Review of If I Stay (2014) by Novastream — 15 Sep 2014

Sometimes in life you make choices and sometimes choices make you.”.

Adapted from Gayle Forman’s popular young adult novel of the same name, If I Stay hinges on choices and is quick to spell out this message to its audience. Protagonist Mia (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her family are involved in a massive car wreck early into the film and she finds herself in a state of limbo, forced to watch in horror as she becomes an orphan overnight.

The film alternates between the past and present, filling in the gaps of Mia’s life up until the accident. The past shows Mia’s as a budding cellist with some series talent, hailing from a family of rock music enthusiasts. As a result she has always doubted her talent and questioned her place within the family; enter Adam, an ambitious musician played by Jamie Blackley. Adam is the type of gorgeous, charming, too-good-to-be true love interest that only ever exists in fiction. It takes a fair amount of coaxing from both Adam and her parents (delightfully played by Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard) before she finally gives into them. Only a few short scenes later and they’re declaring their undying love and doing it in a shed. So sweet. Things begin to go pear-shaped for the couple when Mia considers pursuing her musical dreams and attending Julliard rather than remaining in Portland with Adam.

The present is significantly less interesting. A large chunk of the film is Chloë Grace Moretz running around a hospital with a look of intense bewilderment on her face while her remaining loved ones and an ICU nurse keep pleading with her unconscious body to fight for her life. Therein lies the crux of the story; should Mia stay and fight for a life that doesn’t include her family? Or end it all and keep from feeling the brunt of that pain for the rest of her life?

Unfortunately several members of the cast (including Moretz) seem to be suffering from a serious bout of overacting. This isn’t entirely Moretz’s fault, she isn’t given a whole lot to begin with. Apart from the incredible cello playing, Mia is a rather bland protagonist whose sole personality trait seems to be that she’s insecure. Yes, that comes with the territory of being a teenager, but how this girl has such low self-confidence is beyond me. Her parents have been encouraging and supporting her for her entire life. She has a great friend who always has her back and a boyfriend who is totally besotted with her. This, not the fact that a person can have control over whether live or die, is the biggest stretch of If I Stay.

He film isn’t without its merits, however. Even though Mia’s interactions with Adam lapse almost too far into sentimentality, the scenes she shares with her grandfather (Stacy Keach) are among the film’s best. He is her biggest supporter outside of her immediate family, and his respect for her musical talent is quite touching. I did get a little teary despite myself during his heartfelt speech at Mia’s bedside as he tells her he will understand if she doesn’t have it in her to fight anymore.

While there are a number of scenes to enjoy, I can’t help but feel like I was cheated out of a more compelling story – the one where a girl copes in life after the death of her family. But hey, I hear there’s a second book, perhaps I’ll see some of you for the sequel.