Review of If I Stay (2014) by Sue J — 13 Sep 2014

The recently released film If I Stay, directed by R. J. Cutler, is based on the YA novel of the same name published in 2009, written by Gayle Forman. The movie and the book deal with Mia Hall, a seventeen-year-old, who is dealing with the aftermath of a car accident that has killed her mother, father and younger brother. She is the only survivor of the accident and while she is in a coma, has an out-of-body experience and views her friends and family assembling at the hospital where she is being taken care of. She sees memories of her life and begins to realize that a decision must be made by her if she wants to wake up from the coma she is in and lead a life without her family, or simply fade away and die.

There are some differences between the literature and the film, but to a degree, it has remained faithful to the book. The movie, therefore, is close adaptation with most of the story elements kept throughout the film, with few of those either dropped or added. So as always, what are some of the differences (or similarities) that are important to understanding the translation of the literature to the film?

The protagonist of the story is Mia Hall, a 17-year-old girl who has survived a horrendous automobile crash. She is a very gifted young teenager, who plays the cello extraordinarily well and loves her family, her friends and her cello. Because she is so quiet and devoted to her music, she does not feel that she belongs, often feeling out-of-place with her friends who are very into rock and roll music. Her boyfriend, Adam Wilde, is handsome, plays guitar and sings in his band "Shooting Star" and is a rising rock star. Her father and mother are proud of her, but also into the rock and roll scene. Throughout the novel, she feels that she does not even belong to her family because she is so very different than they are. This is similar to the portrayal in the film.

Mia's best friend, Kim Schein, is very different than Mia. Kim is sarcastic and very attached to her mother. Mia and Kim appear to be inseparable regardless of their differences. While Mia is in her coma, Kim does all she can to get Adam into the hospital to see Mia since only family members are allowed in ICU. Through the use of flashbacks, the reader sees how the relationship between Mia and Kim develops and matures. Again, this is similar to the film.

Mia's mother, Kat, is written as being tender and smart. She loves rock music and her family and originally had serious issues with Mia's love of classical music, but through the book, has learned to accept it as part of Mia's life. Mia's father, Denny, was described in the beginning of the book as a drummer for a rock band, but when he became a father, turned to teaching to support his growing family. Teddy Hall is Mia's younger brother, who she loves dearly, feeling at times that he is her son and not her brother. The author of the book describes in detail how Mia feels about Teddy. Throughout the book, the reader is informed that Mia, while in her out-of-body experience is worried most about him and whether or not he has died with his parents in the accident. Eventually, all of Mia's family dies as a result of the car crash and it is explained again by the author in detail. There are other flat characters that add to the book, some of which have been added to the film. Most of this is similar to the performances in the novel.

The author, Gayle Forman, was actively involved in the adaptation of her book to film. It seems that Adam may have been based on her husband and that some of the lines in the book were really spoken by her to him while the car accident of Mia's family was actually based on the death of close friends in a similar crash.

As with the literature, and throughout the film, Mia is in a coma, while her "spirit" sees and experiences what is going on around her. No one can hear or see her. What the director has used from the book and has used very well is flashbacks of her life to ease seeing what torment Mia may be experiencing.

As you can see, the story is character driven and contains the elements of love, family, fate, and self-will, while the music element adds to the overall importance of the bonds between loved ones, which is carried to the film.

The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia, Mireille Enos as her mother Kat, Stacy Keach as Mia's grandfather, Jamie Blackley as Adam, Liana Liberato is Mia's friend Kim, and Joshua Leonard as Mia's father Denny. The film begins as the book does with the family getting ready for their normal day when school has been cancelled due to a light snow storm. The family then collides head on with a truck, killing Mia's mother instantly, while her father and brother, along with her are taken to the nearby hospital. The brother and father unfortunately die and Mia's surgery is successful, but she is still in a coma. Through visual flashbacks, the audience sees the past year in Mia's life with her rocker boyfriend, Adam, her parents and brother, grandparents, and friend Kim, as well as her performances with her cello. The flashbacks also include images of her parent's courtship and life before, during, and after Mia's birth and Teddy's birth, and her audition to get into Juilliard.

As I have already explains, the bulk of the storyline in the book and film is about Mia's out-of-body experience and her decision to stay or go. In the film, the name of Adam's rock band is changed from Shooting Star to Willamette Stone, who did perform all the music in the film. As with the book, Kim helps to manipulate the situation and gets Adam into ICU where he tells Mia that he has written a song for her. He reveals that she has been accepted to Juilliard and asks her to stay alive even it is not with him. Through some flashbacks here at the end of the film, Mia remembers the happy times she has with him and opens her eyes, seeing Adam in front of her. As with the book, he says, "Mia"? and the story ends here. (Is a sequel to the film to explain the ending...like the author did with her next book Where She Went...planned, perhaps?).

As good as the music is, it did not completely sound like Portland rock music that I imagined. More like some other alternative rock bands like Cold Play! The dialog is a bit sentimental and corny, but works in a YR/YA book/film. The cinematography and the use of flashbacks helps to inform the audience who may not have read the novel what has happened and leads up to what is going on in the present. The costumes and make up work, as does most of the acting. (Mireille Enos is awesome...have you seen the television series The Killing?) For those not interested in this genre of books and films, then skip this movie. But those who are interested then see it while it is still in theatres or wait a few more weeks for the DVD. Teenage girls are the targeted audience. GRADE: 2 of 5 Crowns.