If I Stay (2014)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 106 minutes
Directed by: R.J. Cutler
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Jamie Blackley, Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard, Stacy Keach, Lauren Lee Smith, Liana Liberato, Aisha Hinds, Aliyah O’Brien
KRS Releasing Ltd
Teenager Mia’s (Chloë Grace Moretz) life revolves around her family and her cello. Her dream is to become a grand concert cellist and study at the renowned Julliard school, one of the world’s leading schools for musicians.
She meets Adam (Jamie Blackley), a senior at school who plays the guitar and is in a rock band. He is a rising star and the future looks good for his band with gigs, tours and the chance to get signed with a major record label in the pipeline.
As a consequence, the youngsters’ relationship which seems passionate and authentic may face some turbulence.
However, life takes a wild turn when Mia and her family are involved in a car crash.
Mia, along with her father Denny (Joshua Leonard), mother Kat (Mireille Enos) and brother Teddy (Jakob Davies) are in their car when they hit another car.
This leaves Mia in a coma and she ends up going through an out-of-body experience where she sees what is happening to her and also revisits her past.
It is here that she learns that it she has to decide whether to wake up or not, to leave or to stay; to go on to the next step and be with her family or live in this state with no more family.
The film brings much more emotional depth than one would expect of this kind of movie
How she evaluates her life, her past, present and possible future with all the anguish she may suffer will help her make the decision.
She observes the people around her bed: her grandfather (Stacy Keach), whom she loves dearly, her best friend Kim (Liana Liberto) and, most of all, Adam, who, even though she may decide to stay with him, may not necessarily be part of her future.
And then there is also the music and the passion it brings along.
Gayle Forman’s 2009’s hit young adult novel If I Stay makes it to the big screen and reaffirms quite a few facts.
First of all, it shows that Moretz can play other roles besides the swearing and kicking part she had in Kick-Ass. It also shows R. J. Cutler’s talents as a director as he is here making his feature film debut.
Cutler, who has built up quite a career in television and documentaries, has delivered a film that goes beyond an audience of teenage girls.
In fact the film brings much more emotional depth than one would expect of this kind of movie and thus it should appeal to a wider audience.
Moretz is in good rapport with Blackley, however it is in the chemistry she shares with veteran Keach that one can really find an authentic and tangible mine of emotions and feelings.
Moretz is also perfect in the scenes where she has to play the cello, which are very intense and show her in top form.
The whole tangle of emotions fits wonderfully into the picture-perfect idealisation of romance and love.