''If I Stay'' is a 2014 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by R. J. Cutler and based on the 2009 novel of the same name by

Gayle Forman Gayle Forman (born June 5, 1970) is an American young adult fiction author, best known for her novel ''If I Stay'', which topped the ''New York Times'' best sellers list of Young Adult Fiction and was made into a If I Stay (film), film of the same ...

. The film stars

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards. She began actin ...

Mireille Enos Mireille Enos (; born September 22, 1975) is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Having made her acting ...

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...

, and

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...

. It was released on August 22, 2014, grossing $78.9million worldwide.

Plot

Mia Hall and her family are getting ready to go on with their normal day activities when it is announced on the radio that school has been canceled. Mia's father, Denny, is a teacher and as a result of the snow day does not have to go to work. Mia's mother, Kat, a travel agent, decides to call in sick and along with her family and Mia's brother Teddy so they can get on the road to visit Mia's grandparents, who live on a farm. The story flashes back to Mia's early life with a rockstar father and an inexperienced mother, when one day they take Mia to a music class where Mia decides that she wants to start playing the cello. After her parents see that Mia is passionate about the cello, they hire a teacher to help her play. Kat is shown pregnant with Teddy, whom Mia thinks is the reason for her father's departure from his band. Years later, an adolescent Mia is still passionate about the cello and is playing at school in the band room where Adam Wilde, a popular student and up-and-coming rockstar, peeks in on her playing. This leads him to ask Kim, Mia's best friend, about her. Adam then asks Mia out on a date to a cello recital, where they kiss. The story flashes back to the present day, where the family is driving to the grandparents' farm, before their car suddenly collides with an oncoming truck. Mia appears to have an

out-of-body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...

where she finds herself barefoot and sees her body lying on the road while paramedics are trying to help her and her family. Mia tries to ask a paramedic what is happening, but realizes that no one can see or hear her. Mia, now in the hospital, panics as she does not know the current status of any of her family members when they take her in for surgery. A sympathetic nurse, Nurse Ramirez, tells Mia—her physical body, not Mia's spirit, which apparently she cannot see either—that it is up to her whether or not she wants to stay. The story flashes back once again to Mia attending one of Adam's concerts with his band Willamette Stone, where she does not seem to fit in. Adam's band is steadily gaining more recognition and gets signed to a label, which puts a strain on their relationship due to the travel schedule. While at dinner, Mia's grandpa suggests that she should apply to

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, an idea which she initially rebuffs, but later further researches. She eventually lands an audition in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. It takes a while for Mia to tell Adam about her audition and when she does he becomes upset and leaves for a week-long gig. In the present day, Mia undergoes surgery. She sees a doctor speaking with her grandparents who are standing outside of a pediatric room where Teddy lies in a coma-like state. Adam comes to the hospital to see Mia, but is not allowed in as he is not an immediate family member. It is then revealed that Kat was pronounced

dead on arrival Dead on Scene ('' 'DOS' '') Found dead before first responders get on scene and no medical treatment was given. Dead on arrival (DOA), also dead in the field and brought in dead (BID), are terms which indicate that a patient was found to be ...

and Denny died on the operating table. She later finds out that Teddy has died from an

epidural hematoma Epidural hematoma is when bleeding occurs between the tough outer membrane covering the brain (dura mater) and the skull. Often there is loss of consciousness following a head injury, a brief regaining of consciousness, and then loss of consciou ...

. Mia's grandfather George talks to Mia, revealing that when her father heard her playing cello one time, he decided to sacrifice his career knowing that she was talented, so quit his band, sold his drums, and bought her first cello. He also tearfully gives Mia permission to move on from this life if she wants, which influences Mia to decide that she wants to die so that she can join her family on the other side. The story flashes back to Mia at her audition for Juilliard, where she plays the best she has ever played, leading her to think that if accepted, she would go. After a reconciliation with Adam, they talk about the huge possibility of her going to Juilliard, which ultimately leads to them breaking up and going their separate ways. After some time, Mia seems stable enough to receive more visitors. Mia is shown symbolically about to let go when she hears the music performed at the cello recital that she attended with Adam. It is revealed that Adam has come to see Mia and that he is playing his

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

for her. He brings with him a letter Mia has received from Juilliard saying that she has been accepted and lets her know that he would do whatever she wants if she stays. He begins to play the song he has finally written about her. Mia, after flashing back through all the happy moments in her life, squeezes Adam's hand and opens her eyes. She sees Adam looking at her saying, "Mia!"

