Me Before You - Movie Review

Me Before You is the kind of romantic film that looks simple at first but becomes much more complicated once you think about what it is actually asking. On the surface, it is a love story between two people who seem completely different. One is full of energy, colour, and nervous optimism; the other has become deeply frustrated with the life he has after a life-changing accident.

But for me, the most interesting part of Me Before You is not simply whether Louisa and Will fall in love. It is what happens when love meets a decision that love cannot control.

That is where this movie becomes uncomfortable.

It is easy to watch the film and think, “Love should be enough.” The story itself encourages us to hope that Louisa's presence will give Will a reason to change his mind. Yet the movie eventually asks a much harder question: Can loving someone give you the right to decide what their life should look like?

Directed by Thea Sharrock and adapted by Jojo Moyes from her bestselling novel, the 2016 film stars Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clark and Sam Claflin as Will Traynor. The film also features Janet McTeer, Charles Dance and Matthew Lewis.

What makes the movie memorable for me is that it does not give a comfortable answer to its central conflict. It gives you a romance, plenty of warmth and humour, beautiful locations and emotional moments, but underneath all of that is a difficult conversation about love, independence, disability, dignity, choice and personal freedom.

What Is Me Before You Really About?

The basic story follows Louisa Clark, a young woman from a working-class family who loses her café job and begins working as a caregiver for Will Traynor, a wealthy former adventurer who became quadriplegic after an accident.

Louisa initially sees the job as something she simply needs to do. Will, meanwhile, is distant, sarcastic and resistant to her attempts to bring some happiness into his life.

That setup could easily have become a predictable romantic formula: cheerful woman meets unhappy man, she changes him, they fall in love, and everything works out.

Me Before You is more interesting because it refuses to follow that entire formula.

Louisa does influence Will. Their relationship changes both of them. But influence is not the same thing as control. That distinction becomes increasingly important as the story progresses.

Louisa wants to show Will that his life can still contain experiences worth having. She plans activities, encourages him to leave his comfort zone and gradually becomes emotionally attached to him. What begins as employment becomes friendship, and that friendship eventually becomes love.

But Will's feelings about his future are much deeper than Louisa's ability to solve them.

And that is where I think the movie deserves more credit than a simple description of it as a “sad romance.”

My Thoughts on Louisa Clark

Louisa is the emotional heart of the movie.

Emilia Clarke plays her with an unusual combination of awkwardness, humour and sincerity. Louisa is colourful, talkative and sometimes almost too optimistic. Her clothes, expressions and nervous reactions make her stand out immediately.

But what I found more interesting is that Louisa's biggest transformation has little to do with becoming Will's romantic partner.

At the beginning, she has accepted a very limited version of her own life. She has a routine, a relationship and responsibilities toward her family. She isn't necessarily unhappy, but she isn't really asking herself what else life might offer her.

Will changes that.

Ironically, while Louisa spends much of the film trying to convince Will that he should live differently, Will ends up convincing Louisa that she should live differently too.

That reversal is one of the strongest ideas in the film.

Louisa thinks she is entering Will's life to save him from sadness. Instead, she discovers that she also needs to save herself from becoming too comfortable with a life that doesn't challenge her.

For me, that makes Louisa's character arc more meaningful than the romance itself.

Sam Claflin as Will Traynor

Sam Claflin has one of the more difficult performances in the movie because Will's character cannot simply be played as an unhappy romantic hero.

Will has lost much of the physical independence and adventurous lifestyle that previously defined him. He is angry, sarcastic and sometimes deliberately difficult. It would have been easy to make him unlikeable.

Instead, Claflin gives him enough intelligence and vulnerability to make us understand why Louisa becomes attached to him.

The strongest part of his performance is often found in the quieter moments. Will doesn't always need a long speech to communicate what he is feeling. His expressions and restrained reactions allow the audience to see the frustration underneath his sarcasm.

