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    Me Before You

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    “Me Before You" plays it very safe, but ultimately, it’s a sweet and romantic film. I have mixed feelings about the ending for several reasons but I don’t think it’s worth raising a big controversy about. If you don’t know what I’m talking about we’ll get to it in a bit. What’s the plot?

    Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) desperately needs to find a job to help support her family. She finds employment taking care of Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a formerly active, live-life-to-the-fullest banker paralyzed from the neck down after an accident. Intelligent and wealthy, Will has become bitter, moody and cynical. As the two spend more time with each other, love begins to blossom.

    This film does not take a lot of risks. You know from the beginning that even though Louisa and Will don’t seem to get along (mostly due to Will’s attitude) his stony exterior will erode away and they’ll fall in love. And how could it not? Emilia Clarke is very likable and charismatic in the role. She’s the kind of young lady anyone would be lucky to have. She’s funny, optimistic, and a hard worker, but she’s a bit clumsy, underestimates herself and has given up on a few too many dreams to be truly happy… hey, she’s just like YOU, audience members! Similarly, despite being a quadriplegic Will also has a long list of appealing qualities. He’s intelligent, handsome, rich, cultured, and being confined to a wheelchair, he’s that approachable combination of being a fixer-upper and also being able to take care of his lady love. You know he’s not going to run off with some other lady or become a creepy stalker. I’m being critical, but I think this film’s audience will recognize these deliberate choices as well. This story is ultimately, a fantasy.

    You can forgive standard choices if the rest of the film works. Clarke and Claflin have good chemistry once the grump decides to give her a try. From there a relationship develops and it feels natural. There are many romantic moments throughout. You want the two of them to get together. If your girlfriend or date wants to see this film, take some notes. It’s sappy at times, but also genuinely funny and sweet. Like in an ideal real-life romance, you get the feeling that they would bring out the best in each other. There are some valid points made about what to do and what not to do in a relationship.

    I’ve been going on and on about the love story… but when you see the film you’ll notice something. Within a few minutes, you’ll realize that Louisa has a boyfriend, Patrick (Matthew Lewis), when the story starts. I don’t even know why they bothered honestly. He’s only there to be broken up with. It’s one of those movie relationships where the couple doesn’t have anything in common, there are no scenes where they truly get along and they never seem to do anything they both enjoy together. That’s the kind of thing that makes me call the film safe. Had Louisa been truly in love with this Patrick, or had film explored the patient/caretaker relationship like “The Theory of Everything”, then there would have been some potential for hard-hitting drama. “Me Before You” isn’t really interested in that. It just wants to deliver what the audience wants to see, and not much more.

    There’s been a controversy surrounding the ending of this film. I see what people are getting at, but it’s nothing to get worked up about in my opinion.

    SPOILER ALERT

     Spoiler alert - click to reveal textPeople within the disabled community have protested this film because of its ending. It concludes with Will unable to accept his new life as a quadriplegic, going to a clinic in Switzerland and ending his life through assisted suicide. It is later revealed that he leaves a large sum of money to Louisa so she can travel, have an education and live life to its fullest, the way Will did when he was not confined to a wheelchair. Some claim that the film encourages/romanticizes suicide for the disabled. I disagree. It is clearly shown, and multiple times too, that Will could have a rich, fulfilling and enjoyable life if he wanted. What more could you ask for than a beautiful girlfriend, friends, and a family that love you, the opportunity to attend a wide variety of social events, and the simple joys we all seek like movies, dancing, or music? It’s even remarked that Will could go back to his old job as a banker if he wanted to. The tragedy of this story is that the man cannot get over the change that has come in his life. He wants to be able to ride motorcycles, skydive, walk to the café, and go snorkeling. It doesn’t matter that there are other things he could do instead. It would be out of character for him to suddenly change his mind and decide to go on living when it’s made clear over and over that he made up his mind months before he even met Louisa. I think it’s just people looking for a reason to be upset.

    SPOILER ENDS

    There are aspects of this story that could have been handled better. Some characters should have been eliminated to give us more time to see the drama that would come from a relationship between a woman and a quadriplegic. I got a little misty-eyed during some moments where the difficulties in this relationship are brought to the foreground, but I could’ve been bawling if this was a better film. When “Me Before You” aims to be romantic, it is effective so it earns back points for that and I give it a mild recommendation. (Theatrical version on the big screen, June 18, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.6.2016 age: 26-35 2,866 reviews

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