Movie Review: If I Stay

Emma Cho '16

This month’s movie review is the next in the long line of young adult book to movie adaptations that have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Following the release of the hugely popular movie The Fault in Our Stars and franchises such as The Hunger Games and Divergent comes the big screen adaptation of Gayle Foreman’s popular young adult novel If I Stay, which was released on August 22. The movie follows seventeen-year-old Mia Hall, played by the Hollywood star Chloë Grace Moretz, as she is caught between life and death following a near fatal car accident. The young cellist must now make the fateful decision to stay and rebuild her life or to leave and move on to the unknown, all while witnessing events as they occur in the hospital during an out-of-body experience. Throughout the movie, Mia looks back on her past, facing what she lost in the accident, what she has to lose by leaving, and what she would be forced to cope with upon her return.

I must start the review itself with a warning, specifically one directed toward the younger members of our school community. If I Stay is rated PG-13 because of some sexual content. Although it is very brief and is mostly implied rather than directly stated, check with your parents before watching!

Overall, the movie did not impress me much. As someone who had read the book, I was curious when going to see the movie how the flashback scenes would be handled, and I was disappointed in the result. At times, especially closer to the beginning of the movie, there was no healthy balance between the flashbacks and the scenes from Mia’s present. It reached a point where I could almost forget that this was not just a teenage romance film and that Mia was actually in a terribly difficult situation and facing a major decision that could end in her death. I also had mixed feelings in regard to the romance between Mia and Adam, which I thought appeared rushed and somewhat uncomfortable. I also observed this more in the beginning of the movie rather than the middle and end, but I felt that the genuine moments, though touching and beautiful on their own, were too few throughout the movie and in effect lost some of their value, especially following the previously mentioned sexual scenes which were, in my opinion, unnecessary and just generally disagreeable.

I will say that the movie most definitely improved as it progressed and focused more on the decision at hand. The scenes became more heartfelt and genuine, and I felt myself becoming more and more invested in the plot and the characters’ lives. The movie was, as far as visual appeal, beautifully shot and the cast was amazing, notably Mia’s parents as played by Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard. The film portrays an interesting perspective on the difficult topics of love and loss, and the general concept of true love and letting go as introduced by some of the scenes which would make for interesting discussion in NDA classrooms.

In my opinion, one major appeal this movie (and the novel) has to teenagers is how relatable the characters are and how every one of us could find ourselves in the same situation as Mia. She is just an average high school girl, albeit an extremely talented one, facing the same pressures any NDA girl faces on a daily basis. She is dealing with uncertainty about what her future holds in addition to some serious issues in her relationship with her boyfriend. Her entire world is turned upside down by the car accident, something we hear about on an almost daily basis in the news but never imagine could happen to us. This movie serves to put things in perspective, as most of us are guilty of focusing on the negativity in our lives instead of appreciating what we have while it lasts, something Mia is forced to learn about the hard way.

 

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5)

 

Movie Pick of the Month: Another late summer release, Guardians of the Galaxy is not the cheesy addition to the Marvel comic book movie franchise that everyone expected it to be. The movie is not only action packed but also genuinely funny and charming, and the once then characters draw you in, there’s no going back.

If I Stay