by Katerina Kountakis, section editor
CONTAINS SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Romance books have been around since the dawn of time, and many of those books become movies, because reading about two people falling hopelessly in love with each other is not good enough. But I think everyone can agree on one fact about romance movies; the ‘Nicholas Sparks Theme’ is the WORST. And if you don’t know what I mean, then you have been blessed with never bawling your eyes out over a fictional couple whose lives end in tragedy. The film “Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes falls victim to that list.
“Me Before You” is centered around a woman named Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) who gets a job taking care of a paralyzed man named Will Traynor (Sam Claflin). They grow a deep bond over the time Louisa looks after him, and they eventually fall in love. However, Will is in a huge amount of physical pain and doesn’t think he can take it anymore. Before he met Louisa, Will made an agreement with his parents that he will give them two years until he will fly to Switzerland to die peacefully. Louisa learns of this and believes she can change his mind. The audience immediately believes this too, because of course he’ll change his mind! He finally met someone who loves him, no matter the condition! And yet again, we fall victim to the hope that things will work out, but they don’t.
The movie ended with me crying until I couldn’t see anymore–not because he follows through with his plan, but because of the reason behind it. When Will explains to Louisa why he wants to do the plan, it shattered me deeply. The physical amount of pain for Will to be in and the guilt he carries knowing that he puts his loved ones through pain everyday because of his condition suffocated him so much that his life wasn’t priority anymore.
But the movie raises questions like when is okay to let someone die when you know they are going to die later on? Is letting Will kill himself an evil thing even though he’s in unbearable pain? My sister and I even got my father into this conversion because these are hard questions to answer. Sometimes the only choices are between two evils, and you just have to pick the option with the consequences you can live with. That’s why this movie hurts your heart in a way you hope you never have to truly experience.
I must say, I did read the book before I saw the movie, and though the book is better, the movie was just unmistakably beautiful. While the book does give a better description of what Will went through, the movie brings color and light to the characters. Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke did a fantastic job bringing their characters to life. From the bright, colorful shirts to the bumblebee-striped tights, “Me Before You” reminds people that strength and love are sometimes on opposite sides, and that life brings people into your life for a reason that you’ll never expect.
