Very emotional and touching at times, but somewhat forgettable

Rating: 6/10 (1 September 2015)

Based on the novel by Gayle Forman, If I Stay follows 17-year old Mia Hall (played by Chloe Grace Moretz), a violin prodigy who falls for a handsome guy named Adam (played by Jamie Blackely). Their relationship seemingly goes smooth while facing some occasional ups and downs. This is until one afternoon, Mia and her family are critically injured in a car accident while going on a small road trip with her family. While the family manages to survive, Mia becomes stuck in a coma and experiences an out-of-body experience as a ghost. With her family and friends sitting next to her death bed, Mia must decide whether she should wake up back in her body, or leave and go to heaven. This film flashes back and forth from her in her out-of-body experience watching her family and friends while they are in the hospital, to the events leading up the accident.
Upon reading the plot, the film sounded interesting enough. The whole premise of the film is intriguing and captures good attention. This film has some very emotional and touching moments throughout, enough to make viewers reach for the tissues. However, it really tries so hard to take advantage of the emotional tone, to the point where it becomes a bit manipulative. Throughout the picture as the main character's family is trying to cope with the tragedy they are about to face, you can strongly feel their emotions; which is a good thing. But then, when you add the slow tone and the constant sappy music score to it, it tries to be emotionally manipulative, especially when you have the romantic plot between the main character and her boyfriend. While you learn to care for the characters, you get so bored out by the constant sappy tone. Chloe Grace Moretz's performance is what I personally found to be the most appealing aspect of the movie. She does a great job at keeping her character alive, even though her character is critically ill. I also enjoyed the performances by Jamie Blackely and Liana Liberato (Kim, Mia's best friend). Lastly, I thought the film is a little predictable. Some scenes are very easy to guess, and if you watch this, you might know what I'm talking about.
If I Stay is not terrible movie, but it isn't too great of a movie either. If you watch this, you may enjoy it. But it is not very likely you'll find a reason to watch it again. While this goes on an hour and 47 minutes, it feels so much longer.