching a review by Chris Stuckmann (yeah, I definitely ruined the experience, but I'll still watch it anyway). Like you were saying, people and critics were probably turned off by the abundant amount of imagery and sudden edits - which look amazingly symbolic, movie-wise - that it seemed like a total mistake. But, I guess when this film was released, the imagery and edits made the film feel too trippy and nonsensical, when in reality, the film is just trying to make people connect the imagery together, especially towards the end of the film. That's my take on the rating, at least.

After seeing Stay, it's really not hard to see why so many people hate it. It's all about that ending. I won't spoil it, but to so many people it felt like the ending was a massive cop-out that ruined the film. It felt lazy to most. I can totally understand this perspective, but I also have several problems with it.

I only recently watched Stay, but I've heard about this ending for years and years, so going in I knew exactly where it was going. To be completely honest, I think knowing the ending really increased my enjoyment of this film. This is because the entire film is structured around the concept of the ending. It becomes super obvious what's happening by the halfway mark anyway (or even earlier, some people guess the ending in the first ten seconds.) Because of the deliberate way in which the film is constructed, I completely disagree that it's a cop-out.

I think the real problem is that so many bad movies have used similar endings to explain away everything and not have to actually tie the film up neatly. There are many times when I'm watching a movie, and I reach this point where I realize, "OH GOD! They're going to end it like Stay aren't they?! *beep* But Stay's ending is okay. It's just not for everyone.

(And I have to add a huge disclaimer to that final sentence....I'm not questioning the intelligence of those who didn't like the film. I completely understand why it's so hated, and I'm not going to pull the smug "this movie is too smart for you, go watch Transformers" card. There ARE times when that applies, but this is not one of them. And now that I think about it, the times when this should apply are never the times when "too smart, go watch transformers" is actually evoked...)

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!

I blame the do-do's.

I think it was brilliant and brilliantly made.