Movie Review – Me Before You
Director:
Thea Sharrock
Cast:
Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin
Well, if you’ve seen the trailer for this movie, there’s a good chance you can figure out how most, not all, of this story plays out. I was a little stunned at the simplicity of it. That’s not to say it isn’t effective.
Emilia Clarke plays “Lou”, a young, free spirit of a girl who is working while living at home with her family, because they are all under financial stress. After losing her waitress job, the unemployment office sends her to apply as a caregiver to a quadriplegic in a very rich family. She’s introduced to “Will”, played by Sam Claflin, who has been confined to a motorized wheelchair after a horrible accident. This has left his attitude to be rude, and irritable to almost everyone around him. Lou wins the caregiver job, partly because of her bubbly free spirit, and uses that charm to try connect with Will.
The story then goes into a slightly unexpected direction as each character reveals their motives, and how that may have an affect on one another. It is impossible to not like Lou. She is almost a modern day Pollyanna, and when a character like that is on a mission, you can’t help but root for her. Will, with his hard exterior, has a very difficult time not giving into her charms.
The main reason as to why this movie works is because of the two leads. Emilia Clarke is absolutely brilliant in this role. Incredibly cute, vulnerable and very different from what I remember of her in “Game of Thrones” and “Terminator: Genisys”. Sam Claflin is incredibly charming and emotional. There’s also a scene in the movie that will immediately make people want to nominate him as the next James Bond.
As paint by numbers as the beginning of the movie is, by the end of the second act, it is working and firing on all cylinders. I personally would have preferred a stronger conclusion, but it’s still an emotional ride nonetheless. A chick flick that lands, primarily because of some fantastic performances.
*On a nerdy level, the cast here is covering a wide area. Besides the main actors being from “Game of Thrones” and “Hunger Games”, there’s “Harry Potter”, “Doctor Who”, “Downton Abbey”, and a little more “Thrones” for good measure. Yes, my nerd vision is always on.
-Markellus
