By Kristen Gimelli
STAFF WRITER

The real question is ‘when should I leave?’

The 2014 production stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia Hall–a 17-year-old cello prodigy–and Jamie Blackley as Adam Wilde–Mia’s boyfriend. The film has a run time of approximately 106 minutes.

Gayle Foreman’s If I Stay should have remained on pages because of its poor screen adaptation.
Photo Credit: Bookfandom.com

The film was directed by R. J. Cutler and screen written by Shauna Cross–the same people who team up to produce the vastly superior production earlier this summer, The Fault in our Stars.

The best-seller book should have stayed written on the pages. It’s a classic love story that has been told one hundred and one too many times. Adam and Mia are complete opposites; he likes rock, and she likes classical, but of course–like any other love story–they fall in love after the first date.

The lovers are faced with conflict in their relationship when Mia is involved in a severe car crash. With her parents and brother dead, Mia lies in a coma receiving visions of her relationship with Adam. She is conflicted with a choice to either stay and live her life with her boyfriend Adam, or leave the earth with her family.

Like always, the problem is blown out of proportion–“Here’s the secret baby. You control what happens from here. Whether you live or die, it’s all up to you,” says one of the nurses operating on her. Several nurses tell her she has to “fight” for her life like she is some kind of superhero. The concept is childish, and exaggerated.

The movie is irritating to watch and runs 106 minutes too long.