Movie Adaptation Review: If I Stay

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image source: here. edited by me.

MOVIE ADAPTATION of If I Stay

read my review on If I Stay by Gayle Forman

“Life is this big, fat, gigantic, stinking mess, that’s the beauty of it, too.”

YAYYY I finally got to watch this movie that I've been waiting for so long. I know it's been released for months now, but I don't think it premiered here in my country (?)—or am I just missing out? Anyway, I watched this and it was SO FREAKING GOOD. I was totally bawling my eyes out as I watched it. I think I cried about 60% the duration of the whole movie. Which is really weird I know. And for the record, I actually cried a lot more watching this compared to TFIOS. Or I might just be in an emotional state, so you'll have to watch the movie yourself and see if it makes you cry. Here's my (hopefully) non-spoiling review on the movie adaptation of If I Stay.

 

 

"Here is the secret baby, if you live if you die it's all up to you.
So whatever fight you got in here you gotta pull that out now."

The movie began by introducing the main character, Mia Hall, and her wonderful parents and younger brother, Teddy. School's been cancelled because of snow, and the whole family decided to go visit Mia's grandparents. That's when the car accident happened. As Mia opened her eyes, her soul was out of her wrecked body which was then taken to the hospital. Only later she found out what happened to her life, and realized what she had to deal with if she wakes up from her coma state. She was faced with the most difficult decision of her life: to stay or to go.

I decided to stop the synopsis just at that so I won't spoil too much; but I'm sure those who've read the book would know the whole story already. I'm actually a bit sorry because I don't really remember how the book delivered the story (I read it 2 years ago. Sorry for my bad memory), but I do remember that there's a lot of flashbacks. The movie did the same thing, which I think portrayed the emotions of the story in the best way possible.

Since I don't remember much about the book, I'm not really going to compare things because I think the overall story is quite similar. Of course there are some details that are missing in the movie, but in my opinion, the movie did a very great job. Some of my favorite quotes from the book are in the movie as well. First thing that I want to say is how much I love Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia Hall. I especially adored her when she played the cello. Although most of the cello playing is all about the movie magic, but it looked pretty realistic and convincing to me. I'm absolutely amazed by her acting; the expressions on her face delivered the emotions very well, whether she's happy, sad, or even mad. She's perfect for the role.

"Whatever you do I support you.
Either way, you win. And also either way there's something that you lose."

I did mention in my If I Stay Official Trailer post that I was disappointed with the casting for Adam, obviously my favorite character from the book (and also one of my fictional boyfriends). I wasn't really happy seeing Jamie Blackley in the trailer, but after I watched the movie, I think he wasn't so bad. I'm just not really digging his curly long hair, even though it suits his role as a member of a rock band. He pulled off all of my favorite Adam's dialogues in the book very nicely, and I love his singing voice as well. I think he and Chloë had a great chemistry together; totally portrayed how much Mia and Adam love each other. There's a lot of kissing going on, but since they look natural it doesn't feel cheesy at all. Thankfully.

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention how much I love Mia's parents. They're just amazing. Especially Mom's advice for Mia. And Mia's Dad, for everything that he did for family. Totally want to give them both all the thumbs up I can give.

“Sacrifice. That’s what we do for the people we love.”

A big portion of the movie is dedicated to building the relationship between Mia and Adam; because movie do need longer time to develop a relationship, unlike in books where you can just write things out in detail. Because of that, the other side characters (like Mia's best friend, Kim, and her grandparents) only played a small part in the movie. But even so, I can still feel how much Kim and Gramps love Mia, and how they really wanted her to stay even when things are going to be tough :')) I cried like crazy during Gramps scene. Well, I think Mia's relationship with all the important people (her parents, grandparents, and best friend) are developed well enough to make me cry constantly. But as I've said, her relationship with Adam is the main focus in the movie.

I have so many favorite scenes from the movie, to the point that I'm afraid I'm just going to mention the whole thing. Most of my favorites are Mia and Adam's scenes, because they look really cute together and I love Adam's sweet romantic lines ♥ I also really enjoyed the scenes when Mia was playing her cello. Even though I'm not the type of person who enjoys classical music, I think how she played passionately looks very elegant. And lastly, the song that Adam wrote for Mia towards the end of the movie. He sang beautifully, and the lyrics are just so on point. AND, the meaning behind him writing a song for Mia is real deep. I hope the GIFs that I used in this review are not spoiling things too much ㅋㅋㅋ

 

 

I think it's a good thing I don't remember much about the book, because I don't have much expectation when I started watching it. There are also some parts that surprised me (yes, I forgot that much), which also affects me emotionally. I'm not sure if I would cry as much if I just read the book last week. Anyways, my experience tells me that even though you haven't read the book, this movie would still be worth to watch—if you're into romantic-drama movie. If you just read the book and directly watched the movie adaptation, tell me how you felt about it ;)

Overall, I think this movie did a great job delivering the story within an hour and a half duration. I'm sure it's not perfectly the same as the book, but THE FEELS was more or less the same. The movie adaptation was emotional and definitely tugged at my heartstrings like the book did to me 2 years ago. And judging from how this movie ended, I think they're going to make the sequel as well (?). Even though I didn't love the second book as much, I would totally watch the movie adaptation if it's going to happen. And lastly, one last gif to express how I felt after the movie finished.

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"Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you."

*end note: sorry if i'm rambling too much. wrote this review on a whim right after i finished the movie.

by.stefaniesugia♥ .