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'Me Before You' (12A)

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***

After losing her job as a waitress in the village café, Lou Clarke desperately seeks a new position, but when she meets the recently-paralised Will Traynor, she has little idea that her role as a carer will become so complicated.
 
When you're a little hungover and feeling sorry for yourself, there are a few things a girl needs: a tub of ice cream and/or chocolate; a comfy duvet with which to moan into; and a light-hearted chic flick to have a bit of a cry over. Only, Me Before You isn't a light-hearted chic flick in the slightest, apparently having the most heart-breaking ending possible for this genre. And, in my fragile, tequila-induced state, I ended up having more than a little sob. Damn you, Sam Claflin and your perfect features.
 
That's not to say that Me Before You is a good film, however. In fact, for the majority it is your basic boy-meets-girl movie, only that the boy is paralysed and the girl has a truly eccentric wardrobe. Emilia Clarke (playing the clumsy yet ultimately good Lou Clarke) acts almost entirely with her eyebrows, contorting into them into a variety of shapes to show discomfort, sadness, happiness etc. It's far from a good performance, but then it is unlikely anyone could have carved a truly immersive one out of such a one-dimensional character. Claflin has a bit more to sink his teeth into with the role of Will Traynor, his cold, sarcastic shell eventually giving way to a softer, more emotional side come the conclusion. It's hardly a relationship you can believe in, however, with very little chemistry to be spotted on screen. And yet, still I ended up having a weep during at least two scenes...
 
Offering 'sort of' twist on the classic chic flick formula, Me Before You is a passably enjoyable film with a tear-jerking conclusion. With a reasonably forgiving run time and a pretty cast to look at, it makes for an excellent hangover cure. Pass me the tissues.

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