The recent New York Times bestselling romance Me Before You is now a major motion picture! Author Jojo Moyes pens a script for first-time feature director Thea Sharrock. This is one of those rare movies that really reaches out and surprises you. What many may write off as another sappy romance akin to the banal works of Nicholas Sparks will be pleased to find a thoughtful, engaging love story that isn't afraid to dig into serious themes. Me Before You knows its place and offers a very competently crafted romantic "dramedy" for the masses, complete with corny Ed Sheeran tunes.
The story follows a young woman named Louisa (Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke), or Lou for short, as she tries to make a life for herself in a small English town. Seemingly trapped by her duties to her family and fitness-junkie boyfriend Patrick (Matthew Lewis, a.k.a. Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter movies), Lou takes a new job as caretaker to a young paraplegic man named Will (The Hunger Games' Sam Claflin). Their relationship is rocky at first, but Lou's goofy demeanor soon melts Will's icy faรงade. The pair begin falling for each other as their lives careen towards a refreshingly atypical conclusion. Just when I thought I knew exactly where this was heading, Moyes pulls the rug out in a way that really makes it a near-perfect resolution. You'll cry happy and sad tears at the same time.
Moyes takes precious care to explore the physical and emotional effects of paraplegia on both the victim and the people around him. These themes are handled with grace; something that distinguishes Me Before You from its counterparts. Nothing about the scenes discussing Will's condition, his feelings about it, or his health care treatment feels outside the realm of reason. Obviously some creative liberties are taken, but it all looks and sounds like something that could've easily happened in real life. There's no doubt it likely has before.
Because of the way Moyes explores how love itself might look when one of the partners is paralyzed, she keeps the story from ever feeling blatantly saccharine. However, the film could've avoided undue sappiness altogether by nixing the Ed Sheeran and OneRepublic music. Sharrock places a couple of melancholy Top 40 hits in places where the emotional beats already work fine. There's no need to beat a dead horse with Ed Sheeran.
Performances are terrific. It's great to see Clarke successfully carry a project that isn't Game of Thrones. Everyone loves her because of that show anyway, and to see her inhabit a hot mess like Lou makes her all the more endearing. If I didn't already have a crush on Emilia Clarke, I definitely have one on her as Lou now. Lewis provides valuable minutes as Pat, too. You love him cuz he's Neville Longbottom, but you hate him at the same time for being a massive douchebag. His comedic timing is on point in a production where nearly all the humor lands anyway. We also see veteran British thesps Janet McTeer and GoT's Charles Dance as Will's parents, whose chemistry is about as strong and interesting to watch as Clarke and Claflin's.
Surely your enjoyment of Me Before You will hinge entirely on how receptive you are to romantic comedies/dramas. I don't mind a good one myself, but I remember thinking the marketing for this movie looked atrocious. I'm glad to be proven wrong. It occasionally wreaks of mainstream pandering, but this is about as well-constructed as these movies come. Grab a date, see Me Before You, and let the last nail be put in Nicholas Sparks' coffin, if it hasn't already.
B+
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