If the director of a movie has stirred an emotion in a viewer does that make it a good movie? I think 'yes' because the viewer has been touched within and the story connected with that person, on some level. Unfortunately for Director: Thea Sharrock and Writer: Jojo Moyes the emotional connection for this viewer (me) was negative and borderline angry. But the movie is a good 6 or 7 stars worth to me because I found it well scripted, acted and photographed.
The plot is so British class oriented I was gritting my teeth. We have Will Traynor an upper crust society rich boy who is able to afford any indulgence he so desires. He lives in a mansion and owns an ancestral castle. Has had top line education and was a multi-talented sportsman and is exceptionally handsome. Mr upper crust Will is arrogant, self centered, and oh so superior. Then there is Lou Clark a working class former shop girl living in a small bungalow with her family. Her father is currently unemployed and cannot find a job. The family depends on Lou's income to make ends meet. She looses her shop job and applies as a companion aide to the now disabled (quadriplegic) Will Traynor. His mother is so charmed by Miss shop girl Lou's cheerful and quirky attitude she hires her. So there's the first problem - a working class person having to survive by being 'in service' to an upper society family. What a good little Brit she is! And of course the Traynor's feel it's their duty to provide for the lower classes so they hire Lou's father as a 'castle facility technician' - read 'grounds keeper for the castle'! Then there is the ever available Nathan who supplies the muscle to move Will from bed to chair and back, plus keep account of Will's borderline health. It's never explained how Nathan is always - on call! Can't keep the 'superiors of society' waiting!
The title "Me Before You" is also an issue with this viewer! We are never given a definition of this title. Which of the two main characters is 'Me' and which is 'You'! Think about it ... as the relationship between Will & Lou warms up the easy answer is Will as the 'Me' because of his death wish and to hell with the now close emotional bond between Will & Lou. (by-the-way if Will so wanted to die why didn't he give in to his lung infection when hospitalized? It surely would have easily killed a quadriplegic)
On the other hand it's not too difficult to take Lou as the 'Me' because she has dedicated her efforts to 'change Will' and bring him out of his self imposed reclusiveness and bitterness toward life. Lou is determined to make him change his mind on being euthanized. So there's the conflict - neither one actually respects the emotional bond & love that has developed between them. Will hates his physical existence and wants death as a release. Lou can only focus on how happy she is being with him. Both are not thinking about how the other one feels.
My other problem with this story is very simple to grasp. Will has everything a person could want and the intelligence to create a new life for himself but chooses death because he cannot live as he did before his disability. The producers of this story are implying a disabled person is less of a human due to a disability, is permanently unhappy, and not capable of contributing to society thus death is their best option! If Will was fine physically but emotionally depressed and wanted to be euthanized would the viewing public be as enthusiastic about this movie? Definitely not!
The subconscious messages in this story are shameful but go completely unnoticed because they are wrapped up and hidden in a sweet & tearful tragic love story.
The plot is so British class oriented I was gritting my teeth. We have Will Traynor an upper crust society rich boy who is able to afford any indulgence he so desires. He lives in a mansion and owns an ancestral castle. Has had top line education and was a multi-talented sportsman and is exceptionally handsome. Mr upper crust Will is arrogant, self centered, and oh so superior. Then there is Lou Clark a working class former shop girl living in a small bungalow with her family. Her father is currently unemployed and cannot find a job. The family depends on Lou's income to make ends meet. She looses her shop job and applies as a companion aide to the now disabled (quadriplegic) Will Traynor. His mother is so charmed by Miss shop girl Lou's cheerful and quirky attitude she hires her. So there's the first problem - a working class person having to survive by being 'in service' to an upper society family. What a good little Brit she is! And of course the Traynor's feel it's their duty to provide for the lower classes so they hire Lou's father as a 'castle facility technician' - read 'grounds keeper for the castle'! Then there is the ever available Nathan who supplies the muscle to move Will from bed to chair and back, plus keep account of Will's borderline health. It's never explained how Nathan is always - on call! Can't keep the 'superiors of society' waiting!
The title "Me Before You" is also an issue with this viewer! We are never given a definition of this title. Which of the two main characters is 'Me' and which is 'You'! Think about it ... as the relationship between Will & Lou warms up the easy answer is Will as the 'Me' because of his death wish and to hell with the now close emotional bond between Will & Lou. (by-the-way if Will so wanted to die why didn't he give in to his lung infection when hospitalized? It surely would have easily killed a quadriplegic)
On the other hand it's not too difficult to take Lou as the 'Me' because she has dedicated her efforts to 'change Will' and bring him out of his self imposed reclusiveness and bitterness toward life. Lou is determined to make him change his mind on being euthanized. So there's the conflict - neither one actually respects the emotional bond & love that has developed between them. Will hates his physical existence and wants death as a release. Lou can only focus on how happy she is being with him. Both are not thinking about how the other one feels.
My other problem with this story is very simple to grasp. Will has everything a person could want and the intelligence to create a new life for himself but chooses death because he cannot live as he did before his disability. The producers of this story are implying a disabled person is less of a human due to a disability, is permanently unhappy, and not capable of contributing to society thus death is their best option! If Will was fine physically but emotionally depressed and wanted to be euthanized would the viewing public be as enthusiastic about this movie? Definitely not!
The subconscious messages in this story are shameful but go completely unnoticed because they are wrapped up and hidden in a sweet & tearful tragic love story.