If I Stay: Movie Review

Based on the novel by Gayle Forman, “If I Stay” tells the story of Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moret), a high school student and gifted cellist who’s life comes to a halt after a fatal accident that leaves her in a coma and her family in even worse condition. Mia is now having an out-of-body experience as she can see everyone around her in the hospital but nobody can see her.

We are taken through the recent years of Mia’s life via flashbacks. Most of them dealing with the love of her life, and lead singer of a rock band named Adam (Jamie Blackley). Although Adam has more in common with Mia’s parents Kat (Mireille Enos) and Denny (Joshua Leonard) who are both former rockers, he instantly falls for Mia’s passion for music and of course her beauty.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed “If I Stay”. The material may not seem all that original to begin with, but thanks to the direction by R.J Cutler and the screenplay by Shauna Cross (Whip It), the film feels fresh. Moret is a terrific actress ad he does a great job here and I absolutely loved Leonard and Enos of the way-to-cool-to-be-parental-parents. Blackley is somewhat charming as the rocker in love with the cellist and I like Stacy Keach in almost anything, so it’s great seeing him here as the grandfather.

“If I Stay” will be a tear-jerker for many, although it didn’t quite get me that far. Having not read the book, I am not sure how faithful it is to the source material, but I will tell you that it is leaps and bounds better than last week’s young-adult novel film adaptation “The Giver”.

By: Marc Ferman