At the same time, I don't think the film completely escapes the danger of presenting Will's disability primarily through suffering. That is one of the movie's biggest weaknesses, and it becomes especially important when discussing its ending.

The Chemistry Between Louisa and Will

The relationship works because Louisa and Will don't simply fall in love immediately.

There is irritation first.

There is curiosity.

There is resistance.

Then there is friendship.

Only after that does the romance begin to feel believable.

Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin have a natural contrast that helps the relationship. Louisa brings movement and colour into Will's world, while Will forces Louisa to think beyond the boundaries she has created for herself.

What I liked most is that their relationship isn't based only on physical attraction. They gradually become important to each other because they make each other see life differently.

That is much more interesting than simply watching two attractive actors fall in love.

The Movie's Most Difficult Question: What Makes Life Worth Living?

This is where Me Before You becomes much more complicated.

The movie asks whether a person should be allowed to make an extremely personal decision about their own life, even when the people who love them desperately want them to choose differently.

Louisa believes that Will can find happiness again. His family hopes he will reconsider. The audience is naturally encouraged to hope for the same thing.

But Will's position does not disappear simply because someone loves him.

I think this is the part of the movie that deserves serious discussion rather than a simple emotional reaction.

Love can change someone without necessarily changing their decision.

That is painful, but it is also one of the reasons the story stays in the mind after the credits.

At the same time, I don't think the film handles disability perfectly. The story has been criticised for presenting disabled life through a heavily tragic lens and for connecting Will's disability so closely with his desire to die. Those criticisms are important and shouldn't be ignored. Disability-rights advocates strongly objected to the film's message, while the filmmakers argued that the story was intended to engage with complicated questions of autonomy and choice.

For me, this doesn't make the movie worthless. It makes it a movie that needs to be watched critically.

There is a difference between saying, “This character feels that his life is no longer the life he wants,” and saying, “A disabled life is not worth living.” The film sometimes comes dangerously close to allowing those ideas to overlap.

That is the uncomfortable conversation Me Before You leaves behind.

Is Me Before You Really a Love Story?

Yes, but I don't think romance is the entire point.

If I had to describe the film in one sentence, I would say it is a story about two people who change each other's understanding of life.

Louisa changes Will's everyday world. She gives him moments of laughter, companionship and affection. But Will changes Louisa's understanding of what her own life could become.

That is why the title becomes more meaningful as the story develops.

There is a “before” and “after” for both characters.

Louisa's life after meeting Will is not simply defined by losing him. It is also defined by what she learned from knowing him.

That idea stayed with me more than the romance.

The Emotional Impact: Does the Movie Manipulate You?

There is no point pretending that Me Before You is not designed to make its audience emotional.

It absolutely is.

The music, performances, beautiful locations and carefully timed emotional scenes all work together to create a strong response. Some critics have considered this approach overly calculated or sentimental.

I can understand that criticism.

There are moments when the movie pushes the emotion so clearly that I became aware of the filmmaking instead of simply experiencing the scene.

But I also think the performances rescue many of those moments.

Emilia Clarke gives the film its warmth, while Sam Claflin gives it emotional weight. Without that chemistry, the movie could have become an ordinary tearjerker.

Instead, even when the film becomes sentimental, there is usually enough genuine connection between the characters to keep it watchable.

The Direction and Visual Style

Thea Sharrock gives the film a polished and attractive visual identity.

The English countryside, historic buildings and colourful environments create an almost storybook atmosphere. This works particularly well against the heavier subjects being discussed.

Louisa herself is visually distinctive. Her colourful clothes reflect her personality and make her feel like someone who carries her own small world around with her.

The contrast between Louisa's energetic personality and Will's restrained existence is also reflected visually.

The film doesn't feel dark all the time. It allows humour and beauty to exist alongside sadness, which is important because the characters themselves are not living in a constant state of tragedy.

The soundtrack also plays an important role in shaping the emotional atmosphere. The music helps the romantic moments feel larger.

Read more The Notebook

What I Think the Movie Gets Right

First, it understands that relationships can change people.

