If there’s one factor audiences cannot get sufficient of with regards to their big-screen viewing habits, it is a sweeping romantic drama that tugs at their heartstrings and leaves them reaching for a field of tissues by the point the credit roll. In 2016, Sport of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke appeared alongside Daisy Jones and the Six star Sam Claflin in Me Earlier than You, an adaptation of the Jojo Moyes novel of the identical identify that chronicles the profound relationship that kinds between a enjoyable and bubbly caregiver and the tetraplegic man whom she is employed to assist.
Although Me Earlier than You turned a knockout on the field workplace and grossed a whopping $208.3 million towards a price range of simply $20 million, the movie didn’t obtain glowing opinions from critics and stirred up fairly a little bit of controversy upon its worldwide launch. Many within the incapacity rights motion felt as if the drama was a adverse illustration of their neighborhood, prompting protests and outrage. Let’s take a better have a look at what the film is about and why it attracted a lot blowback and scandal.
- Launch Date
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June 3, 2016
A Poignant Romantic Drama Adaptation
Primarily based on the favored Jojo Moyes novel of the identical identify, the emotionally-gripping 2016 romantic drama Me Earlier than You tells the poignant story of a life altering bond fashioned between a tetraplegic man and his caregiver. It facilities on the quirky and free-spirited Louisa “Lou” Clark (Emilia Clarke) who, after hopping from one job to a different in the hunt for achievement, turns into deeply linked to the paralyzed younger banker Will Traynor (Sam Claflin). Lou makes it her mission to carry happiness and enjoyable to Will’s life and carry his cynical spirits, in the end breaking down his chilly demeanor together with her infectious persona.
Lou helps Will discover a newfound sense of pleasure and that means on the earth regardless of his unlucky circumstances. Nevertheless, she rapidly realizes her efforts could also be for nothing when she discovers he needs to go to Switzerland for assisted suicide. As their bond deepens and romantic emotions naturally type between the 2 star-crossed lovers, the pair should come to phrases with the trajectory of their private paths as Lou makes it her mission to vary Will’s thoughts and persuade him that there is loads of life left to reside.
Me Earlier than You made its highly effective premiere on June 3, 2016, and exceeded expectations on the field workplace, grossing $18.3 million in its opening weekend earlier than finishing its theatrical run with complete earnings of $208.3 million towards a price range of simply $20 million. Whereas moviegoers have been swept up by Clarke’s scene-stealing efficiency of the charming Lou in addition to her easy chemistry with co-star Claflin, critics have been less-than-impressed by the difference’s dealing with of its delicate subject material, giving the drama a 54% Rotten Tomatoes rating towards viewers’s far-more-favorable 73% on the Popcornmeter.
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‘Me Earlier than You’ Sparks Controversy & Protests
As with its literary counterpart, Me Earlier than You sparked widespread protests and controversy upon its launch attributable to outrage over the perceived message the romantic drama promoted, with many from the disablity rights motion feeling as if the adapation advocates that persons are higher off lifeless than disabled and that they’re a burden to their family members and caregivers. Those that spoke out towards the problematic depiction of disabled folks additionally felt that Me Earlier than You was pro-suicide in order that their households can “reside boldly,” whereas different critics of the movie believed it was exploitative of the disabled neighborhood.
The choice to solid Sam Claflin within the position of the tetraplegic Will Traynor additionally got here below fireplace by some audiences, who identified the hypocrisy of attempting to precisely characterize the lifetime of a disabled particular person with out truly hiring a disabled particular person for the position or using them in performing alternatives. #MeBeforeEuthanasia started trending on-line as did a marketing campaign led by the group Not Lifeless But UK, which known as the movie “little greater than a incapacity snuff film, giving audiences the message that in the event you’re a disabled particular person, you are higher off lifeless.” Protests occurred in each america and the UK in addition to Australia within the wake of the drama’s launch.
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Creator Jojo Moyes responded to the extraordinary backlash from disabled teams relating to the movie, expressing how she was impressed to put in writing the novel from her personal private experiences with kin who required 24-hour care, in addition to an impactful article she examine a quadriplegic man who was taken to an assisted suicide middle after convincing his mother and father. When discussing Traynor’s choice to finish his life as an alternative of embrace his existence with Lou by his facet, Moyes mentioned she was initially stunned by the controversy surrounding Me Earlier than You, telling Stylist in 2016:
“The actual fact is, within the movie as within the e book, no one else agrees with what he decides to do. This isn’t by any means sending out a message. It is nearly one character – it is nothing greater than that.”
Stream Me Earlier than You on Prime Video.