One of the most awaited movies of the summer, at least for the majority of the female population, is "Me Before You." Staring the ever lovely Emilia Clarke and the handsome Sam Claflin, the movies cast is a wonderful mixture of people that make the movie one of the best romantic movies I have ever seen. I started my emotional roller coaster Saturday evening, taking with me two of my best friends. Even though I had previously read the book and knew the plot line, I still was not prepared for the next two hours.
***SPOILER ALERT***
ONLY READ ON IF YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK/MOVIE
Despite the absence of the more traditional happy ending of a romantic drama movie, I would not have wanted it to end any other way. One of the most difficult part of the movie was the conflicting feelings over the relationship between Louisa and Will. On one hand you hated Will for leaving Louisa; yet, on the other hand, you totally understood were Will was coming from in making his decision. I can not imagine having an adventurous life and then in one freak accident, having that all taken away. It made me appreciate the life I have and reminded me to live for every moment, good, bad and ugly.
While labeled as romance, there is so much more to be taken away from this movie. One of the things that I kept thinking about throughout the movie, is how people come into your life for a reason. While it may be a cliche thing, I truly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. In Me Before You, Will comes into Lou's life because she has fallen into a boring routine instead of striving to achieve her dreams. I absolutely love the line when Will tells Lou that "you only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible."
In a short six months, Will has entered and exited Louisa's life; however, he has changed her forever. It was a great reminder that life is not a guaranteed thing. It is a gift given to us and it is up to us to make the most of it. We sometimes fall into the trap of settling for what is easiest or making excuses for not attempting to reach for one's dream. And sometimes, people are put into our lives to teach us and remind us of why life is worth living. People may come and go, but the lessons that they teach us are some of the most important things we will ever learn.
Of course the book goes much more in depth of how much Lou's life changes once she meets Will Traynor. (I highly, highly suggest that you go read the book, its absolutely amazing!!!) But the big take away from the movie, aside from finding love, is to go out and live your life in the best way you can.
