ME BEFORE YOU Trailer
Ah, the tantalizing ‘what the hell is this going to be?’ question. A passing glance at the trailer for Me Before You will cause many to dismiss it as romantic fluff, a rip-off of the Nicholas Sparks concoction of tragedy and smoldering love. The casting bugged me, though, and a deeper look revealed some strong roots.
The book on which the film is based (same name) garnered positive reviews from institutions like The New York Times upon its release. With a former journalist as the author, many praised it for taking seriously the mindset of someone with a permanent physical injury. That’s not to say that this isn’t an unabashed weeper (everyone is in agreement there), but the consensus seemed to be that the book fell on the smarter end of the tear-jerk genre.
The film retains the novelist as the screenwriter, which means that whatever underlying smarts or heart drew praise for the book should be retained in the film version. However overt its emotional manipulations are, moviegoers have proved time and again willing to forgive this offense if the movie around it delivers (I’m looking at you John Wick fans). So let’s not write this film off just yet. Besides, where else are you going to see Mr. Bates convince Daenerys to save Finnick?
Me Before You is directed by Thea Sharrock and stars Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. It will be released in the U.S. and the U.K. on June 3rd, 2016. International release dates can be found here.
Do you get psyched for a good weeper? Let us know in the comments!
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