Louisa doesn't remain the same person she was at the beginning, and neither does Will.

Second, the chemistry is convincing.

The relationship between the leads is the main reason the emotional moments work. Even critics who disliked aspects of the film have acknowledged the appeal of Clarke and Claflin together.

Third, it doesn't give the audience the easy romantic ending they may expect.

That choice makes the story much more memorable.

Fourth, it encourages us to think about personal freedom.

Even if someone disagrees with Will's decision, the film forces us to confront the uncomfortable reality that love does not automatically give us ownership over another person's choices.

Where I Think Me Before You Falls Short

The biggest weakness is the film's treatment of disability.

The story is so focused on Will's suffering and his previous adventurous identity that it doesn't spend enough time showing the possibility of a meaningful disabled life beyond the romantic storyline.

That makes the message complicated.

The movie wants to talk about personal autonomy, but some viewers can reasonably feel that it unintentionally suggests that life with severe disability is inherently less valuable.

That is a serious limitation, especially because the film has such a large emotional influence over its audience.

Another weakness is that some supporting characters are not explored deeply enough. The movie is primarily interested in Louisa and Will, so many of the people around them function mainly to support their story.

There are also moments when the film becomes overly polished and sentimental. The beautiful locations and carefully selected music sometimes make the story feel more like an emotional fantasy than an ordinary human situation.

For some viewers, that will be part of its charm. For others, it will feel manipulative.

What Me Before You Made Me Think About

This is probably the most important part of my review.

I don't think the biggest takeaway from Me Before You is simply “live life to the fullest.” That phrase is too easy and too general.

What I took from the movie is something more complicated:

We can love someone deeply and still not be able to give them the life we want them to have.

That is a painful lesson.

Louisa spends much of the story believing that if she can create enough happy memories, Will will choose a different future. But eventually she has to confront something that love cannot solve.

And perhaps that is why her transformation matters so much.

Will doesn't simply leave Louisa with sadness. He leaves her with a challenge: don't make your world smaller than it needs to be.

That part of the story works for me.

At the same time, I would not treat the movie's message about disability as a universal truth. It is one character's deeply personal experience presented through a particular fictional framework, and the film's portrayal has legitimate limitations.

Why I Would Recommend Me Before You

I would recommend Me Before You to viewers who enjoy romantic dramas that don't end exactly where they expect.

If you are looking only for a light romantic movie, this may be heavier than you expect.

If you enjoy movies that leave you thinking after the ending, however, there is plenty here to discuss.

I especially recommend it to viewers who like character-driven stories where the relationship itself is only one part of the experience.

But I would recommend watching it with an open yet critical mind. Enjoy the romance, appreciate the performances, but also think about the film's representation of disability and the assumptions behind its central conflict.

Final Verdict

Me Before You is not a perfect movie, but it is a memorable one.

Its greatest strength is the relationship between Louisa and Will. Emilia Clarke brings warmth and vulnerability to Louisa, while Sam Claflin gives Will enough complexity to prevent him from becoming merely a tragic romantic character.

The movie also succeeds because it refuses to make love a magical solution to every problem.

But its portrayal of disability is where I remain most conflicted. The film raises important questions about autonomy, dignity and personal choice, yet it also frames disability heavily through loss and suffering. That contradiction is impossible to ignore.

For me, the most meaningful part of Me Before You is therefore not simply the love story or even the sadness of its conclusion.

It is Louisa's transformation.

She begins the story believing that she knows the limits of her life. By the end, she understands that she has been living inside those limits without questioning them.

And that is the thought I carried away from the movie:

Sometimes another person doesn't change your life by staying in it forever. Sometimes they change it by making you see possibilities that you had stopped looking for.

That idea is what makes Me Before You more than just another romantic tearjerker for me.

My Rating: 4/5

My Recommendation: Worth watching if you enjoy emotional romantic dramas, but watch it as a conversation about love, choice and personal freedom—not simply as a story about finding love.