Louisa Clark lives with her family in the United Kingdom. When she loses her job at a local café, she must quickly find a replacement to provide for her family. She is offered the job of being the carer of William Traynor. Will was once a successful businessman before becoming paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. Louisa Clark discovers that Will is considering taking his own life with an assisted suicide organisation in Switzerland. It is up to Louisa to convince Will that life is worth living.
Me Before You was originally a novel written by Jojo Moyes. It was later adapted to film by director, Thea Sharrock. It is a tear-jerking love story which touches everyone in the audience. However, it has an extremely controversial ending. I believe that it communicates a negative message to the audience by unintentionally saying that it is acceptable to end your life in certain circumstances. This is the only fault I found in the film.
Somethings I found particularly interesting were the various personalities of the characters. Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) is a cheerful and articulate character. On the other hand, Will Traynor (Sam Clafin) is a despairing and solemn character. What I found interesting about both these characters is that, as the film progresses, Louisa influences Will’s personality hugely. He is no longer unhappy and seems to be more open to having fun. All the actors were a perfect match to their characters and as a result I believe that is what made the film enjoyable and emotionally moving.
There are also various uses of cinematic techniques in this film. One of these techniques is the movement of the camera throughout the film. In many scenes, the camera follows Will from behind him. This was very effective as it gives the audience an insight of what it feels like being in a wheelchair. This makes the audience feel sympathy towards Will.
Another example of good camera movement is when Will asks Louisa to dance at the wedding. As Louisa is sitting on Will’s lap, the camera follows them around in slow circles. This helps to convey the romantic atmosphere between the two characters to the viewer.
The use of montage in the film is another cinematic technique that is used. The montage occurs early on in the film. It shows Louisa’s first few weeks caring for Will and how stubborn Will’s character is towards the beginning of the film. We witness the difficulty faced by Louisa as she tries to get to know Will better. This montage shows the skills of the editor and how he (John Wilson) succeeds in making the film run smoothly.
The colours that are used in this film are very striking and bright. This is mostly down to the costumes that are used. Louisa’s unique sense of style brings various colours to the movie. She wears bright and vibrant outfits which complement her personality perfectly. Will’s outfits are less colourful. This helps to convey his gloomy and depressive mood to the audience.
The lighting throughout the movie is very bright and comes across as very natural. This helps give the audience hope and faith in Louisa to convince Will not to end his life.
Finally, the sound effects used add to the experience of the film. Songs from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons and 1975 helps to lighten the mood of the film. As the songs used are recent and popular, they are familiar to the audience. This makes the film more authentic.