-SPOILERS INSIDE-
A while ago, a preview came out for this movie called “Me Before You.” I hadn’t heard of the book by JoJo Moyes before, so the story was entirely new to me. The trailer was SO cute and I definitely put it on my ‘to watch’ list, as generic romcoms are a particular weakness of mine. (sorry not sorry folks)
Then the movie finally came out in theaters! All my other friends wanted to see it as well, so we scheduled a little girls night, expecting your typical boy meets girl story. However, a couple days before we were supposed to go see the movie, we learned the big spoiler. The lead(who is also a quadriplegic) , Will Traynor dies, but not of natural causes. He chooses to euthanize himself. We decided to go see the movie anyways, just because we knew it would spark some interesting discussion about the subject of euthanasia, and also, who doesn’t want to talk about morbid and controversial topics on girl’s night, amirite ladies?
So, we saw it. You guys, I have never been more frustrated with a movie since the first Percy Jackson came out.
There are several things wrong with it, and I’ll attempt to organize my thoughts properly, but in truth, I feel like it will more come out as one big blob of rage babble. Oh well.
Side note: I’m not going to summarize the movie, that’s what Wikipedia is for. Here, I’ll even give you the link!
Second side note: I know that assisted suicide/euthanasia is a complex and controversial issue, but these are just my comments on a fictional story and the circumstances in that story. I offer my perspective, and that’s really the only thing I can offer.
Firstly, I have a problem with the movie’s title. It’s advertised as a love story, but the very phrase “me before you” is contrary to the nature of love! Love is self-sacrifice, love is having a vested responsibility in someone else’s well-being, and most of all love is “YOU before me,” not the other way around. Will indicated to Louisa that he was in love with her in a myriad of ways, but he did not follow through with his love. In short, he didn’t think living like a disabled person was ‘living’, so he killed himself, despite the fact that he had the financial means to live comfortably in his condition and received top notch care, which some people with the same condition cannot even dream to afford.
Which leads me to another point. Throughout the film, Will has an attitude of ‘I’m disabled, I can’t do anything.’ And sure, he can’t jump off a cliff or ride a bike, which must stink. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like. But his mind is still intact, and coincidentally, his profession requires ONLY HIS MIND. Like the girls from Fifth Harmony, he could have worked from home.
Something else that was ridiculous was how Will’s parents behaved. “Oh, we were scared that he tried to kill himself, so we just agreed that he could have 6 more months to be with us and then he could just kill himself safely.” Logic? Where did you go?
Also, the line “it’s his choice” popped up about a zillion times. This really got me mad, because Will is obviously depressed, and is definitely not in a great head space to make such a serious decision regarding his own life.
THE PRESCRIPTION FOR DEPRESSION IS NOT SUICIDE.
Also, another thing that bothered me was how his character imposed his definition of ‘living’ on everyone around him. To me, his definition of living seemed to be, “Do the most insane physical stunts a person can do and also sleep with pretty girls and go to parties and have a successful job and make lots of money. THAT’s living.” Well, if that’s living, then I’m subhuman.
Suffering this disability also made him take a second look at the people around him (*ahem* LOUISA). He even admits to Louisa that if he hadn’t had his disability, he probably wouldn’t have noticed her at a party, so it’s obvious he became more open and observant.
Let’s also talk about the hypocrisy of the fact that Will is always exhorting Louisa to ‘live boldly,’ but he doesn’t even follow his own advice because he doesn’t believe that it’s possible for him. Can people with physical limitations live boldly? Yes!! Look at people like Stephen Hawking, Lou Gehrig, and Bethany Hamilton. Their lives are the very definition of boldness. I would even say that they live more fully than some people who don’t have a physical disability, just by merit of the fact that they don’t take life for granted.
*sigh* Okay I think I’m good. Just had to get that off my chest.
Thanks for staying ’till the end of the rant.
You’re awesome.
k thx bye
-Caroline
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| The worst part about it is that these two were aBSOLUTELY ADORABLE together |
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