![]() The depiction of disability in this film isn’t necessarily glamorized, but it’s also not entirely realistic. #ME BEFORE YOU NETFLIX MOVIE#There are far greater issues with this movie than the superficial ones or even with the morality of Will’s ultimate choice. We highly suggest that everyone check out fellow Hypable writer Brook Wentz’s article on the problems that the story in Me Before You presents. Will Traynor is nothing more than a privileged adventure-seeker that was in the wrong place at the wrong time and gave up all hope the moment he woke from his accident. Learning more about him before his accident, during his recovery, or even just seeing more about his struggles would have gone a long way to making him a fully-fledged character, but the film never takes the time. It seems that Will has found some sort of peace with others’ inabilities to fully understand him, but the rest of the film doesn’t highlight that growth or push it any further. He is gracious and understanding and doesn’t seem to hold any of her family’s blunders against them. ![]() The sole moment of true growth for him in the film would be when he attends Lou’s birthday dinner at her home. ![]() While Lou is busy learning more about the world and trying to find a way to convince a man she has learned is more than just his injuries, he never seems to take more than a passing interest in the woman who is trying to change his world. When Lou comes into his life and makes him laugh, you expect to see a change in him, but it’s as if those laughs never truly reach his eyes. He is a miserable human being who only seems interested in sharing his misery with those around him. From the beginning, it’s clear that Will wishes that the motorcycle that hit him had killed him instead of maiming him. While Sam Claflin did marvelously in the role, we wish there were more depth and introspection with his character. The problems with Me Before You start and stop with Will Traynor. Jill Taylor has done fantastic work in colorful projects before (including 2006’s Penelope), but we truly think she outdid herself here. Lou never loses her sense of fun and color, and even rocks some adorable tropical print dresses while in the tropics, but does so without ever feeling cartoony or over the top. ![]() The bulky sweaters that Lou dons in the first half of the film read as armor against the stern and grumpy countenance of Will Traynor. It would be easy for Emilia to get lost in all the colors and patterns that Lou sports from beginning to end in Me Before You, but the costuming always seems to heighten her performance, rather than dictate it. Me Before You manages to showcase the fantastic costuming talents of Jill Taylor in Lou’s specific sense of style. CostumesĬostuming a quirky character can quickly devolve into finding the most ridiculous outfits possible and seeing if it is at all possible to one up the last one that Hollywood churned out. There are reaction scenes and plot points that could have truly allowed the supporting cast to shine if only they’d been able to find a few more moments to highlight them. You’ll undoubtedly leave Me Before You wishing you could see more from Lou’s mother and father, Henri Charles and Samantha Spiro, her sister, Jenna Coleman, Will’s parents, Janet McTeer and Charles Dance, as well as Lou’s well meaning, but wildly oblivious boyfriend, played adorably by Matthew Lewis. From Matthew Lewis’ casting as Lou’s exercise-obsessed boyfriend to Janet McTeer’s limited role as Traynor’s desperate mother, the supporting cast helps to keep the dreariness of Will’s life from overtaking the atmosphere of the film. The supporting cast in this film is absolutely phenomenal. ![]() Instead, we see a truly lovely woman who is content to find the beauty in life, and is unconcerned with what others think of the life she lives. Emilia could easily have turned Lou into a bumbling amalgamation of every colorful, quirky character ever to grace our screens. No matter what the weather, Lou always arrives with a smile on her face and a dash of color to add to his world. This is never more evident than in the early montage of her character’s arrival to the Traynor home during the first 10 days of her employment. ![]()
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