Anyways!! Sorry for the tangent but I just saw If I Stay and I have to say what an amazing film. Not only was I crying throughout most of it but it was so well done. It stayed so true to the book and all the vignettes of Adam and Mia's relationship and how much she loved her family. I thought it was just excellent and I'm sad that I didn't even see half the film clearly because the screen was blurry. Shoddy mechanics, I tell you. I think the casting of the film was perfect. Chloe Grace Moretz OWNED Mia. Her parents were just amazing. I felt their rock and roll vibe all the way through the screen and Teddy...oh, I just wanted to snug Teddy like crazy! So cute! You could feel the love they have for one another. It was palpable. What I liked a lot was the struggle Mia had with accepting Adam liked her. I didn't get that feel as much from the book so, SURPRISE, it was a really great thing to see translated to film. Whatever research Chloe did for her role as Mia was perfect because her face when playing or talking about music was inspiring. You could feel the love she had for the cello. And Adam. Going into Adam is not who I pictured in my head however he did an excellent job. His looks towards Mia felt like a heated embrace. His patience with showing her he loved her was beautiful. Everything was just really, really great. From the accident to the flashbacks to the hospital scenes, it was everything I pictured in my head (except Adam) and more.
To emphasize and show my love for this film and how wonderful I thought it was, I thought I'd highlight a love Mia and I share. Classical music. I'm not super well-versed, don't get me wrong. But I love to put a 2 hour mix of Tchaikovsky's best on my iPod and let it play while I cook dinner or am sitting around reading. So here are my favorite classical music pieces. **Note: Ignore the terrible videos because there are some oldies on here but it's about the music, so close your eyes if you must.**
This is my favorite piece of all time. I don't even know when I started listening to it but I play this on repeat when I'm driving a lot. The music is just so powerful and it goes through so many different styles and emotions. It's just beautiful.
I looooove listening to this. Winter and Summer are my favorite movements but listening to them all back to back complement each other perfectly.
I would love to see this live, obviously, because I have an affinity to Romeo and Juliet. I love the ups and down of this piece.
Uh, have you guys heard this? I'm pretty sure I was obsessed with it for weeks...still am. I love the feelings evoked when listening to it, the music is so powerful it give me chills. No joke, every time I listen to it, I get goosebumps. Love love love
So if you haven't read If I Stay by Gayle Forman yet, you really, really need to! AND then go see the movie. It's amazingly well done and there are only a few lines from the book I WISHED would have made the cut...le sigh.
I love the Piano Guys!! Their cover of Rolling in the Deep is amazing. Their original piece, Arwen's Vigil is sublime as well. And yay for loving classical music! There's something about classical music that sends shivers down my spine. I'm a big fan of the orchestral movements, especially from Russian composers. The Four Seasons is just awesome though!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the movie as well! I'm off to see it on Friday, and nervous/excited at the same time. The book didn't really live up to my expectations, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I just went to see the movie on Sunday! And I agree that it was pretty darn good! I felt like some of the early moments between Mia and Adam came off a little cheesy on screen but overall it was a pretty solid adaptation and I can't complain even though I standby that books are ALWAYS better than movies. My only qualm is that the famous last line was missing!!! Adam was supposed to say to Mia "If you stay, I will let you go" the whole emphasis on the letting her go part! That is the whole reason she came back and the set up for the second book! So why did they cut that out!!! Is it just me who feels this way?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you - one of the huge attraction points of If I Stay for me was the fact that she plays classical music, and I particularly love the cello. A few of my favourite classical songs that I think you should check out:
ReplyDelete- "Gymnopedie No 1" by Satie
- "Swan Lake (Act 1 Finale)" by Tchaikovsky
- "Jupiter (The Planets)" by Holst
I cried so much in the movie! i knew i would. I cried during the damn trailer. I found a nice secluded spot to sit and cry by myself and then like SEVEN people came and sat in my row, not 2 seats down from me. I was like seriously, the whole theater is pretty empty (i went to a matinee) and you choose here?! so i moved. I didn't care that it may have seemed rude. I wanted to cry in peace! haha. adam wasn't how i pictured when I read but he totally fit for me and it reminded me how much in love with adam wilde I am. i'm rereading where she went now and oohh all the adam feels.
ReplyDeletealso - love the classical music choices! i played classical piano for 11 years and i still love classical. i used to listen to classical music when i studied bc it calmed me haha. love vivaldi's four seasons. :)
I enjoyed listening to the songs you shared links for! I played piano for a long time (and still know how to note read) (and kind of wish I had a piano to tinker around on), so I'm familiar with a few classical pieces as well. They're great for when you're relaxing or even when you're reading, and they're also great for writing. Love that you shared this with us!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I loved the If I Stay movie as well! I thought it was extremely well done, and captured the essence of the novel. I also completely loved Jamie as Adam Wilde, so there's that. And the music! Oh, the music.
I really loved the movie and actually cried more during it than reading the book. Don't kill me, but for some reason I wasn't as in love with the book as the rest of the world seems to be. I really really liked it, but I didn't get all the feels. Then I saw the movie and was sobbing which made me want to reread the book and then read Where She Went immediately. It was so great to see all these characters brought to life on screen. And I totally agree that the casting was perfect.
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