Movie Review: If I Stay

Chloe Grace Moretz is the heart of this movie and thank goodness she's gifted, because in movie form at least, there isn't a lot to the story.  The well-loved book is the story of a teenager on the verge of womanhood who is put into a coma by a car accident that takes the rest of her immediate family and explores her internal turmoil of whether to "stay" or go.  I haven't read the book, so I can only imagine what's missing, but the movie does manage to stand on its own.  The central unanswered questions in the movie are presumably the same ones that interested readers of the original novel: What would you do if you got a choice like that?  What would it be like to stay without your family?  What would it be like if you "went"?

Unfortunately, the film essentially turns out to be just a love story (The sequel, "Where She Went" looks to be even more so), but her male counterpart is a worthy actor as well.  Told mostly in flashbacks, the parts of the story about their developing relationship are perhaps the least compelling, but the exploration of relationships in general make up for it (although in an effort to make her parents seem too perfect to lose to death, they are made a bit cartoony in contrast).  There is definitely enough there to make you cry at the appropriate moment.  Stacy Keach as her grandfather has a small Oscar-worthy speech and it's refreshing to see Moretz play a self-conscious character, since most of her breakout performances have been powerful and self-possessed (Hugo, Kick-Ass).

I won't avoid the inevitable comparison to the recent young adult novel turned movie, "The Fault in Our Stars", but I will just say that Fault was simply better overall.  A better comparison might be to the "non-fiction" book turned movie called "Heaven is For Real", because the only thing about "If I Stay" that keeps coming back to my mind is the questions about comas, death and the after-life, the rest of the movie is basically forgettable.

3 out of 5 stars

I Hate to Say It, But There's No Fault in The Fault in Our Stars - Movie Review

Where to start?  Well, to start with, I haven't read the book, so let's get that out of the way right at the start. Those of you who have read the book may have different insight than I do on the comparison, etc., but I always look at books turned into movies as two different art forms and evaluate them separately anyway...Now on with the review.  I honestly can't find much wrong with this film and if there is anything, it is definitely counteracted by what goes above and beyond here.  I am not a fan of sappy movies or "chick flicks" and I have never even seen many of the most popular of that genre, including The Notebook and the Twilight Series.  However, my 11 year old wanted to see this movie after having seen the previews as many times as the rest of us and it didn't look quite as pukey as some of those others, so off we went.

I'm sure the book is very well written - why, you ask?  Because so much of the film is very well written and that is usually the downfall of translations like this. The writers of Fault also wrote 500 Days of Summer, which was phenomenal in much the same way and is now probably just old enough for the audience of this film to require a recommendation from Netflix to see 500 (but seriously, do it). From the interpersonal dialog to the underlying intelligent themes, this movie must be doing a pretty good job of satisfying at least some of the fans of the book.  The individuals and the relationships are so well written, that I will go so far as to say it is one of the best portrayals of motherhood and of falling in love that I have ever seen on screen.  Laura Dern is literally ALWAYS good, but the subtlety with which she performs even the smallest moments with her terminally ill daughter is beyond accomplished - it's reality.  These are Oscar nomination moments.  Willem Defoe deserves a mention here as well, playing yet another unlikeable character, though in a completely different way...

Shailene Woodley is at her best in this film (she is much better suited to intricately played drama than interchangeable action heroism, see: Divergent).  She is completely natural and it left me wondering how very close to one girl's reality of living with cancer her performance actually is, not having direct experience with this particular road traveled myself. 

The complete surprise of the film for me was the lead actor who truly lit up the screen, Ansel Elgort.  He played Shailene's brother in Divergent and though his part was too small to garner much attention in that film, at this point, I can only think they didn't want to cast him as the lead opposite Miss Woodley in two films in a row, because his acting abilities, plus the way the camera loves him and the chemistry between them would have them cast and re-cast together ad nauseam.  He was beautiful in their first film together, but I wonder how strange it was to play his love interest after playing his sister.  It may be that their amazing chemistry was so evident on the first set that it led to the casting of Fault. We will get the unusual opportunity to explore this issue on the flip side when Insurgent comes out as well.

To no surprise for those who loved 500 Days, Fault also has a tremendous soundtrack - check it out.  I also liked the innovative way they integrated the reality of texting into the film, since it is a way of life, especially for youngsters, but probably doesn't normally translate too well visually.  (Chef also recently created a quirky way to integrate social media into this visual art form and I have to say I support this trend).

One final note.  I said I'm not into schmaltzy movies, but that doesn't mean I'm not a crier.  In fact, I sometimes cry at commercials or bad Adam Sandler movies (not for the reason you think).  So let's just say that I forgot to get napkins with my hot dog and so my hoodie sleeves haven't been this snotty since the last time a boyfriend broke up with me.

4 out of 5 stars

Final, final note: This review dedicated to my friend in cupcakes, Kelsey Hays.