Director Thea Sharrock
Genre Drama
Cast Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis
Rating PG-13
Release Date June 3rd, 2016
“A girl in a small town forms an unlikely bond with a recently-paralyzed man she’s taking care of.”
Me Before You is the film adaptation of the best-selling novel written by Jojo Moyes. In the week following the release of the first trailer for the film, the book went from #141 to #3 on USA Today’s best-selling book list, which isn’t bad at all. The film serves as inexperienced director Thea Sharrock’s movie directorial debut. The cast of Me Before You includes Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, Terminator Genisys), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Janet McTeer (Maleficent), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones).
Me Before You is a genuinely effective book to big screen adaptation that will surely satisfy fans of the book as well as newcomers unfamiliar with the source material. I fall into the percentage of viewers who have yet to read the book and I was very pleased with my overall experience. I felt that the crucial aspects of the film that had to work in order for the film to succeed somehow worked even better than I could have anticipated. Most notably the acting, script, and a fantastic soundtrack including songs from Imagine Dragons and X Ambassadors, that will surely sell quite a few copies.
One of my favorite takeaways from Me Before You was easily the impressive cast. Lead by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, who is absolutely outstanding in her role, even as a slightly unrecognizable brunette. She proves to be an actress with a diverse skillset able to step into each and every role that awaits her. She is incredibly cute from her bubbly personality to her strange yet oddly appealing wardrobe choices. Co-star Sam Claflin is quite impressive in his own right, managing to portray a character with very complex emotions. Overall though what anchors the film is the incredible chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, who develop a unique bond that somehow transcends the screen. I also really enjoyed Stephen Peacocke (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Hercules) in the role of Nathan who serves as the medical caretaker to Will Traynor (Sam Claflin). He is perfect in his role and to me was invaluable to the overall effectiveness of the film.
The film was met with a great deal of controversy and although the point that was trying to be made is valid, one aspect of the general displeasure towards the film was seemingly overlooked. This is work of fiction based on a novel which was also a, wait for it, work of fiction. Even if the film were to be based on true events, the actions of any of the characters involved would be solely at the discretion of those individuals and would in no way represent any group or community. Okay (deep breath), rant over. With a very strong script, high quality acting, and the undeniable success of its paperback counterpart, Me Before You is the perfect date movie and should not be missed.
