Me Before You

Year: 2016
Genre: Romantic Drama
Directed: Thea Sharrock
Stars: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Vanessa Kirby, Samantha Spiro, Brendan Coyle, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Stephen Peacocke, Ben Lloyd-Hughes
Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Is it just me, or are we all sick of the rich, handsome guy always wooing the girl with his wily charms, his full head of hair and an allowance that exceeds most people's rent? Granted in the case of Me Before You, the man in question is Will Traynor (Claflin), a quadriplegic with a death wish. If the movie was in the hands of people who actually knew a thing or two beyond weepy romantic tropes and clichés, they could have come up with something worthwhile. Unfortunately makers of this film seem to think that simply replacing Hugh Grant with a younger faster model and reciting the hackneyed romantic dramedy formula for the umpteenth time, makes for a unique experience; umm...nope.

The film takes place in a quaint little country town in England and concerns the life Louisa Clark (Clarke). She's a bit of a flake but amiable enough to follow around for two hours, thus when she's left unemployed we feel her exhilaration when she manages to stumble into a job as a professional caretaker. She then meets Will, the local blue-blood who after a tragic accident is in no mood for friends and family, let alone a person who's pretty much hired to be his friend. Oh yeah, Will also has a nurse (Peacocke) thus guaranteeing that the messy realities of having to take care of a severely handicapped person is left off screen. After the first half-hour to forty-five minutes the pair grow acquainted all while the audience sits patiently, waiting for the actual plot to kick in.

Who needs goals when you're in Gryffindor

When it finally does kick in, the story devolves from being harmlessly, predictably enjoyable to being a contrived travelogue/bucket list that feels less tethered to the story than an attempt by director Thea Sharrock to visit exotic locales. The message of the film: "live boldly" and "follow your dreams" are laudable ideas, thus the film repeats them either visually or comes right out and says them again and again just in case you missed them. Personally I found such lofty ambitions a little hard to swallow coming from a man who inherited a private jet. Meanwhile the personification of those same ideas; the obligatory rival played by Matthew Lewis is the dimwitted pack animal to the story's muleskinner.

For their efforts both Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke do a good job filling their roles as Lovebird #1 and Lovebird #2. Clarke especially has a certain way about her that can emit pure giddiness without trying too hard. Too bad her character is stripped for parts by the story and deprived of her very agency and character growth by virtue of an expense account. If anything, Me Before You is confirmation that the young ingénue can have a successful career beyond Game of Thrones (2011-Present).

For the sake of filling seats Claflin does well based solely on the power of his chiseled cleft chin and naturally toned physique. He's the dreamboat genre fans have been clamoring for ever since Dylan McDermott and Patrick Dempsey became too old to play leading men. But lest you think his casting decision is a shallow attempt to placate fans while undercutting the character's handicap, he does sport a beard and a nasty flop sweat on more than one occasion to insure he doesn't always look like Superman.

Okay, bad comparison...

No matter how you slice it, Me Before You is a predictable and boring film that wears its cutesiness like a badge of honor in the hopes that no one notices our leading lady doesn't evolve and our leading man doesn't know how good he's got it. It adheres to an old formula with little regard for changing tastes and it's one attempt at uniqueness is treated more like a plot device than a genuine attempt at characterization. If that's what you're looking for in a movie, take a stab at Me Before You. Frankly I think it should have been titled Me Bore You.

Final Grade: D-