If I Stay

In If I Stay, the talented young Chloe Grace Moretz finally gets a leading role that is perfectly suited for her.  You may remember that last year, she had the titular role in the remake of Carrie, which seemed ill-fitting and out of place for her.  Here, she displays a natural dramatic presence, as well as a wonderful chemistry with her co-stars.  Even if the material she's been given sometimes falters, she makes it work.

This is an effective melodrama based on the popular Young Adult novel by Gayle Forman.  I've not read the novel, but from watching the film, I can see why it's popular with young readers, as it contains a lot of essential elements that apparently all Young Adult stories must hold to be successful.  There is a romance at the center of the story, with a guy who can be a little bit too good to be true at times, although at least this movie remembers to have the guy say the wrong thing once in a while, or mess up.  This is an improvement over June's The Fault in Our Stars, where the boyfriend character seemed so saintly and perfect, it was kind of hard to buy him as a real person.  And although it is not necessary, it helps if the story has some kind of Sci-Fi or supernatural element.  In If I Stay, its young heroine is trapped between life and death as an out of body spirit.  No one can see or hear her as she is forced to watch her own body fight for life in a hospital bed.  The movie uses flashbacks to show us the young girl's life leading up to the moments that brought her here.  It's an effective way to display the girl's inner turmoil as she lies in a coma, and I found myself getting involved.

Moretz plays the girl fighting for her life, named Mia.  Through flashbacks, we learn that Mia is a cello prodigy with a shot at attending Julliard, and a boyfriend (Jamie Blackley) who performs in a traveling rock band, which means their relationship is forced to be long distance.  In the opening scenes, we meet Mia's family, including her parents (Joshua Leonard and Mireille Enos), who are former rock and rollers themselves that gave up the lifestyle so they could raise her, and her younger brother, Teddy (Jakob Davies).  The scenes with Mia and her family impressed me, as they contain a natural warmth that we don't often see in the movies.  They are a happy family, and the chemistry that the actors share with each other create some of the film's better moments.  They are able to create a bond that feels honest and loving.

While the family is driving to visit a family friend and their new baby, their car is slammed into by another vehicle on the icy road.  This is how Mia finds herself outside of her own body, as she watches emergency workers load her body into an ambulance.  She doesn't know what happened to the rest of her family, or even what has happened to herself.  Her spirit climbs aboard the ambulance that is transporting her body, and as her physical self literally fights for life, Mia thinks back on her entire life.  We see how she met her boyfriend, Adam, and how they came to truly love each other, despite being very different people.   In their relationship, the screenplay shows intelligence by having Mia and Adam acknowledge their differences right from the beginning, and work to compromise with one another in order to make things work.  This isn't one of those contrived romances where they instantly feel like they are destined to be together.  The movie shows them working on their relationship, and the ups and downs that they must face, which makes the couple a bit more believable than we usually get in teen romance stories.

We get to witness Mia studying to be accepted at Julliard, as well as her individual relationships in her life, with both friends and family.  This storyline alone could have made for a very good coming of age drama.  But what pushes If I Stay a little bit further is the parallel storyline set in the present at the hospital.  Mia's soul is wandering the halls of the hospital, and as friends and family gather to learn news about her condition, Mia is faced with the decision of whether she will return to these people, or choose to cross over into the afterlife.  And while the movie doesn't completely avoid heavy-handed sentiment in these scenes, there are some highly emotional moments.  Chief amongst them is a scene where her grandfather (Stacy Keach) sits by her bedside, and has a heartfelt monologue.  Movies like this exist solely for the emotional response from the audience, and this one earns it through its strong performances and occasional touching scene that catches us off guard and leaves us with a lump in our throat.

If I Stay wears its heart on its sleeve, and although it comes close to contrived manipulations, it knows just how far to push, and most importantly, when to hold back so we don't feel like that director R.J. Cutler (a documentary filmmaker making his fiction film debut) is wringing our tear ducts to the breaking point.  I found myself genuinely interested in Mia and her plight to survive, and the people who surrounded her were so likable, I found myself caring about what would happen to them if they lost her.  Again, I must praise the performances, for they are what make this film so effective.  Chloe Grace Moretz has long been a huge talent to me, and I hope that this film will lead to a long career.  She's already proven herself as a young actress who is not afraid to take risks or a wide variety of roles, but here, she finally gets a lead performance that shows what a wonderful dramatic actress she can be.

This movie will no doubt be a target for cynics, but I don't care.  It worked for me, I got involved, and I felt for these characters.  It may not hold a lot of surprises to anyone familiar with the recent teen supernatural romance genre, butt it's also better made than you might expect.

See related merchandise at Amazon.com!

0 comments