"Young and quirky Louisa "Lou" Clark (Emilia Clarke) moves from one
job
to the next to help her family make ends meet. Her cheerful
attitude is put
to the test when she becomes a caregiver for Will
Traynor (Sam Claflin),
a wealthy young banker left paralyzed from an
accident two years earlier.
Will's cynical outlook
starts to change when Louisa shows him that life is
worth living. As
their bond deepens, their lives and hearts change in ways
neither one
could have imagined."
and"Experience life, laughter, and love in the year's biggest romantic event."
These descriptors are rubbish.
A couple of friends commented and said that they had no idea what the movie was about other than a romance but after reading the article I shared, they were glad to know. And then my mom called. She asked what the movie was about as she had been planning on going to see it. And I started to cry.
No, Nope, Never. Don't. Just don't.
If you must go see this movie, go right ahead. Fair warning - don't talk to me about it and don't you dare tell me that it was inspiring or wonderful or whatever crap (and I am being polite here) comment you want to make about it. You have been warned and I have every right to let lose a whole lot of hurt on you. In fact, here is a preview!
First, there is the title. ME Before you. Emphasis added. Just let that sink in for a bit...
Did that make a connection for you about the content of this book? Do you need to think about it some more?
Second, When I was working at the library, this book was checked out a lot. Not a big fan of romance, I passed it by but then I thought that I should expand my repertoire so that I could be better at my job so I picked the popular book up and causally asked my co worker if she had read it. To which she said that if I did not put it down right now, she would smack it out of my hand and I was not to read that book. Or something to that effect. Since I didn't want to upset her, I put it away and waited till she went home to check it out. I started to read it and understood what she meant.
BECAUSE it is NOT a love story. He commits suicide! He doesn't choose to "live boldly, live well, just live". He "loves" her sooo much that he is kills himself so he won't be a "burden" to her. This is a book about suicide. About how this wealthy quadriplegic cannot see how he can have anything to offer - to Louisa, his family or the world in general.
I think that I have some strong emotions about this book and movie. Especially when compared to the Christopher Reeve book Still Me. It has been a couple of years since I read Still Me but the the title comes from a time in Christopher's life after his accident where he discussed with Dana how he was going to be a burden to her and maybe he should just die. She told him that he was still him and the person that she loved. And he realized that she loved him - not his body and he still had a lot to offer. He chose to live. Boldly and well.
I think that I have strong emotions about this book and movie because I would be lying to you if this topic of "it would be better if..." was not discussed in some form or fashion in every wheeler house. It was discussed in ours. And crushed and never brought up again.
Because a true love story is one where you get up every morning and go to work. A love story is about living because to do otherwise would crush the very ones you profess to love (And now is where you contemplate the title again).
There are some critics who say that my community has no right to get in a twist about a fictional account. The thing is, to us, it is not fiction. It is real and to have our choice to live boldly and well and to just live portrayed as the lesser choice is insulting. We live it; we know. If you don't know what it is to live this life, you do not get to "romanticize" it.
