Review: Me Before You

Me Before You is essentially a remake of Pretty Woman, except the man of privilege is not only emotionally but physically disabled and the hooker with the heart of gold is a caregiver who's outfitted like a deranged five-year-old, which seems entirely appropriate since too often she displays the behaviour of one.

One's enjoyment of this film will be determined by one's tolerance of Emilia Clarke's performance, which is such that the jury is still out if she can truly act or not. Game of Thrones fans may cry foul, but Clarke has yet to prove if she can do more than what she is required and if she brings something to the table other than what the director has already established. There's no denying that she's a charming presence and Me Before You showcases a goofiness that's only been in evidence on various television appearances and on her Instagram page. But this is a goofiness that can set your teeth on edge and foster homicidal tendencies.

Clarke is Louisa, a young woman is destined for bigger things than living with her family in their cramped house and seeing a training-obsessed boyfriend (Matthew Lewis) who is so obviously wrong for her. Recently laid off, she somehow lands a job as a caregiver to the quadriplegic Will (Sam Claflin), who's been paralysed since an accident curtailed his perfect life as an all-around golden boy with the equally golden girlfriend, a promising career, and an adventurous lifestyle. Louisa bubbles into his life with her crazy get-ups, corny humour, and unrelenting enthusiasm and it's not too long before this miserable and pompous man thaws. Soon he's encouraging her to broaden her horizons and she's rousing him to stop sulking in his walled castle (literally and figuratively) and start living life again. Can she convince Will not to end his life at an assisted suicide facility in Switzerland?

The problem with Me Before You isn't that Will is the fairy godmother figure to Louisa's Cinderella or the Beast to her Beauty or the Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle or even that the film doesn't delve too deeply into the quality of life debate. This film runs for nearly two hours, and nearly all of it feels like filler. Jojo Moyes adapted her own best-selling novel and somehow manages to cut off the few thorns it had, expunge all back stories and family dynamics, and leech the narrative of any sense of continuity or momentum. One would be well forgiven for thinking a series of blackouts occurred during the viewing of this film since plot points somehow get from A to Z in a single leap. Director Thea Sharrock doesn't seem to mind, she's more concerned with blanketing the film in blandness with her by-the-numbers direction.

A few escape the filmmakers' bungles. Charles Dance and Janet McTeer as Will's parents convey reams of back story with a few glances and gestures. Joanna Lumley enlivens the film in an all-too-brief cameo. Claflin's subtle playing allows some insight into Will's suffering and longing for his former life.

Me Before You

Directed by: Thea Sharrock

Written by: Jojo Moyes; adapted from her own novel

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Brendan Coyle, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Stephen Peacocke, Joanna Lumley