Me Before You (film)

Me Before You

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Thea Sharrock
Produced by
Screenplay by Jojo Moyes
Based on Me Before You
by Jojo Moyes
Starring
Music by Craig Armstrong
Cinematography Remi Adefarasin
Edited by John Wilson
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • May 23, 2016 (2016-05-23) (New York City)
  • June 3, 2016 (2016-06-03) (United States)
Running time
 110 minutes[1]
Country
  • United Kingdom[2]
  • United States[2]
Language English
Budget $20 million[3]
Box office $207.4 million[4]

Me Before You is a 2016 American-British[2] romantic comedy drama film[5] directed by Thea Sharrock and adapted by Jojo Moyes from her 2012 novel of the same name. The film stars Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Jenna Coleman, Charles Dance, Matthew Lewis, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Janet McTeer. The film was released on June 3, 2016 in the United States, received mixed reviews and grossed $207 million worldwide.[4][6]

Plot

Louisa Clark is an outgoing woman in her mid-20's who is compelled to find a new job after being laid off from a café she had worked at for six years. With some help, she finds work as a caregiver for Will Traynor, a cynical former banker who becomes completely paralyzed by a motorcycle accident two years prior. At first, he reacts coldly to her spunkiness, and he treats her with contempt. Soon enough, however, the two begin to bond and they eventually become close friends and develop feelings for each other, even though Louisa has an unthoughtful, marathon-running boyfriend named Patrick.

While at work one day, Louisa overhears Will's parents and she learns that Will has given his parents six months before they must bring him to Switzerland for assisted suicide. Will cannot deal with the pain and suffering of his disability and wishes for his old self to come back, but because this isn't a possibility, he asks for his parents to do this one thing for him. Upon learning about this, Louisa secretly makes it her mission to change his mind and she takes him on all the adventures so that she can prove that life is worth living. However, at their final trip in Mauritius with Will's physical therapist Nathan, Will confesses how he still intends to follow through with the euthanasia and asks for her to accompany him one last time.

Louisa is heartbroken at the thought of having to witness Will pass away and does not speak to him the rest of the trip. After they arrive home, however, Louisa's father persuades her to go to Will. Eventually, she goes to Switzerland to see Will in his final moments. After his death, he bequeaths her enough money to continue her education and instructs her to "live well".

Cast

Production

On April 2, 2014, it was announced Thea Sharrock would direct the film.[13] On September 2, 2014, Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin were cast in the film.[7] On March 24, 2015, Stephen Peacocke was cast in the film.[11] On April 2, 2015, Jenna Coleman and Charles Dance were cast in the film.[9] On April 9, 2015, Janet McTeer joined the cast.[8] On April 10, 2015, Brendan Coyle, Matthew Lewis, Samantha Spiro, Vanessa Kirby, and Ben Lloyd-Hughes joined the cast.[10]

Filming

Principal photography began in April 2015, and ended on June 26, 2015.[14][15] The film was shot in Pembroke, Wales, while Majorca, Spain, stands in for Mauritius.[16]

Release

In July 2014, it was announced that the film would be released on August 21, 2015.[17] In May 2015, the film's release date was moved to June 3, 2016.[18] In November 2015, the film's release date was moved back, to March 4, 2016,[19] before being delayed again in January 2016, to its previous June 3, 2016 release date.[20]

Reception

Box office

Me Before You grossed $56.2 million in North America and over $151.2 million in other territories for a total of $207.4 million, against a budget of $20 million.[4]

In North America, Me Before You opened on June 3, 2016 alongside Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and was expected to gross around $15 million from 2,704 theaters in its opening weekend.[21] The film grossed $1.4 million from its Thursday night previews and $7.8 million on its first day.[22] In its opening weekend the film grossed $18.3 million, finishing third at the box office behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ($35.3 million) and X-Men: Apocalypse ($22.3 million).[23]

Critical response

Me Before You received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 58%, based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Me Before You benefits from Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin's alluring chemistry, although it isn't enough to compensate for its clumsy treatment of a sensitive subject."[24] On Metacritic the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[25]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
People's Choice Awards Favorite Dramatic Movie Me Before You Pending [26]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Liplock Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin Nominated [27]

