Film review: Me Before You
I said Iād watch Me Before You and I did. It wasnāt as I was expecting, as I felt the filmās trailers glamorised the story more than necessary but it was a decent watch.
Okay, for those of you not up to speed - the non-romcommers and anyone who hasnāt read the book - Me Before You centres on Lou Clark (played by Emilia Clarke) who becomes a carer for the paraplegic Will (Sam Claflin) injured in a motorcycle accident two years earlier, and determines to show him life is good and that he shouldnāt go to the Dignitas clinic where he can off himself. However, itās him who shows her that she can lead a better life and they end up falling in love.
To start with, Jojo Moyes penned the screenplay so kudos to her for what mustāve been a difficult job; she did it well and for the most part, she kept the dialogue from the novel. I thought the film was sweet, funny, a fair portrayal of disabled life and the two leads seemed to have some chemistry. However, it smacked of a slightly awkward, ditsy (or āadorkableā as some say) film for teenage girls. It just didnāt capture the bookās maturity or any of the darker moments, or the most intense emotional scenes. And donāt worry, Iām not made of stone, I did get a bit tearful towards the end of the film.
This adaptation was good but I just donāt think it hit the mark as the trailers made us believe. (I probably watched them too much before I saw the film.) I think the biggest problem is that neither Emilia nor Sam have the correct emotional range for this film, which is meant to be feel-good and tearful at the same time and yet it didnāt feel like either of those things much. Emiliaās eyebrows are very expressive but they become distracting because she moves them too much (honestly, if I met her in real life, I think Iād be staring more at her eyebrows than at her face) and no matter how much she tries, her emotional scenes - I felt - are underdone and Samās are no better, and heās the one in the wheelchair; his attempts at misery are at best half-arsed though heās good at sarcasm. Yes, they can portray emotion in their facial expression well but not in their dialogue, which I felt suffered in some areas. I felt the same about Louās hopeless boyfriend Patrick (Matthew Lewis) and I thought her sister Katrina/Treen (Jenna Coleman) had the looks for Lou more than Emilia. There was just little or no depth for any of the characters, which really could have been attempted in a less than two hour film. I have no problem with the assisted suicide part but I think there couldāve been a much stronger reaction from Lou and everyone else than was presented.Ā
The filmās redeeming, stronger qualities were the soundtrack, featuring Imagine Dragons and Ed Sheeran; any scene with Charles Dance (Mr Traynor - Willās father) as he is a brilliant actor; comic moments that had the whole cinema laughing and charactersā wardrobes. They wore almost exactly what I imagined them to, although in the book I couldnāt imagine Lou wearing heels to work in a cafe! (I loved the red dress - anyone know where I can get it?!) I really liked Nathan (Stephen Peacocke) too.
So should you watch this film? If you loved the book, yes, but otherwise Iād give it a miss if youāre not a teenage girl. If you want a romantic weepie, then your best bet is to see The Fault in Our Stars. Me Before You is a good film about love, loss and life but ultimately, the book was much, much better. It usually is the case when it comes to adaptations. 2/5
