Review of Me Before You (2016) by Spangle — 15 Oct 2016

Okay so I actually dug this one. Is it wickedly cliche? Yes. Does Emilia Clarke have weird eyebrows and a smile that literally consumes her face? Yes. Yet, like a mozzarella stick with stringy cheese or a cake with a thick layer of frosting on top, Me Before You is so cheesy and sweet, it is irresistible. From beginning to end, it was the film equivalent of taking said mozzarella stick and seeing how far you could pull the cheese before it breaks.

Starring Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clark, a lower class girl from England, Me Before You is a film billed as a romance, but for me, it almost came across as decidedly anti-love (or, at the very least, denying the power of love to a degree). The unsuspecting Louisa is hired to work as the hired to be the caretaker of Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a now quadriplegic man who was once an active and vibrant young man. While he still may be that man, Will most certainly does not recognize this. For this element, Me Before You could often double as a harrowing look at how depression can consume you. From beginning to end, the audience is shown the life within Will. Louisa most certainly brings that life out of a him like a flowing river, in large part due to their delicious chemistry, but Will does not see this. Instead, he looks forlornly at his life before his accident and is often confronted with this element, whether it be through his ex-girlfriend, his constant bouts with pneumonia, or old photographs. Around every turn, he is reminded of who he was. It is this element that courted controversy as people deemed Me Before You to be stating that death is the only acceptable path for disabled people. This, to me, is misguided. Rather, the film is an exploration of the depression that took a hold of Will after his accident. We know he is still Will. Louisa knows it. His parents know it. Yet, Will cannot come to grips with this drastic life change. The end result is a film that showcases how love cannot overcome all. It is not the prescription drug that will fix every situation. Instead, one must love themselves when they look in the mirror. They must be okay with who they are, for all of their unique elements. Without this, nothing will break the hold of one's own mind.

While Me Before You's romance may be quite cliche and its soundtrack lifted from every teenage girl's iTunes account (two Ed Sheeran songs, including new romance film staple, "Thinking Out Loud"), but its thematic elements regarding depression and self-acceptance are so deeply moving, I can easily look past its faults. It is an imperfect film with a spotty performance from Clarke in the lead role, as well as a pretty nondescript one from Chaflin who is good, but nothing incredible. The scenery is impeccable and most certainly capitalized upon with some stellar shots of the views. Additionally, Louisa's relationship with ex?-boyfriend Patrick (Matthew Lewis) does nothing to make the audience like her. Rather, she is cheating on him with Will. This poor characterization is a blight on the writing and only exacerbated by Clarke.

Between cheating and incessant eyebrow movements, the film can easily become grating if it were not as tearjerkingly melodramatic as it is, which is fine since I love a good melodrama. Clarke and Chaflin have great chemistry, but the real quality of this film is in its exploration of this depressed man's last days and the realization that love cannot heal all wounds. It is like painting a wall to cover a hole in the wall. It may brighten things up or change things up a bit, but the hole is still there and must be addressed in some other way. For Me Before You, its guts in sticking to this life truth is impressive, but also thoroughly heartwrenching to watch unfold. Get the tissues ready.