If I Stay

If I Stay, starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Jamie Blackley, is this summer’s ultimate love-layered narrative. Based off of a Gayle Forman novel of the same name, Mia Hall (Moretz) has an out-of-body experience after enduring a car accident that kills her entire family. It’s her cello, which she’s mastered, and her semi-turbulent relationship with punk rocker boyfriend, Adam Wilde (Blackley), that ultimately keeps her alive.

Chloë Grace Moretz, who is only 17 years old, is simply spell binding. She holds a small time beauty. It’s not just her cute-as-a-button face or petite frame, but even at a young age, it is evident that Moretz has already established a prosperous career.

The book is as gratifying and relating as the movie. Gayle Forman’s words bleed right off of the page. Rarely do you see such actual depiction when making a movie based off a book. There’s a novel sequel to “If I Stay” called “Where She Went” where narration switches from Mia to Adam. Both books are currently on the New York Times’ Best Sellers list, “If I Stay” is landing the #1 spot and the sequel comes in a close third place.

I’ve only read the first few pages of “Where She Went”, but I hope Director R.J. Cutler has the tenacity to push the rest of Mia and Adam’s story to the big screen. Cutler captures the creation of this love so effortlessly that I know making “Where She Went” ought to be a mere drop in the bucket.

“If I Stay” is “The Notebook”(2004), “The Fault in Our Stars” (2014), and “Ghost” (1990) all wrapped up into one pretty package. “If I Stay” is most similar to another novel-adapted movie, “The Fault In Our Stars”. Both movies tell the tale of young, unfortunate love with the multiple breakups, immature logic, and inevitable distance.

Even though the plot is cut short with cancerous death, “The Fault in Our Stars” lingers in the air a little bit longer than “If I Stay”. The movie immediately becomes heartache when two young people with terminal cancers fall in love. Yet both films relay powerful messages- life sometimes pulls you away from love and every true love doesn’t have a fairy tale ending.

4.5 Stars: I am tempted to give this movie a perfect score. While similar love stories have been told many different times, it is the sweet combination of the book and the movie that makes “If I Stay” one of the most leading romantic films of our time.