In this adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ bestselling book club favorite, Sam Claflin’s Will Traynor spends about a third of the movie trying desperately to resist a bubbly, chatty Emilia Clarke. Despite my best efforts, I confess to being won over far earlier by “Me Before You,” largely due to its leads. There may have even been giggling. This isn’t the type of movie you’ll be proud to tell your film snob friends you saw (much less liked), but it’s successful in its aims and will ably bring the book’s readers and romance fans both joy and tears.
We’re introduced to Will Traynor in what almost seems like a dream sequence. He’s lazing about in a cloudlike bed against pristine white walls with a blond beauty, offering to make her dinner that evening. Between his dimples and the cooking skills, you may hear audible sighs from the audience. So when “Me Before You” wastes no time in showing him in life-changing accident just two minutes into the movie, you may catch someone shouting, “Already?!” in a mix of surprise and dismay (this actually happened at my screening). The introduction of Louisa “Lou” Clark (Clarke) isn’t quite as dramatic: she’s seen charming older patrons of the cafe where she’s a waitress, displaying compassion and an ease with making people happy. Unfortunately, her boss permanently (and literally) switches the sign from “Open” to “Closed,” and his sad eyes and proffered severance envelope show that she will have to take her skills elsewhere.
Her quiet English town has few jobs available and she is desperate for money to support her family, so Lou jumps at the chance to become a caregiver for now-quadriplegic Will, who lives in a castle overlooking the town. At first, he’s standoffish and sarcastic, challenging Lou’s sunny outlook on life and snarking about her colorful, mixed-print outfits. But slowly (inevitably), Lou and Will change each others lives as she brings him happiness he hasn’t felt in years and he gives her experiences she’d never imagined in her quiet life.
Though it attempts to wrestle with questions larger than the standard weepie as it grapples with Will’s physical and mental well-being, “Me Before You” never ventures out of the shallow end of the pool. Luckily for the film, Clarke and Claflin have chemistry, but we don’t get to dwell as much in their romance as viewers might like. From what we do see, their interactions are characterized more by gentle warmth than a fiery heat, but affection is evident when they share scenes. Beyond that chemistry, the audience is expected to simply believe in their love and its power, with less of it shown on screen. Motivations of both characters aren’t clearly communicated, and it’s less a case of allowing the audience to make inferences and more that they’re required to make Olympic-size leaps of logic.
Lou herself is similarly thinly drawn, with little effort from the script to show that she’s a quirky person. Instead, it largely relies on the fun costume design by Jill Taylor and Clarke’s buoyant performance to show that she’s a resilient oddball. Lou is such a departure from Clarke’s performance as the regal Daenerys on “Game of Thrones” that it’s a thrill for viewers to see her loose and having so much fun. There’s a lightness here that I haven’t seen from her before, other than in a delightful internet video. She gets a few brief scenes to interact with her family members (Samantha Spiro, Brendan Coyle, and a particularly well-cast Jenna Coleman), whom I could’ve seen more of. The script also seems to forget about her longtime boyfriend Matthew Lewis, fully shedding any association with Neville Longbottom) even more quickly than she does.
Prior to “Me Before You,” Claflin is best known for his supporting work in “The Hunger Games” series, but this is the type of role that should elevate his standing in Hollywood. Even when Will is attempting to scare Lou away, he’s magnetic, drawing you and her in. But when he begins to fall for her, his well-earned grin elevates his appeal while he demonstrates that he’s more than just a handsome face. (But what a face.)
Moyes adapted her own novel, and packing 500 pages of character development and plot into a movie that’s short of 120 minutes is a challenge. But trying to recall exactly where time was spent instead of on those elements draws a blank. There’s fun dialogue between the leads that adds some insight, but their relationship – and by extension, the film – never feels fully fleshed out.
To its credit, “Me Before You” doesn’t always grab for the obvious heartstrings, balancing its serious subject matter with humor from Will’s sarcasm and Lou’s chronic foot-in-mouth disease. This leads to some issues in tone, when it veers from bright and cheery to downbeat to bittersweet. It largely refrains from Nicholas Sparks-style schmaltz, though it can’t resist deploying a falling leaf as metaphor in its cheesiest sequence. It does feature a few surprises in the directions it takes, and not in the WTF manner that Sparks films often do (I’m looking at you, “Safe Haven” and “The Best of Me”). This is the first feature for theater and TV director Thea Sharrock, and though she and editor John Wilson make some odd choices, they’re rarely ones that will upset the movie’s key demo. However, the rhythm of the cutting in a few shot-reverse shot scenes of emotional conversations actually disconnects you from the characters’ feelings, rather than bringing you deeper into the moment.
Fans of Moyes’ book and similar films will likely feel satisfied with what they get here: a few swoons, plenty of laughs and enough tears to fill that saltwater pool they’ve dug in their backyard. They will also hear Ed Sheeran, not once, but twice. Though there’s less guilt and more pleasure than you’d find with a Sparks adaptation, it’s likely not enough to sway the cynics in the theater. [B-]