Me Before You: Review

Me Before You: 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.

I went to watch this movie with my friends despite knowing the not-so-good reviews, especially regarding its insensitivity towards disabilities. It is true that Will views himself as a burden, but I don't find it over-generalising the entire disabled community. I went to watch the movie because 1) fan of Emilia Clarke and 2) love the on-screen chemistry. Warning: spoilers ahead.

Watching the movie made me very, very frustrated. Will has his mind set on euthanasia, and Lou immerses herself in trying to change his mind by helping him enjoy life, even to the extent of ignoring her boyfriend. Over the course of the movie, we see how Will becomes more open with Lou, and Lou becoming more daring to try new things. And then, on the crux of the movie's plot after a super romantic vacation, we find out that Will did not change his mind, at all. He still feels that the paralysis makes him less of a man, less of himself, and he is unable to live with that. Personally, I feel that above anything else, Will is suffering from chronic depression, maybe even PTSD. And Lou's actions in the movie didn't really try to change Will's deprecating self-thoughts. He complains, she lets him. He sits out of activities, she lets him. He self-image did not change at all. He still sits in his wheelchair and does nothing, only instead of staring at a wall, he stares at a pretty girl. Lou's actions seem to want Will to find a new reason for living: her. Even if Will did not go through with euthanasia, they will still be in a super dependent relationship, which will not go so well.

I really wanted to go up and smack Will while watching the movie. Yes, he has had a bad experience, but he is in the best position possible to overcome his disabilities. He is filthy rich. Owns-a-freaking-castle filthy rich. Has-enough-money-to-make-himself-a-cyborg-suit filthy rich. State-of-the-art-prosthetics filthy rich. If he could change his cognition about being useless, then maybe, he wouldn't want to die anymore.

I would like to point out how badly Will's mother handled the situation. She looks more depressed than he is, she coddles Will, and she daily stares at the many, many framed photographs of pre-accident Will. This only serves to cement his i-am-a-lesser-man thoughts, the-accident-has-ruined-my-life thoughts. She seems to have immersed herself in the disability, rather than the person.

At the end of the movie, Lou moves on with her life, seemingly unchanged except for a much heavier bank account. It leaves an unsatisfying, unfinished after-taste. It feels as though the entire movie, the entire encounter did not change Lou so much as an old lady she meets at the bakery.

I cannot say I understand the pain of paralysis, because I've never experienced it, and I am terrified I am much too insensitive regarding this topic. But I still decided to put this up, because at the end of the day, the key to changing someone's mind is to understand the root of the thought. At the very least, get them to accept professional help.