Cast

as Mia Hall *

Jamie Blackley Jamie Alexander Blackley (born 8 July 1991) is a British actor. He is known for his role as Adam Wilde in the film '' If I Stay''. Biography Blackley was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, and was raised in London, England, with his father Martin, m ...

as Adam Wilde *

as Kat Hall *

as Denny Hall *

as George Hall *

Aisha Hinds Aisha Jamila Hinds is an American television, stage and film actress. She had supporting roles in a number of television series, include ''The Shield'', ''Invasion'', ''True Blood'', ''Detroit 1-8-7'' and '' Under the Dome''. In 2016, she played ...

as Nurse Ramirez *

Lauren Lee Smith Lauren Lee Smith (born June 19, 1980) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles, including Emma DeLauro in the syndicated science fiction drama '' Mutant X'', Riley Adams in the CBS forensics drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investi ...

as Willow *

Liana Liberato Liana Daine Liberato (born August 20, 1995) is an American actress. She played the younger version of the female lead in the 2014 film '' The Best of Me'' and starred in the drama films '' The Last Sin Eater'' (2007) and '' Trust'' (2010), the th ...

as Kim Schein *

Aliyah O'Brien Aliyah O'Brien (born May 7, 1981) is a Canadian actress, best known for her television roles in the TV series ''Rookie Blue'' and '' Bates Motel'' and in the film ''Maximum Conviction''. Biography Aliyah O'Brien was born in Victoria, British Col ...

as EMT * Jakob Davies as Teddy Hall

Production

In December 2010, it was announced that a film based on the novel ''

If I Stay ''If I Stay'' is a young adult novel by Gayle Forman published in 2009. The story follows 17-year-old Mia Hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family. Mia is the only member of her family to survive, ...

'' was in the works at

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit E ...

and that

Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomin ...

and

Emily Browning Emily Jane Browning
. Celebritywonder, retrieved 30 June 2011 (born 7 December 1988

were in talks to play Mia. Catherine Hardwicke was attached to direct, but was replaced by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian filmmaker

Heitor Dhalia Heitor Dhalia (born 18 January 1970) is a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. He has directed seven films since 1988. His film, '' À Deriva'', competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography * '' ...

, who also left the film later. On January 24, 2013, Moretz was officially cast to play the lead and R. J. Cutler was announced as the new director of the film. Trevor Smith was brought on as associate producer. The shooting of the film began on October 30 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In January 2014,

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

were announced to be distributing the film and the release was set for August 22.

Music

The music was composed by

Heitor Pereira Heitor Teixeira Pereira () (born November 29, 1960), or Heitor TP, is a Brazilian composer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and record producer. In his career, Pereira has recorded with the band Simply Red and several famous musicians, such as Elt ...

. The soundtrack was released on August 19, 2014 by

WaterTower Music WaterTower Music (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label and run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based o ...

. It peaked at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States, and number 77 in Australia. Vancouver-based alternative rock band

Hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist * Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...

appeared in the film numerous times as Willamette Stone. All the songs for Adam Wilde's band Willamette Stone, including the cover of

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

' song "

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

", were produced by indie rock producer

Adam Lasus Adam Lasus (born September 2, 1968 in Mount Kisco, New York, United States) is an American record producer, recording engineer and musician. Career Lasus credits include albums by Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Lilys, Helium, Juliana Hat ...

Reception

Box office

As of November 20, 2014, ''If I Stay'' has grossed a worldwide total of $78,396,071 against a budget of $11million. ''If I Stay'' opened at #3 to 2,907 locations in North America behind ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

'' and ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'', which were in their fourth and third weeks respectively. On its opening day the film earned $6,827,007 earning it the top spot for the day.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a rating of 35%, based on 142 reviews with an average score of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although Chloë Grace Moretz gives it her all and the story adds an intriguing supernatural twist to its melodramatic YA framework, ''If I Stay'' is ultimately more manipulative than moving". On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film holds a score of 46 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', A.O. Scott praised Moretz's acting.A.O. Scott
In Limbo, and in Love
''The New York Times'', August 21, 2014. He added that the "music is both the best and the corniest part of ''If I Stay'', which makes excellent use of the classical cello repertoire." Writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'',

Justin Chang Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''. Early life Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...

criticized Moretz's acting, explaining that "she comes off as a bit too self-assured to play the nerdy misfit."Justin Chang
Film Review: 'If I Stay'
''Variety'', August 13, 2014. Anthony Lane of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' wrote a critical review of the movie, saying, "The saddest thing about 'If I Stay' is that it affords Moretz so little opportunity to be non-sad." In the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Olivier Gettell summed up that critics saw the film was "clunky and uninspired."Oliver Gettell

''The Los Angeles Times'', August 21, 2014.

Accolades

Home media

''If I Stay'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2014 by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

(under license from

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

References

External links

* * {{Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Drama 2014 films 2014 romantic drama films 2010s ghost films 2010s teen drama films 2010s teen romance films American ghost films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films Films about death Films about music and musicians Films about road accidents and incidents Films based on American novels Films based on young adult literature Films directed by R. J. Cutler Films scored by Heitor Pereira Films set in California Films set in Portland, Oregon Films shot in Vancouver Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films New Line Cinema films Warner Bros. films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films