If I stay

So I’m about 2 thirds of the way through my day at work and I suddenly remembered that for a very unusual change I didn’t have any immediate plans after work and Marie was going out with her friend. I realise at this point I could make use of my Cineworld Unlimited card and go and catch something. I quickly had a look and realised the timings for the most part didn’t really suit however ‘If I Stay’ which I had been curious to see was on at 5pm and I could make that so I decided to jump in and see it. I had wanted to see it partly because it was a chance to see Chloe Grace Moretz who I loved in Kick Ass.

So the film tells the story of Mia Hall (Moretz) a virtuoso cello player. She is waiting to find out what the next step in her life is going to be as she waits for a letter from renowned performance arts school Julliard in New York. It’s a snowy day with the whole family together going for a day out when an accident occurs and suddenly things are turned upside down. The majority of the story narrated from the point of view of Mia who is in a coma however is having an outer body experience. She fills us in on the events leading up to and including the event.

I think firstly I wanted to complement how well the film is cut together, it flows really, really well keeping my interest throughout by never getting hung up on the one issue for too long. The relationship that plays out between Mia and Adam (Jamie Blackley) is well portrayed and avoids being overly sickly. I must complement Blackley in a huge way, he was really excellent and perhaps it’s just some of the things I’ve felt through my life but I really connected to some of his challenges, if only I had even an iota of his charisma and confidence.

One big issue with a lot of films around music is the instrumental scenes. Sometimes it looks awkward and quite clearly as if they haven’t got a clue how to play it. In this case Moretz has clearly done her research but try as they might its always pretty clear she’s not actually playing the instrument. It doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the film for me though.

It’s not an overly original idea, but that doesn’t matter if it’s well executed and this is. I haven’t cried as much in the cinema since ‘Song for Marion’ or ‘unfinished song’ as it’s known in the states. From about half an hour to go I had started to tear up and I have to say it was Blackley’s performance that pushed me over the edge. He was fantastic and I couldn’t help but well up and all the emotion of my recent personal life seemed to come flooding in to my mind. I had to sit for the majority of the credits to compose myself before leaving the theatre. Not the greatest film and I feel it possibly touched me more than most but a solid 8 out of 10 for me and well worth a watch.