Me Before You (2016) Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Matthew Lewis, Jenna Coleman, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Vanessa Kirby Movie Review

Me Before You (2016)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke in Me Before You (2016)

Carpe Diem

Lou Clark (Emilia Clarke - Terminator Genisys) finds herself not only out of work, when her boss at the cafe has to let her go, but beginning to wonder whether her fitness fanatic boyfriend, Patrick (Matthew Lewis), puts his love of exercise before her. But through the encouragement of her sister, Treena (Jenna Coleman), Lou finds herself employed by the well to do Traynor family to help care for their adult son, Will (Sam Claflin - Love, Rosie), who was left paralysed following a traffic accident. Despite Will's initial dislike for the colourful Lou she perseveres and soon their friendship is not only blooming but she has persuaded Will to embrace life outside of the annex he lives in. But....

Let me tell you about a movie I watched back in 1991 and it features Julia Roberts playing a not completely traditional nurse who is hired to care for a man with blood cancer and they end up falling in love. That movie is "Dying Young" and in many ways "Me Before You" feels like an update on this but to explain why I need to say right now that this review features a spoiler alert so if you don't want to know what that is then I suggest watch the movie as it is pretty much worth at least one viewing.

So that spoiler alert: well in "Me Before You" we get to see what Will's life was before the accident and he feels the life he lives now where he is dependent on others is a pale shadow of the exhilarating life he once led. And so has agreed with his parents to give things 6 months and if he hasn't changed his mind they will take him to Switzerland for an assisted death. As such what we get in the movie is Lou falling in love with Will who through her encouragement agrees to do certain things but with the question mark always there as to whether she will manage to change his mind or not. I won't tell you how "Me Before You" ends but what this means is that the majority of the movie we watch two characters evolve together with Lou becoming more confident of who she is and what she wants whilst Will allows happiness to re-enter his life rather than wallowing in self pity.

Now I am going to say that the acting through out is very good and by the end of "Me Before You" I felt connected to pretty much all the central characters. But at the same time I have to say that during the first half of the movie I found Emilia Clarke's performance of Lou a bit too full on and over the top to the point her character comes close to being a little annoying. But trust me as Lou evolves you warm to her in ways you would never have thought possible.

What this all boils down to is that "Me Before You" ends up surprisingly enjoyable and if you are a fan of movies like "The Choice" and "The Vow" then you should enjoy this although this is a bit more comical in places.


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