Me before you! Don't exist, Live

TITLE: Me before you RELEASE: 2016 (adaptation of a 2012 novel of the same name) DIRECTOR: Thea Sharrock CINEMATOGRAPHY: Remi Adifarasin MUSIC: Craig Armstrong EDITOR: John Wilson SCREENPLAY: Jojo Moyes PRODUCTION: Karen Rosenfelt & Alison Owen

Set in the backdrop of a quaint old English town, the movie tells a story of a cheery, lovely young woman, Louisa Clark fondly called as ‘Lou’, who loses her job at a local cafe and is forced to take up a job as care taker for a rich, paralyzed and an impassive young man Will Traynor, fondly called as ‘Will’, after having an injury in his spinal cord two years ago.

Though Will used to be a very passionate and energetic young man this accident has turned him into a more distant and aloof guy who couldn’t care less about life. On the other hand Lou is someone who everyone loves to be around with and can light up any atmosphere. Will is rich, successful and a very adventurous person (at least was) whereas Lou’s life, hobbies and likes are very simple and comprises of a very small circle. Will’s mother believes her cheery attitude might change Will’s perspective of life and give him the ‘will’ to live again despite of her inexperience with such works. They don’t seem to start of on a very good note but how the two bond and does Lou succeed in changing Will’s attitude towards life and revert his decision of choosing euthanasia over life.

Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clarke is all love and she is outstanding in the portrayal. She effortlessly charms everyone with her smile and not just Will Traynor. After a rocky start with Will the way she tries to make an effort and getting fed up in the process and bursting out and the bond they form later is so beautifully shown. Her innocence of calling pesto sauce green gravy, and the genuine sacrifices of her dreams for the sake of her family, her awkward moments with Will when she first decides to take him out first and the indignation she shows towards Alicia and Rupert who are Will ex-girlfriend and ex-bestfriend respectively. And when she cutely says “don’t move i don’t know what to do if one of the tyre pops”. The relationship she shares with her sister. Her eccentric fashion sense and when she looked gorgeous in that red dress for the mozart show our hearts skip a beat. The way only she could have loved and worn simple bumblebee pants with yellow and black stripes and with so much love and the happiness and her gratitude in her eyes was immeasurable. When she boldly makes a move in her love-life with self-loving Patrick. Her dance at the Mauritius beach under the canopy of moon and stars is just beautiful, and the mad little wheel chair dance they both share in the wedding. And feeling hurtful and moving away when she learns that she has been unsuccessful in her goal but rushing back to live the final moments of Will with him. And at the end Flaunting her bumblebee pants and marching on her mission, finally learning to put her needs before hers, she is exceptional.

Sam Claflin is so good looking and handsome, does complete justice to his role and emotes really well. His constant inferiority and cold attitude towards everyone and when he finally starts making an effort and admits his feeling for Lou which blossomed the very first time he saw her with that big wide smile and her unconventional fashion sense. Losing his beard for her, watching a french movie with subtitles with her. He is rich and he could have bought anything but when he gifted her the bumblebee pants just because she likes it it show how much he understands her and teasing Patrick with the bubble bath. The amount of disappointment he shows for his condition after the life he has lived and pointing out the life Lou has been living is more boring and encouraging her to widen her horizons. And when he refuses to leave the car so soon after the mozart show and when he buys is ex and bestfriend a mirror for their wedding and when he says Lou that he is indeed is going to go with his decision and hruting her feels but for her own good. Teaching and helping her to live a life on her own and to put her needs before her he indeed puts her needs before his. And his letter for Lou at the end.

Among the side characters, Katrina Clark and Nathan make a strong impression. The whole movie is picturesque and all credits to the cinematographer, it is so good to the eye that you truly do get mesmerized and fall in love with the beauty of the town. The music on the other hand is soothing and doesn’t overdo in any instance. The chemistry between the lead pair is alluring.

The climax is the most delicate and precarious as it might send out some negative signals. He gave his everything in his first 6 months of recovery to recover from his condition but after 6 months of hard work when he learns that all he could do was move his finger he was dejected and gave up, but the point is that he didn’t choose death because he thought he was a burden but because he felt that the life in him already died. It doesn’t mean that this should be the end for everyone with disability. He felt he was dying everyday and death would liberate him. he felt that death need not always be a negative thing he embraced it with all positivity. As he didn’t have the heart to settle with the life he has been given and he wanted to live and not exist which is what he writes in his letter to Lou.