Review – Me Before You

Before walking into Me Before You, the studio had the great idea of handing out a box of tissues to each patron before entering the theater.  This was a clear indication of the kind of movie this was going to be, though I had an idea this was going to be a sapfest just based on the synopsis.  I declined my box of tissues, keeping the slightest shred of man-card I had left and also feeling that some other hopeless romantic could use a box.  I anticipated an incredibly melodramatic, overly sympathetic movie that would have had a better chance of making me gag than cry.  Much to my surprise, Me Before You is exponentially better than I thought.  No tears were shed on my end, though I can’t say that for the rest of the theater, but the movie is the perfect amount of sappy and a lot funnier than I expected.

Me Before You tells the story of Lou (Emilia Clark), a quirky, bright-eyed, uniquely dressed girl who forms an unlikely bond with the recently paralyzed Will (Sam Claflin) when she is hired on to help him.

The main reason I enjoyed this movie as much as I did was because of the performance by Emilia Clarke.  I’ll admit, I didn’t really like Clarke as an actress going into this movie.  Clarke, mostly known for her role as Daenerys in Game of Thrones, (a show, I admit, I do not watch) had the chance to play Sarah Conner in last year’s Terminator Genisys (2015) and, much like the movie, her performance was stilted and awful.  But in Me Before You, she is simply wonderful.  She lights up the screen as Lou, an optimistic, bright eyed, fun loving girl who just wants the best for everyone and everything to be perfect.  But, when things get darker and sadder during the last part of the movie, she really brings it and adds the emotional punch that made everyone open up their tissues.  Also, her wardrobe in this is something to behold, with extremely bright colors, and uniqueness, it adds just another layer to her character.  This is one of my favorite performances of the year and one that makes me rethink Clarke as an actress.

The story itself is pretty good as well.  This didn’t feel like a typical, Nicholas Sparks-esque romantic story.  The film did a great job of establishing characters and not making them cliche while also giving us a unique story that we haven’t seen before.  This isn’t your “love at first sight” love story.  This is more about the creation of a friendship which then blossoms into something more, and that’s what makes this movie different and better than most.  Also, the movie is surprisingly really funny, which brings the entire audience on an emotional high, only to have them crushed by the ending.  I thought that was excellent.

I’m not saying the movie is perfect.  The biggest flaw with the film was that some of the scenes and stories felt incomplete.  There is a side story with Lou’s running-obsessed boyfriend that just kind of goes away and some other parts that happen without any exposition or way of showing how or why they are there.  I’m not dying to know what happened in these parts, it just seemed that these parts were rushed.  Also, as soulless as I am, I almost wish the movie was sadder.  It was sad, don’t get me wrong, but it could have gotten really, really sad.  Again, I’m soulless, so my word isn’t worth much.  Ask the girl sitting next to me if it was sad enough, she would disagree with assessment.

Me Before You is currently my biggest surprise of the summer.  Having little to no expectations going in, I came out of the movie with genuinely happy that I was able to see it.  It’s funny, sweet, emotional and features a splendid performance by Emilia Clarke.

MY RATING – 3/4

Did you see Me Before You?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.