Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a classical music lover and a talented player, which is surprising as she is the daughter of Kat (Mireille Enos) and Denny Hall (Joshua Leonard) who deeply adore rock ‘n’ roll. Whereas this atypical family leads a joyful life, a terrible car accident is about to change everything. Whilst in the coma, Mia has to make a Cornelian choice. Either she decides to live and stay with her best friend Kim (Liana Liberato), her boyfriend Adam (Jamie Blackley) and her grandfather (Stacy Keach), or she chooses to join her parents and brother Teddy (Jakob Davies) in the realm of death.
If I Stay, directed by R.J. Cutler is surprisingly good. Indeed, although the film revolves around the love story between Mia and Adam, its main topic turns out to be Mia’s decision. Her choice is never clear. And whilst viewers are encouraged to guess her future decision, they are highly urged, throughout the different narrative twists, to think about their own case. It is impossible not to ask ourselves what we would do if such tragic events were to happen to us. If I Stay is surely not a happy film but it perfectly masters its subject. Everything is done to deeply move viewers, especially when the parents and Teddy are announced dead. It challenges viewers by asking them the very same question as the one Mia is faced with: what is the purpose of life? Why do we keep living? There is not only one answer. But the film suggests that the main and first reason pushing humans to live seems to be their family. We live for our relatives. When Mia loses her parents and brother, she just wants to die. Nothing else matters for her. And although she loves Kim and Adam very much, her family is and will always be more important.
Also, the quality of If I Stay is greatly due to its main character, Mia. She is really different from other heroines. She is ambitious and knows what she wants. She chooses her passion and her professional dreams even if she knows she might lose her boyfriend. It is even her musical dreams which save her. Indeed, Mia chooses life over death when she knows she has been accepted in Julliard. Even if Adam is important for her, he is not the reason why she breathes. No, she lives for classical music and for her cello. Mia appears as a true feminist model as she proves she does not need a guy to exist. It is important to display such female characters in films to show little girls and teenagers that yes, they can make it on their own. Positive role models, like Mia, are important in our society. Let us encourage girls to be more like Mia, rather than Bella Swan who dreadfully accepts to sacrifice her life, and therefore a huge part of her identity, for a man.
Overall, If I Stay, led by a strong and inspiring female character, is an excellent and touching film challenging viewers with one simple question: what are you living for?
Not just a film 