If I Stay (FILM REVIEW)
If I Stay
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Headline:
A Life Hangs in the Balance in Adaptation of Bittersweet Best-Seller
Mia Hall (Chloe
Grace Moretz) is a bright 17 year-old full
of the bloom of youth. Between playing the cello purely for pleasure and dating
the doting boy of her dreams (Jamie Blackley), the happy high school senior considers
herself truly blessed.
She is even
lucky enough to have the perfect parents (Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard) who
support the idea of her majoring in classical music, whether she gets into
Juilliard or simply sticks around Portland to attend
Lewis & Clark
College. Mia is also very
close to her only sibling, Teddy (Jakob Davies), a cute kid who absolutely
adores his big sister.
However, fate
intervenes, or so it seems, one snowy day during a family outing when a car
coming in the opposite direction veers across the highway’s double lines. Right
then, in the blink of an eye, their fortunes are irreversibly altered by an
unavoidable head-on crash.
By the time the
ambulances and paramedics come to the rescue, all four are in grave condition,
and there is a chance that none might survive the tragic accident. Mia, who has
suffered a collapsed lung, a broken leg and internal bleeding, slips into a
coma.
At that instant, her
spirit miraculously separates from her body, and she is suddenly able to observe
situations and eavesdrop on conversations like an invisible ghost. While a team
of doctors struggle to stabilize her vital signs in the hospital, she watches a
nurse (Aisha Hinds) lean over and whisper that “Living or dying is all up to
you” into her ear.
This suggests that Mia,
ultimately, must choose between ascending to Heaven and returning to Earth to face
a host of challenges on the road to recovery. And suspended in this state of
limbo, she’s afforded the unusual opportunity to reflect and reminisce during
the critical next 24 hours before making a decision.
That is the surreal
setup of If I Stay, a bittersweet flashback
flick based on Gayle Forman’s young adult novel of
the same name. Although this unapologetically sentimental tearjerker
will undoubtedly resonate with teens in the target demographic, the film’s
surprisingly-sophisticated, thought-provoking exploration of such themes as family,
friendship, love and spirituality ought to readily endear it to audiences in
general.
Directed by R.J.
Cutler, the movie basically revolves around introspective Mia’s contemplation
of her future while factoring in her family’s grim prospects, nostalgia, and the
bedside manner of visitors like her grandfather (Stacy Keach), boyfriend and
BFF (Liana Liberato). Although reminiscent of The Lovely Bones (disembodied teen
narrator), The Notebook (love story with a syrupy finale) and Twilight (star-crossed
romance set in the Pacific Northwest), If I
Stay is nevertheless a unique adventure with a tale to share all its own.
A poignant portrait
of a life precipitously
hanging in the balance which pushes all the right buttons to open the emotional
floodgates.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13
for sexuality and mature themes
Running time: 106
minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers
To see a trailer for If
I Stay, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH6PNeTy6Nc
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