Me Before You

Can we talk about Emilia Clarke's eyebrow game? While inspirational in the sheer range of movement that she is capable of, it just seemed a tad over-the-top. 

I really wanted to like this movie because I saw the preview for it and that's what made me go out and read the book, but I almost wish that I hadn't read the book first. Despite being very faithful, this movie felt too superficial and seemed badly stilted. Rather than focusing on the relationships and character development, there was a focus on events: losing a job, getting a job, wanting to leave the job, making tea, going to the races, going to the wedding, going on holiday, going to Switzerland. Consequently, there was no real in-depth draw to the characters for me, no real understanding of how anything or anyone fit together.

Moreover onscreen, there was just something about Will and Louisa's relationship manifest that made me uncomfortable. Watching the movie, I kept wondering why Lou was letting herself be pushed around by Will, e.g. taking off her scarf, doing things she wouldn't otherwise do. This isn't something I got a sense of in the book and that's because I understood where Will was coming from and Lou's frame of mind. It's just the idea that in the movie it seemed like Lou was incapable of moving forward, away from Patrick, her family, and her small town job without Will to tell her what to do, and that bothered me.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the wardrobe and I was rooting for Lou and Will to the end. I just feel like if a movie is going to be so faithful to a book, it really shouldn't cram in every poignant moment and quote things verbatim.