Susan Granger’s review of “Me Before You” (Warner Bros.)
Have you ever wondered why we like to cry at movies? It’s quite simple: when we’re watching a sad story, our brains cannot differentiate between actual people and the flickering images on the screen. And when we are emotionally engaged, we feel empathy, enlightenment, even empowerment.
Since British novelist Jojo Moyes adapted her own best-seller for the screen, this romantic drama, directed by Thea Sharrock, stays remarkably close to the printed page, which tackles the difficult dilemma of euthanasia. That means it’s a real tearjerker.
Debonair London financier Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) is an avid sportsman until a traffic accident leaves him a quadriplegic. Two years later, he’s ensconced in his family’s massive ‘castle’ in the English countryside. In chronic pain, he’s become bitter, rude and jaded – and he needs a caregiving companion.
Cue clumsy, kind-hearted 26 year-old Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark (Emilia Clarke) who desperately needs a job and soon becomes determined to help Will. Conveniently, the ‘heavy lifting’ – bathroom/bathing needs – are handled by his physical therapist (Stephen Peacocke).
While Lou’s chatty, charming exuberance certainly enlivens his life, just as he teaches her to expand her provincial horizons, Will, nevertheless, seems determined to opt for assisted suicide in Switzerland.
And there’s not much his wealthy parents (Charles Dance, Janet McTeer), nor Lou’s working-class family (Brendan Coyle, Samantha Spiro), can do to make him change his mind.
British actress Emilia Clarke is best known as steely Daenerys Targaryen – a.k.a. Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons – in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” while Sam Claflin scored in “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” and “The Hunger Games.” Tackling these complicated characters, they acquit themselves admirably, although the subplot involving Lou’s self-centered boyfriend (Matthew Lewis) falls flat.
Devotees of Jojo Moyes’ novel note that the author deleted a pivotal scene: the primary reason that Lou is so timid about venturing into the ‘outside’ world is because, years ago, she was sexually assaulted.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Me Before You” is a bittersweet 6, wallowing in the throes of simplistic melodrama.
