Me Before You Review

(May contain spoilers. Once again, read at your own risk)

Me Before You, directed by first-time feature director Thea Sharrock, and based on the bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes, is about a quirky and bright 26 year old with no sense of direction, who goes from working in a cafe to a caregiver and friendly companion to the extremely witty and intellectual Will Traynor, who has all but given up after a road accident that left him paralysed. Shortly after beginning her new job, she overhears a conversation which leaves her devastated, but from then on tries everyday to encourage Will to embark on new adventures with her in hopes of him changing his mind from putting a stop to what he thinks is a joyless life.

First of all, let me just praise each and every one of the characters for portraying their characters so well. Especially Sam Claflin, Emilia Clarke, Matthew Lewis and Steve Peacocke. I think that for one, Emilia was the perfect person to play Louisa Clark, I could not think of a better actress. I have personally only ever seen her in one other role as I don't habitually watch Game Of Thrones, but she is a wonderful actress and I feel like she is much like Louisa. Also, Sam Claflin portrayed Will Traynor incredibly well - especially the witty and sarcastic characteristics that we all love about Will. I really do think they were both perfect for the roles.

I really, really loved movie, there is no denying it. However the only thing I dislike about it is that we don't get to see the real side to Louisa in as much depth as we do in the book, for example we didn't see the vulnerable side to her - which fans of the novel will understand what I mean when I say this. Also about why she wears the clothes she does and why she prefers to stay close to home, the differences her and her sister have always faced, the troubles with her family and whatnot. But I suppose they have to take things out as the length of a movie is very limited. It's just that I feel that as much as it is Will's story, it's Louisa's, too and I would have liked to have seen that in the movie. Nevertheless, it was brilliant and of course, so heartbreaking. I definitely teared up several times throughout it... only a bit, though... Okay, so I cried a LOT during the last 20 minutes or so, and then throughout all the credits, and maybe even 5 or 10 minutes after that. But in my defense, it was knowing what was in the book too that made me tear up so much.

Another thing I want to talk about as I know there will be at least one or two comments otherwise assuming my opinion or whatnot is that there is obviously a lot to talk about within this story and everyone has their opinions. Real issues are involved. I think the story deserves credit for beginning this conversation once again about the right-to-die and so forth, but I can totally see why activists think differently. Personally, I haven't a full opinion - not in an ignorant way - because I believe that it's impossible for me to as I cannot begin to fully understand this kind of situation.

However, I do believe that this novel/movie shows - as Emilia Clarke once explained in an interview - a situation, not an opinion. Will's story does not represent the disability community as a whole, and I also feel that if Will's decision was different, the story would still be talked about in great lengths because no story can ever really represent something so wide spread and important. You know what I mean?

So if you're wondering whether this movie is for you, just give it a go! I know a lot of people think this is one of those super romantic movies, but believe me it's not what you think. It's humouring in some ways, it's beautiful, it's insightful, it's heartbreaking...

But, if you are planning on seeing Me Before You, be sure to take tissues, wear waterproof mascara and brace yourself for a whole lot of laughter and heartbreak.

Thanks for reading!

As Will Traynor would say, live boldly.

Just live.




For information on quadriplegia, visit these sites.
http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/quadriplegia/
http://www.apparelyzed.com/quadriplegia-quadriplegic.html

Also, please visit this site for information on spinal injury and disability charities and organisations.
http://www.apparelyzed.com/organisations.html