Controversy

The film has suffered a backlash from many people in the disability rights movement due to what they perceive as an underlying message that people with disabilities are a burden on their families and careers, and claim the film promotes the view that people are better off dead than disabled.[28] They view the film as advocating suicide so that their loved ones can "live boldly".[29][30] The #MeBeforeEuthanasia backlash has been led by celebrities with disabilities such as Liz Carr, Penny Pepper[31] and Cherylee Houston in the UK,[32][33] and Dominick Evans, Emily Ladau and activists from Not Dead Yet in the United States.[34] Protests in the United States have occurred in Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, various locations in Colorado and Texas, Atlanta, Baltimore, Connecticut, Rochester, San Francisco, and multiple locations around the country. The film was also heavily protested in Australia.[35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ME BEFORE YOU (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Gant, Charles (May 24, 2016). "'Me Before You': Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Riley, Jenelle. "'Me Before You' Aims to Take on Hollywood's Superhero-Heavy Slate". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Me Before You (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  5. ↑ "'Me Before You': The Romantic Comedy of the Summer". The Emory Wheel.
  6. 1 2 "Me Before You reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Fleming, Mike (2014-09-02). "'GOT's Emilia Clarke, 'Hunger Games' Sam Claflin To Star In MGM's 'Me Before You'". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  8. 1 2 Ford, Rebecca (2015-04-09). "Janet McTeer Joins MGM's 'Me Before You' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  9. 1 2 3 Fleming, Mike (2015-04-02). "'Doctor Who's Jenna Coleman, 'Game Of Thrones' Charles Dance Join 'Me Before You'". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ford, Rebecca. "MGM's 'Me Before You' Rounds Out Cast (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  11. 1 2 Justin Kroll (2015-03-24). "'Me Before You': Stephen Peacocke Joins MGM Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  12. ↑ Sarah Doran (2016-03-29). "First look at Matthew Lewis and Joanna Lumley in new Me Before You trailer". Radio Times.com.
  13. ↑ Fleming, Mike (2014-04-02). "Thea Sharrock To Direct 'Me Before You' Movie For MGM". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  14. ↑ Jocelyn McClurg (2015-02-26). "Moyes writes sequel to 'Me Before You'". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  15. ↑ "On the Set for 6/29/15: Justin Lin Rolls Cameras on 'Star Trek Beyond', Emilia Clarke Wraps 'Me Before You'". Ssninsider.com. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  16. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa (22 May 2016). "Me Before You: not just a tearjerker". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "WB Dates 'Me Before You' For August 2015". Deadline. 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  18. ↑ Busch, Anita (2015-05-14). "'Me Before You' Gets Release Date From Warner Bros.". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  19. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro. "Emilia Clare 'Me Before You' Drama Opening In March 2016". Deadline. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  20. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (2016-01-15). "Emilia Clare 'Me Before You' Drama Opening In March 2016". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  21. ↑ "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Sequel to Top Box Office, But Faces Troubled Waters Ahead". TheWrap.com.
  22. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (June 3, 2016). "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2', 'Me Before You' Get Thursday Night Going – Box Office". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  23. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (June 5, 2016). "'Ninja Turtles 2' Muscles Up On Saturday For OK Est. $35.3M Opening; 'Me Before You' Opens To $18.3M – Sunday AM B.O. Update". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Me Before You (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  25. ↑ "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' Struggles With Sequelitis; 'Me Before You' Lures In The Ladies". deadline.com.
  26. ↑ "People's Choice Awards Nominees 2017 — Full List". Deadline. November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  27. ↑ Vulpo, Mike (May 24, 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016 Nominations Announced: See the "First Wave" of Potential Winners". E!. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Me Before You and Disability Article from The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Activists protest outside premiere of 'disability snuff movie'". DisabilityNewsService. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Me Before You makes having a disability seem worse than death". The Independent. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  31. ↑ "We long to watch disabled characters like us. Instead we get Me Before You". The Guardian. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Cherylee Houston Article from The Mirror". TheMirror. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  33. ↑ Elyse Wanshel Associate Editor, Good News (2016-06-10). "The Disability Community Is Pissed AF About 'Me Before You'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  34. ↑ "Why Some Disability Rights Activists Are Protesting 'Me Before You' - SELF". Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  35. ↑ "Me Before You, starring GoT's Emilia Clarke, is a 'disability snuff movie', say protesters". Retrieved 2016-06-26.

External links

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