Indie filmmaking at its mediocreness

Rating: 5/10 (23 August 2014)

Independent films have been able to find a market lately as a source of bold original cinema. If I Stay is neither bold and only mildly original as a story of a teenage girl, her relationship with her indie-rock boyfriend, and an out-of-body experience. The camera work is amateurish and cheap at times, even by indie standards, and the movie mostly relies on Chloe Moretz narcissistic acting and Portland's hipster culture to the point where it comes off as contrived and haughty. There are a few redeeming plot elements and it will definitely tug at the heartstrings, but movies like this are better suited to the Hallmark Channel.
In the end, it's nothing more than a tear-jerking Chloe Moretz vehicle trying to be the Fault in our Stars (which is a much better film).