Me Before You (2016)

Elevator Pitch: Louisa Clark, a slightly off the wall young woman, gets the job of being a sort of companion to a quadriplegic young man from a very rich family who is in the state because of  being run down by a motor cycle. They gradually develop feelings for each other, but this makes him even more determined to end his life, since he does not want to saddle her with his continued impairment for which there will be no cure. She on the other hand makes very effort to demonstrate to him that life is worth living. How will it end?

Content: No sex or nudity and just a bit of drinking. Lou is sacked from the café in which she has been working and gets the job being companion to Will, whose accident we see. The small Clark house is full of people, the enormous house inhabited by Will is almost empty. They, Lou and Will, then spend a lot of time in different places, including the castle owned by Will’s family. Will is sometimes ill and in bed. Lou is distressed. Then she develops a bucket list, which they fulfil, including a holiday in Mauritius which they get to by private jet.

A View: The film was subject  mixed reviews from the critics and some criticism from the general public for the negative view of quadriplegics is promotes.  Emilia Clarke is prompted to overdo her “kookiness”, but becomes a bit less manic towards the end. The book was very popular, and turned Jojo Moyes from an also ran into a best seller, and so the film made a fortune. It is probable that if you decide to watch this you know what you are getting. I had an idea but thought that they might have made a better job of it. I can’t honestly recommend it even for nothing. I watched it so you don’t have to.

Additional Info: The castle, supposedly somewhere in England, is actually Pembroke Castle in Wales, one of those capable of being resupplied by sea, and so able to withstand sieges by the pesky Welsh.