“Me Before You”

*SPOILER ALERT

A few weeks ago I watched the movie “Me Before You” based on the book of the same title by JoJo Moyes starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. There were two reasons for watching it. One being a dear good friend of mine and the other because of subject matter. In the four short years of being a quadriplegic, this movie has been the most accurate when depicting a quadriplegic mentally and physically. The movie is about Will Traynor, a wealthy banker who is in an accident that ends up with him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. His parents hire a chipper caregiver named Louisa Clark which is played by the beautiful Emilia Clarke 😍😍. At first they bump heads as Will is always done in the dumps, depressed. Throughout the movie their relationship grows and Louisa begins to show him there is more to life and it’s possible to continue on even in a wheelchair. I won’t ruin the ending but it doesn’t have your typical fall in love happy ending. If you decide to watch, keep tissues close. The way Will feels in the beginning of the movie I have too felt. It’s easy to feel that way when before you can go wherever or whenever with no issues until now where you need to plan ahead and make sure it’s handicap accessible. One point of the movie Will comes down with a case of pneumonia which is no joke figuring I experienced it earlier this year. It’s pretty lethal in quadriplegics given they don’t have the use of their diaphragm to cough stuff up or don’t have the immune system they used to have. Will and Louisa attempted to go to the track for horse races and as Will wheels himself down his ramp into the grass it happened to be nothing but mud spinning his tires digging in deeper. I’ve been there. A 350 pound power chair and mud do not mix well. On the other hand I’ve seen or read articles giving the author a lot of crap for not knowing facts or understanding the subject matter. The book/movie also rubbed those in the disability rights movement the wrong way because the movie depicts and I quote “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”. All in all I enjoyed the movie and it’s been the closest thing to accurate I’ve seen at all at an attempt to tell a story of a quadriplegic without actually filming one. My friend that suggested the movie is kinda like my Louisa. She makes the point to check in on me or whenever she’s home she makes the point to come see me and shows me there is more to do. I’m not big of reading and they always say the book is way better than the movie so if you’ve read the book please fill me in one parts they left out in the movie. The soundtrack itself is a tearjerker. Below are two YouTube links for the trailer to check out. Also some links for some songs off the soundtrack from bands like Imagine Dragons and X Ambassadors. Thanks for reading!

TRAILERS:

“Me Before You” Trailer #1

“Me Before You” Trailer #2

SONGS:

“Unsteady” by X Ambassadors

“Not Today” by Imagine Dragons

If you have time and want to hear people rip the book/ movie here are some links also

https://youtu.be/yTEevPGIEY4

https://youtu.be/Z9bkWJtm-mU