I had butterflies in my stomach and Emilia Clarke was not the woman who caused them

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2016)

I'm not a fan of Emilia Clarke or Sam Claflin. Don't get me wrong; they are talented performers, but I didn't watch the movie to see them. Jenna Coleman is the only woman, both in the acting world and in my own relatively boring life, who can make me feel scared, excited and nervous all at the same time. I think she had far too little screen time and Katrina's story was only very vaguely hinted at. Apparently, she has a son but they never explained who the father is or how she was coping and judging by how young Jenna looks (she's thirty but I think she looks at least five years younger), I wouldn't be surprised if Treena's son was the result of a teenage pregnancy. Assuming he actually was her son. Treena wanted to go back to college but that's only mentioned in one scene. Despite having too little screen time, Treena and Lou really did seem like sisters. It wasn't as good as Anna and Elsa's beautiful bond in Frozen but that was only because the story didn't give Treena enough attention.
The ending was sad but I knew Will was going to die before I even watched the movie. With that said, it does lead to questions about whether one should assist in a suicide and it was brave to tackle this controversial matter. Is it murder when one wants to die? I don't know and while Lou and Treena's mother stated that it basically was, that is just one woman's opinion. The film itself doesn't really say whether it's right or wrong. I also noticed something else, actually from a trailer before I even watched the film. Lou said she became a whole new person after meeting Will and her dad said that you can't change who people are. Some could see that as inconsistent writing, but when I think about it, I think it works because Lou and her dad are two different people with different points of view.
As someone who appreciates subtlety, I should also draw attention to the scene where Will's parents are discussing his condition while Lou is listening. Something about the way Charles Dance spoke and held himself told me that Will's dad knew that Lou was listening. Charles himself must have known that Emilia was there but I think he was implying that his character heard Lou approaching and was intentionally giving her information about the situation, hoping that she could change Will's mind. Of course, Lou was eavesdropping but I like that it's left to the viewers interpretation about whether Will's dad knew she was there or not.
While it's a good movie, the only reason I wanted to watch it was because Jenna's in it. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have written this review. I've had similar feelings about Doctor Who ever since the casting of the talented but overrated Peter Capaldi. Now that Jenna's left, Doctor Who has lost most of its charm for me. With that said, I mistook Treena for Clara at one point because Jenna can disappear into her character when she's playing Clara to the point where, for a moment, I saw Clara playing Treena instead of Jenna playing her. It was like Jenna was playing two characters simultaneously. The problem is that Treena was only in a handful of scenes, so I never really got to know her. She's supportive, playful, a little inappropriate at times ("Katrina Clarke!") and more intelligent than her sister but due to her lack of screen-time, I couldn't get to know her as intimately as I got to know Clara Oswald or Queen Victoria. I don't know what her quirks and flaws are. With that said, Jenna always has a powerful presence, despite her size. Heck, I think they should have switched her and Emilia's roles around because Jenna's the only reason I watched this movie in the first place. Also she's better at subtlety than Emilia but can still be happy, eccentric and energetic.
Despite this movies strengths, it also has weaknesses, the most notable one being that it's predictable and there are no real surprises. With that said, it's also passionate and heartfelt. Many movies are lazily put together these days - the film industry has been corrupted by money and seems more concerned about cash than making art - but this one actually had some effort put into it so it deserves to be acknowledged. Me Before You wasn't really my kind of movie but for what it was, it was good. If Jenna wasn't in it and I still watched it, I'd give it 6 but I'm giving it 7 because I freaking love her. And hate that I love her. And I'm driving myself mad over her.