‘Me Before You’: a bad romance for Emilia Clarke

By Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

In many cases there’s no sound defense for works of fiction that make millions weep. If there were, “The Bridges of Madison County” and “Miss Saigon” would be, in some way, defensible.

This brings us to “Me Before You,” written by ex-journalist Jojo Moyes.

Moyes came to her 2012 romance between a wealthy, dashing quadriplegic and his maniacally upbeat caregiver with a confident, reasonably witty prose style. In England, especially, the book turned into a monster of lucrative pathos.

Now we have the film version, adapted and streamlined by Moyes and directed by stage veteran Thea Sharrock. It stars Emilia Clarke as Louisa “Lou” Clark, provincial English country girl hired on a six-month contract by the richest family in town to care for the recently paralyzed Will Traynor, played by Sam Claflin.

When Lou learns of Will’s plans to end it all, she doubles down to make him realize his life is not over simply because it’s not what it was. Meantime, sheltered, blinkered Lou learns so much from Will: how to enjoy a foreign-language film, for example.

Because Traynor has decided, at story’s outset, to commit suicide at the end of his six-month trial, the narrative’s perceived by many to be a snuff romance novel. It is at that, I suppose.

More critically to the movie’s overall resistibility: There’s a thin, crucial line in stories such as these, and with protagonists such as Lou, between life-affirming positivity and sociopathic exuberance.

Clarke is seriously delightful on talk shows. On “Game of Thrones,” she has become a phenom as Daenerys Targaryen, Khaleesi of the Dothraki, Mother of Dragons. The prospect of playing someone like Lou must have been mighty appealing to Clarke. She’s more than actress enough to handle a role requiring both comic and dramatic chops.

So what happened? In “Me Before You,” Clarke’s Lou zooms straight past adorable into the land of needy and pushy and enough already.

Even if you question what “Me Before You” says about life as a quadriplegic (i.e., it’s no life at all), the movie could have made its argument more persuasively.

Clarke has loads of talent, but in “Me Before You” she’s undermined by director Sharrock’s technique and an endless slew of overeager reaction shots (She’s clumsy! She’s twinkling!).