Seems A Bit Gimmicky

Rating: 4/10 (26 February 2017)

After loving the roles that Chloe Grace Moretz played in "Carrie" & "The Equalizer", I decided to give this one a shot after recently having watched (and enjoyed more than I thought) a similar teen drama in "The Fault In Our Stars". Unfortunately, I felt that this one was kind of based on a gimmick.
For a basic plot summary, "If I Stay" tells the story of Mia (Moretz), a high school girl who plays a beautiful cello. This musical talent gets her noticed by cute guy Adam (Jamie Blackley) and she is awaiting a letter from Juilliard's music program. On a seemingly normal family drive, however, Mia is involved in a car crash putting the entire family in the hospital. As "physical Mia" fights for her life in the hospital, "spirit Mia" watches the action unfold as a kind of ghost entity, trying to discover what is happening to her and her family members. Many moments of the previous year are flashed-back to as Mia discovers what is really important in her life.
The main problem with this film is that it seems to be based on what I consider to be a very gimmicky concept, that being "spirit Mia" watching herself (and her family) in the hospital interspersed with flashbacks. What purpose did that serve in the film besides to give Moretz more time to act? It all could have been done with Mia just laying in her hospital bed. All that would have been missed was a few reaction shots.
Couple that with the fact that the story here didn't strike me as particularly strong to begin with. Maybe if one appreciates cello music more than I do, or is a sucker for sad movies, they will find more significance here, but I never felt that what I was watching made the jump from "contrived" to "real".
The highlights? Moretz is still great in her role (as convoluted as it may be sometimes), while a grandfather character (played by Stacy Keach) practically steals the show with ever scene he is in. In a movie that should be filled with such emotion, it is telling that a guy on the screen in a very limited role has such an impact.
Thus, while I know I shouldn't directly compare this to "Fault In Our Stars", it just so happens that I saw both within about a two-week span. "Fault" made me actually care about what was going on and drew me in. "Stay"...not so much. At times I even got a little bored waiting for something to happen. Like I said, Chloe Grace Moretz is still solid, but it isn't enough to inject life into this vehicle.