I'm generally not a "romantic" movie person. I tend to like thrillers, horror, adventure: things that get my blood pumping. One other thing I do love, however, is good books.
"Me Before You," a fiction book by JoJo Meyers, has been critically acclaimed since its initial release in 2012. Ranked by GoodReads as having 4.3 stars, this book seems like it should be a must read. The plot follows lower-middle class Louisa Clark, who is rather lost on her path and seems to be stuck in her simple, unexciting life. She nonchalantly takes a job as a caretaker for wheelchair-bound, sarcastic ex-CEO Will Traynor, not knowing how much her life will be changed by their friendship. Although this may seem like a classic girl-meets-boy story, it isn't. This read will make your heart soar and hurt in an unfamiliar way. This book is heartbreaking and surprising in ways that a typical romance novel is not.
Now, Warner Brothers is releasing the film version, set to be in theaters in June of this summer. A few trailers have been released for the film, and you can find them below:
My first impression from these trailers is that the writers stuck staunchly to the text of the book. A mistake that is made all too often with filmmaking is that a book that is so incredibly renowned and enjoyed for its style is changed too much, and the movie misses out on the complexities of characters or on the tone of the book. It seems, from this small peek that Warner Brothers has given viewers, that the writers took literal imagery and lines out of the book and adapted them to the screen.
There are so many clever, heartbreaking, and beautiful lines in the book, and putting that directly into the movie will make fans extremely satisfied with the film version. My personal favorite is the direct quote out of the book in the wedding scene, where Will says "Sometimes, Clark, you're pretty much the only thing that makes me want to get up in the morning." This is such a moment of emotion and importance in the book, that I am so glad to see it in the film, especially done so well by Sam Claflin.
The casting for the film version is also perfect, and the onscreen chemistry between Emilia and Sam is almost palpable. Without giving any spoilers, the dynamic between the two characters, in both the book and the movie, is essential for the realism of the plot. Both characters have such distinctive personalities, that I am sure fans will feel proud to see the filmmakers capture their story with the right actors. I hope that director Thea Sharrock does this incredible love story justice.
Tears. Tears everywhere. Catch what looks to be an incredible adaptation of JoJo Meyer's "Me Before You" in theaters on June 3, 2016.
