ME BEFORE YOU Review — A Whole Lot of Crying Going On
ME BEFORE YOU Review
by Lisa Johnson Mandell
If you liked Jo Jo Moyes’ novel Me Before You (which I did) and if you’re semi-obsessed with Emilia Clarke’s Daenarys Targaryan in Game of Thrones (which I am), you are SO going to love this movie! Sure, it’s as treacly sweet and sunshine saturated as the weepiest Nicholas Sparks film. But the crazy couture and elastic eyebrows of Dany, I mean, Clarke, are so much fun to watch you can’t help but have a great time.
A film adaptation of a much loved book always comes with great expectations, and Shakespearean director Thea Sharrock did not let us down. This is an excellent maiden effort. Everything, from the Buttered Bun cafe to the rigid Camilla Trainer (Janet McTeer) was just as most of us pictured them. We even get to see Downton Abbey‘s Mr. Bates, er, I mean Brendan Coyle, as Louisa’s dad, and don’t let me forget Finnick from The Hunger Games (Sam Claflin) starring as Will Traynor. I’m telling you, it doesn’t get any better for those of us Anglophiles who love romance and fantasy.
For those of you who haven’t read the book, the plot involves a ditzy but charming girl (Clarke) who revels in the moment, but pays for the privilege by being oblivious to the future and the wide world around her. Everything changes, however, when she is hired to look after a young, handsome quadriplegic (Claflin) with a six-month secret.
Author Jo Jo Moyes wrote the screenplay, and is to be commended for leaving out a few of the awkward and unsavory subplots in the book. If only she’d taken the same care and discernment with her book’s sequel, After You. Since there will doubtless be a sequel to the film Me Before You, perhaps the second book’s wrongs will be righted in the screenplay. But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, stow a packet of tissues in your purse or pocket and prepare yourself for a good, old fashioned cry.
1 Hour 50 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.
https://youtu.be/N_5SFkDvTKg
ME BEFORE YOU Review — A Whole Lot of Crying Going On
by Lisa Johnson Mandell
