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If you’ve been watching a lot of popular teen movies lately, you might be under the impression that today’s teenagers are moody and morose and more than a little shallow. But If I Stay is a different kind of teen movie. Despite its morbid set-up, it offers a refreshing (and often surprisingly mature) look at the usual teen drama.
Based on the novel by Gayle Forman, If I Stay follows a talented teen as she’s forced to make a difficult decision. Though she has rockers for parents, Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a gifted cellist who’s anxiously waiting to hear if she’s been accepted into Julliard. On the day when she’s supposed to receive that all-important letter, though, her family is in a head-on collision.
As Mia’s comatose body lies in a hospital bed, her spirit wanders the halls, desperate for information about the rest of her family. And as friends and family members gather, Mia considers her past, her future, and her shaky relationship with rocker Adam (Jamie Blackley), trying to decide whether to fight for her life or simply let go.
If I Stay is the kind of drama that requires a box of tissues. As you might expect, it’s often heavy and dramatic, and it’s carefully designed to make you cry. Even if you can survive most of the film relatively unscathed, it eventually reaches for the big guns, sending Mia’s heartbroken grandpa (Stacy Keach) to speak to his comatose grandchild.
The storytelling methods, too, sometimes feel too gimmicky. The frequent voiceovers seem lazy—a way to tell parts of the story instead of showing them. And Mia’s wandering spirit can be distracting.
What really makes the film, though, is its charming cast of characters. Moretz is undeniably adorable as Mia, offering a heartfelt performance in what must have been an emotionally draining role. Her character isn’t the usual moody teen, either. She isn’t self-absorbed or angry at the world. Though her story is filled with teen melodrama—which can seem rather childish to those of us who are well past our teens—it’s accurately and honestly portrayed, and she generally handles each new crisis with more strength and maturity than most movie teens.
Blackley’s Adam, meanwhile, is the perfect teen crush. He’s not movie star gorgeous in the traditional sense. Instead, he’s cute—and a little bit edgy, too—and he has just the right mix of sweetness and self-confidence. He’s thoughtful and romantic and persistent without being pushy—and every woman in the audience is sure to fall in love with him (or at least the idea of him) just a little bit.
Of course, If I Stay isn’t a light, fun teen movie—and if you hate the kind of movies that set out to make you cry, this one definitely isn’t for you. But while it’s sometimes almost oppressively heavy, it’s still a thoughtful and surprisingly mature young adult drama.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
