One man's wish

Rating: 5/10 (11 October 2016)

I heard about the controversy about this movie before watching it so I was prepared for death with dignity propaganda. I then read what the one star reviewers wrote and they hated the movie because of the message it supposedly conveyed: disabled people are miserable, depressed and the male protagonist, Claflin's Will was selfish who had assisted suicide in a glorified death despite having wealth, loving parents and a carer.
This movie showed one man's wish to die because of his quadriplegia. It showed the life he had before where he was active and a thrill seeker. His disability took away his freedom and independence. He was also taking a list of drugs for his constant pain and depression. And it was also told that he had had four pneumonias in a two year span, the last one nearly killed him because of a severely weakened immune system. He also tried to kill himself.
Yet somehow, the haters managed to conclude that the director implied that Will's misery represents all or most disabled people. Or that anyone with an illness or disability who commits suicide is selfish. This is just one man's story and until critics step into his shoes and experience what he feels, they have no right to judge his wish to die. It's a personal decision and if there is no Dignitas, then loved ones would possibly have to do it as shown in 'Sister Cities' where Jackie Weaver begged one of her daughters to help her die.
It may have been filmed in colourful scenes, made by Clarke's Louisa whenever she walked into the room or with her clothes. But make no mistake, Will was suffering - there were scenes and dialogues that showed a bleak prognosis throughout the sunny days or lovely snowy nights. He may have had material wealth and love but he was trapped in a body that he could no longer control.
What bothered me about this movie was Clarke's acting. Her eyebrows as some have mentioned were very distracting. Her acting also seem very limited. Apart from her ever smiling and goofy eyebrows, she struggled to show other emotions especially towards the end where it mattered. Claflin did a decent job as did everyone else.
It also felt a little rushed towards the end and some scenes reminded me of BBC's Jane Eyre. The dialogue at the beach was similar to the scene where Rochester proposed to Eyre under the oak tree. The editing was also poor and unnecessary.
Overall it's a light movie about a controversial subject. Despite the good acting sans Clarke, there wasn't much chemistry. I sensed that the director didn't want the movie to be grim because of its core topic and she was right to do so because death doesn't have to be awful. It is the fear of it that makes people angry and confused, especially if it's suicide. However, it could have delved deeper and be a little more courageous rather than playing it safe.