If I Stay
If I Stay
PG-13 | 22 August 2014 (USA)
If I Stay Trailers

Mia Hall, a talented young cellist, thought the most difficult decision she would ever have to make would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at prestigious Juilliard or follow her heart to be with the love of her life, Adam, a rock singer/guitarist. However, a car wreck changes everything in an instant, and now Mia's life hangs in the balance. Suspended between life and death, Mia faces a choice that will decide her future.

Reviews
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Smoreni Zmaj OK, this girl has no bad movies.I watched all of her movies, something over 40 if I remember right, and she is at good in every single one and fantastic in some.I'm not watching in chronological order, but every single one I saw so far was at least good if not amazing.And this one may be the best. Story may not be so original, but acting is really good and film can easily make you cry.Loved it. :)P.S. In the mean time I saw Hugo and it's even better movie than this one.
xristoff93 The movie is definitely gets you from the beginning.It makes you wanna see what happens next.We don't have the typical high school romance with the top athlete and the cheerleader,saying love you after a couple of weeks and then breaking up over who ate the last piece of chocolate or something idiotic like that.We do have a cool kid though.He is a guitar player and part of a band.He is a small star in his school.He notices a quite girl,modest and serious(not slut) who also has a fancy in music,though a different kind than his.He's stuck with her from the beginning and it is obvious that it matters cause that did not happen only due to her looks.The female character is a bit more shallow though and you can pick that up almost from the beginning.I mean she's left speechless because the school's star is talking to her.Made me wonder how would she react to him,if he wasn't someone.Throughout the entire movie you can enjoy various music tracks,either rock-like or classical music.I liked this film because the characters are so vivid,even Mia's parents.And they happen to be pretty cool.The feeling are genuine.But after the first half of the movie and the accident,which actually shows how things can change dramatically in a blink of an eye,things begin to be a bit more shallow.The acting was pretty much solid...I had some issue's with Mia.I am not sure she's mature enough as an actor yet to convince that she really feels love and pain.There were some scenes while she is in her "spirit form" that felt quite awkward.Also the whole genuine feeling thing,is reduced to almost a typical high school one sided romance.Mia's makes plans with Adam,he seems mature and sure of his decisions and in no case does he take or try to take advantage of her,and that was sweet and heartwarming.The thing that bothered me is that Mia is portrayed to be a bit wavy in her mind at times,reasonable since she is a teenager,but then not only lies to Adam and takes-without him-a different path than the one they chose together,but also blames things on him.The writing here was bad since we have another unreasonable character with unreasonable demands and at the end,the one who should be angry at this situation ends up apologizing and calling himself an a**h*le,like he did something wrong.Then we have the typical bul*sh*t "You shouldn't be worried about me getting to Juliard,they won't pick me for an audition"...."Oh they picked me for an audition,but you should not worry cause I won't pass anyway" and so on so on....Last thing that put me off,was the ending.OK,she lost her parents and brother,and that is really awful,but she still has a family,friends and a boy who loves her more than anything.Everyone is there trying to support her in any way they can but she is just too hurt to want to survive this life anymore??Are you kidding me?? You stay alive for you!!For YOUR life!!Bad things will happen but you must continue,not stay down and kill over every time things aren't great.Despite everyone appearing and talking to her and showing to her how many reason she still has for living,she cares not about grandparents,friends and boyfriend,but sure when he reads her the letter from the music school Juliard and she passed,she gets moved and decides to live???.....Right there felt like a silly twilight romance to me....So while there is solid acting,vivid characters,nice story telling and music,the second half of the movie lacks depth and the writing could be better.I liked it but I am skeptical cause it felt a bit shallow at the end.Nothing like "The perks of being a wallflower"...So it's a 6/10 from me.
Felix B It's not that I don't agree with many of the reviews, this movie is for sure not an award worthy masterpiece at all. And it get's cheesy to a certain degree, you can even argue if Chloe Grace Moretz was the right choice for the part playing the shy misfit (altough I think she did a terrific job).But I have to admit, that movie got to me, I just couldn't hold back my tears in many scenes, that said being a married man in my 30s.I don't know why, but I just felt the pain and sadness in it, especially when seeing the flashbacks that are beautifully build up.The end is a little abrupt, maybe more than you'd expect and are comfortable with, but it makes sense in itself when you see the whole movie.So, I guess this movie is not for everyone, but if you let go and feel with the characters it will touch you, and that's the most important part to me.
Miles Grimm If I had to describe this movie in one word, it would be the word "Breathtaking". The movie itself was nothing spectacular compared to any Nicolas Sparks-like movie. There were no fancy effects, no extraordinary performances, and no unbelievable moments of suspense (like mission impossible; tom cruise hanging off a building). However, the storyline is what made this movie. We meet a young lady who is going through something life changing over the course of the movie. We flip back and forth between the present and the flashbacks of her life leading up to where she is today. Throughout both, you will cry your eyes out (man or woman). I must have cried at least 3 times as this movie pulled on my heartstrings time and again. You will find yourself in a whole mess of emotions and will require a sort of sugary comfort food or a snuggle buddy with whom you can watch the film. It is difficult to watch in some places, but as you reach the ending you feel this amazing sense of satisfaction that many movies these days just don't give you. I could only applaud for the ending of this film. The only reason this film doesn't hit a 10 out of 10 for me is because its a full-blown chick flick with a ton of drama.