Review of If I Stay (2014) by Nathan M — 31 Aug 2014

A rather pedestrian young adult romance film that stands taller than the rest simply because it's less annoying than others. Sure, it hits all the same character and plot points as other films. You've got the wacky, hippie, punk-rock parents who are pushing their uptight, cello playing daughter to be free to be a teenager, and fall in love with the sensitive, lead singer of a local "punk-rock?" band. Also, there's a lot of focus on death in this film, which seems to be the thing in young adult romance now. "I'm going to fall in love with someone, and we're going to be on the edge of death the whole time. Do you know how much attention will be on me?".

Is all of that annoying? Yes, but the way the material is presented is so less annoying than films like "The Fault in Our Stars". The dialogue isn't super pretentious and annoying. The characters actually have some genuine interactions that make some sense. The male romantic interest is actually somewhat charming.

But what works the best here is Chloe Grace Moretz. She really sells this character, and at times you can look past how ordinary the film is. Most of the performances are actually pretty good, and even though some of the things they have to say and do are completely unrealistic, these actors try their best to sell them.

It's not great, but in comparison to other annoying young adult romances, it's Citizen Kane.