Movie Review: “If I Stay”

Movie Poster

Rating: 4/5

I’m going to throw this out there from the get-go: I love this book! As in, it’s my favorite book. So I was definitely excited for this movie, albeit with some reservations. It’s very possible that my opinion on this movie was a bit biased going in, but I’m going to put my thoughts out there anyways.

Summary

If you don’t already know the story, here’s what you need to know (if you do know it, you can skip this part like I always do). “If I Stay” is based on the book by Gayle Forman and is about cello prodigy Mia Hall who comes from a cool family of ex-punk rockers where she understandably feels like a black sheep. Despite this, though, they are a tight-knit family. On top of her supportive family she has a confident rocker-on-the-rise boyfriend, Adam, who loves her despite their differences and a possible future at Julliard. Mia’s life seems full of love and possibility until it is all halted by an icy and deadly car crash that leaves her in a coma and in an out of body state with the power to choose whether she lives or dies.

The story shows everything that has happened in Mia’s life up until the accident. We find out who she is and who she loves and the cracks in her life are revealed. All the while, Mia hangs on by a thread trying to make the toughest choice she will ever have to make.

The Movie

I went to go see the movie yesterday morning. I walked into a completely empty theater with the thrill and disappointment of knowing I had the whole place to myself. Again, I was looking forward to this movie, but I was not expecting the best of it. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, the script holds quite true to the source material. Everything that matters is there and while, yes, there are some changes, they often make sense and make the story flow better in a visual format. For example they change Shooting Star’s name to Willamette Stone; most likely for copyright reasons (I’m pretty sure there is a real band out there called Shooting Star). They also remove the fake band that Adam’s band opens for and replaces them with the very real band The Shins. This also means there is not a scene where rock stars have infiltrated the hospital in order to help Adam get into the ICU.

SPOILER!!!

Also the biggest change I noticed was the amount of time it takes for Mia to figure out that both her parents have died. In the book she sees their mangled bodies at the crash site. In the movie she hears about it when the doctors inform her grandparents. This is a cruel change but not a bad change. Personally, I felt it added more to the suspense if you weren’t already familiar with the story. There were more changes in the way the story was laid out, but it all seemed like it was for better pacing so I have no complaints.

Problems

While I was mostly pleased with the way this movie turned out, there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. First, if you’ve go into this without reading the book I realize that there are some parts that may make you scratch your head. I watched one interview where one of the reviewers had not read the book and he was confused as to how Mia functions as a not-so ghost and honestly I can see why. There is little to no explanation or exploration of her limitations and there is no clear way to see exactly how she would follow through with a decision. To clarify: Mia can’t walk through walls or re-enter her body, and she can’t manipulate things in the real world. When it comes to making a decision she has to be wholeheartedly set on it, not just say “I want to die” and poof it happens; she can’t have any doubts.

Second, I don’t feel like there was enough back story on the character of Teddy. You know he’s this quirky little kid that loves punk rock and is clearly more like Mia’s parents than she is, but you don’t know much about Mia’s relationship with Teddy and just plain don’t see enough of him to care about him as much. You only care because he is a little kid on the brink of death.

Last, and this one is small, they never make it clear that Willow works in the hospital where the story takes place. You see her in a pair of scrubs at one point in a short flashback and she shows authority with the nurses and security at the hospital, but unless you are pretty observant, you may not catch this and it’s fairly important.

Also check out my story on “If I Stay” in the latest issue of Highlight Magazine on page 13.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really loved this movie adaptation. The music was great, the acting was great and the story remained intact. For a story that I felt may not translate well in movie form, I was very impressed.

Unfortunately, I doubt this movie will do as well as it could. With being overshadowed by the mega popular “The Fault In Our Stars” and a negative reaction from seemingly ignorant critics, most movie goers will likely fall in line with popular opinion that is some kind of TFIOS rip-off (which is an invalid criticism since the book “If I Stay” was released three whole years before TFIOS). Despite this, I urge you to watch this movie and see for yourself if it is something worth watching.

Dead Leaf Echo and Versuch take stage at Firebird

This story was published on Lindenlink.com March 12, 2014

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo.

To most passersby, the small venue, located near the corner of Olive St. and N. Jefferson in the midst of downtown St. Louis, may have seemed to be having a rather quiet evening. On the contrary, the venue, named the Firebird, oddly located amongst a grouping of office buildings, was ebbing and flowing with the hustle and bustle of musicians chatting with friends and hauling their gear through the back doors. It was another night and another show for the local music hot-spot.

On the roster for Sunday’s performance were local band Versuch and Brooklyn, New York natives Dead Leaf Echo. Around 7:30 p.m.  Firebird employee peeked out the door to let those waiting know that they were free to come inside. About an hour later, Versuch took the stage.

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Versuch at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Versuch began the night with a classic rock ‘n’ roll vibe. Having a retro sound and bluesy vocals, the group put on a polished set that was neither flashy nor boring. The band kept their words to a minimum and let the music speak for itself. The small but seemingly joyful audience applauded and cheered for the band throughout their set. The St. Louis musicians gave a satisfying start to an interesting evening.

Headlining the intimate show, Dead Leaf Echo took their first steps onto a Missouri stage. Despite the small number, the band seemed grateful for their new audience’s enthusiasm. A band used to more fierce and diverse competition had the small crowd’s full attention.

“The fans are usually very different in terms of attitude.  Brooklyn/NYC can have a much broader view of what they have seen and heard,” explained the band’s singer LG , “Smaller markets can be very fresh and sometimes can be more of a lag in between good touring acts thereby making it fresh to these audiences.”

Photo by Annette Schaefer. The small crowd at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Starting as an art project, Dead Leaf Echo took on a life of its own and became the unique touring act it is today. Even as the band set up the stage and sound checked, it was evident that the audience was in for an intriguing evening.

“It’s a bit of a large sound, slightly somnambulist; sparkling darkness with an edge of hope perhaps. Its music mixed with concept and also includes elements of visual art,” said LG on the band’s unique approach to music.

As the band began to play, they strummed their guitars, creating a sort of noisy ambience. Instead of traditional lighting, the band chose to use a projector that flashed different shapes, patterns and colors. The dark but still colorful lighting easily complimented the echoing guitars, erratic rhythms and misty vocals. With the combination of light and sound the band members background in visual arts and sound design came across clearly.

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Prior to Sunday night’s show, Dead Leaf Echo released their latest EP titled “true.deep.sleeper.” For better or worse, the album was a product of a short burst of inspiration and is probably the group’s most musically dreamy work to date.

LG said that the album was inspired by “terrible sleep patterns and the depression that comes from sleeping your life away.”

For a band that began with almost no serious intentions, Dead Leaf Echo has come a long way to become the musical project it is now. Even after the group wraps up their current string of shows, they still have many hopes for the future.

“Putting out the latest album has been the easiest thus far in terms of creating, producing and now promoting.  So each year you learn more and more about how to do things,” said LG, “[I am] looking forward to making another record. I would also love to finally take this collective to Europe and make all new friends overseas.”

Photo by Annette Schaefer. LG of Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

It seems the Dead Leaf Echo may have a bright future ahead of them. Even as the house lights came up and the band made their way off stage, fans old and maybe even new happily cheered and clapped for their performance, bringing another night of music to close at the Firebird.

Make sure you check out Dead Leaf Echo on Facebook and Twitter!

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Here are a few more photos I took from the show: