A glossy, emotionally engineered romance with strong chemistry and a tearjerker premise, but it’s also widely criticized for its handling of disability, autonomy, and the film’s central moral framing. If you want a polished melodrama that aims straight for the heart, it delivers; if you’re sensitive to… Read more
Me Before You
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Drama · Romance
Wed · 1h 50m
Director: Thea Sharrock
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer
Overview
Lou Clark, a directionless 26-year-old from the English countryside, takes a job at the local castle as a caregiver and companion to a wealthy young banker, Will Traynor. Wheelchair-bound from an accident two years prior, the once adventurous Will has all but given up — that is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living.
Director
Thea Sharrock
Cast
Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, emotionally engineered romance with strong chemistry and a tearjerker premise, but it’s also widely criticized for its handling of disability, autonomy, and the film’s central moral framing. If you want a polished melodrama that aims straight for the heart, it delivers; if you’re sensitive to representation issues, it may frustrate more than move you.
Best for
weepy romance fans
viewers who like glossy contemporary melodrama
audiences interested in star-driven chemistry
people okay with morally thorny love stories
Skip if
you want nuanced disability representation
you dislike manipulative tearjerkers
you prefer understated realism over sentiment
you’re likely to be bothered by the film’s ethical framing
Overview
Me Before You is built like a prestige tearjerker in rom-com clothing: polished, attractive, and determined to make you feel something whether you consent or not. The performances are committed, and the film knows how to sell longing, charm, and emotional contrast between its leads.
Worth noting
What keeps it from being an easy recommendation is the script’s central premise, which has remained controversial for good reason. The film asks for sympathy while often flattening the very experience it centers, and that tension makes the romance feel more calculated than cathartic.
Bottom line
Still, as a piece of mainstream melodrama, it’s efficient and highly watchable. If you’re in the mood for a sad, glossy, very modern love story and can accept its flaws, it will likely do exactly what it intends.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ellie ✨ (1.5★) · 12416 likes
I know there are bigger issues with representation here, but I still feel like it's worth mentioning that the scene where they dance to the ed sheeran song that starts "when your legs don't work like they used to before" is a bit tasteless
andrea🌹 (2.5★) · 9860 likes
neville longbottom gets angry with daenerys targaryen bc she was getting too touchy feely with finnick odair. wild
izaak (0.5★) · 7241 likes
"Nooo don't kill yourself you're so sexy"
cinéfila... 🕯️ (1.5★) · 5476 likes
can someone please let emilia clarke know that moving her eyebrows a lot =/= good acting
shay (2★) · 4535 likes
in all honesty i only cried when her grandfather was sitting so adorably on the chair smiling at her when he gave her her birthday gift
Themes
romance, melodrama, caregiving, disability, autonomy, class difference, grief, self-discovery
Topics
weepy romance, melodrama, disability representation, caregiver relationship, class divide, emotional catharsis, contemporary drama, tearjerker, ethical controversy, British romance