SPOILER ALERT:  I do not typically write movie reviews, but this movie compels me.  There is no way to write this review without revealing the end of the movie, but it is the ending which is the very thing that is compelling me to write, so I must include the spoiler.  I did not read the book, so this review is based entirely on the movie.

I actually really like this movie a lot.  I say that up front because you may not think so by the time I am done writing.  There is much to love about this movie and I must say that if it were not for the ending, it might become one of my life long favorites.  It’s a heart wrenching love story set in England between a young woman and a man that were both unassuming as they were getting to know each other.  It’s quite amusing at times, similar to The Wedding Date or Love Actually, but still has a Pride & Prejudice feel to it.

Will Traynor is a very likeable character, a man’s man if you will, accomplished in business, adventurous in life and sought after by women, that is until his life took a sudden turn that left him as a quadriplegic.  He is smart and witty and uses facial expressions very well to accentuate what he is communicating.  He becomes a sympathetic character when he attends the wedding between his best friend and his girlfriend, but my perception is that he truly wished them well as he could no longer give her what she desired.  He has a lot of good lines, but my favorite was when he tells Louisa, after a little banter about her breasts in which he concedes her point, that “In my defense, I used to be an ass.”  This made me laugh because it is something I could and would say in the right circumstances.

Louisa Clark is more than likeable.  She is adorably awkward with flowing dark hair and an amazing smile that lights up the screen.  She has her own sense of style, bold in her fashion, a little unaware of the world around her, but seeks to do what is right, with a servants heart.  She’s a dreamer, and if I had to guess, she probably prefers the dream to the risk that reality may not live up to what she hopes for.  She is very honest and demonstrates a deep appreciation for the little things in life that others might take for granted and that comes across in her character.  She is very enchanting in an unexpected way!

So what’s the problem with this great love story?  This movie is really about social engineering.  It takes an important topic on the value of human life and cloaks it in a love story.  The aim of the movie is to make a case for euthanasia, more commonly known as physician assisted suicide.  When Louisa takes the job as caregiver to Will, we are told it is only for 6 months, but we later learn, as she did, that is because he plans to end his life.  Will makes some compelling speeches about how he loved his former life, how he wants to go to Paris, but he won’t go “like this” as he reminisces about flirting with French girls in cafes.  When Louisa learns of his intent, she formulates a plan to try and change his mind.  She consults with her sister and decides that now is the time to love without holding back.  As the story unfolds and she learns she will not change his mind, she correctly assesses that he is being selfish.  As his plans become common knowledge, we start hearing mantra of “it’s his choice” from various characters in the movie.  Very similar to the battle cry of the pro-abortion crowd who want the right to kill unborn babies.

There really is no element of faith in this movie and Will certainly did not appear to have any.  In one scene, Louisa’s family says grace before dinner, but that is it.  Louisa’s mom, who wears a cross, correctly states “some choices you done get to make” and again “this is no better than murder.”  She is exactly right, it is not within the rights of individuals to take life, whether that be others or their own.  (There is no time to get into it here, but it should be noted that this should never be confused with capital punishment.  The institutional administration of justice is much different than individual constituents arbitrarily determining that a life should end).  Will’s parents are torn, the mom wants to stop him, but the dad says that it is his choice and they need to honor what he wants.  He makes a plea about being supportive in a loving way and allowing him to have a “death with dignity.”  Can I just say how much I hate that phrase!  It’s a selfish, arrogant statement that states that someone is leaving this world on their own terms, boldly facing death and avoiding the humiliation of dying a pitiful death and sparing the embarrassment of being looked at as sympathetic or pathetic.  I find it very naïve to the reality of death, heaven, hell, God and the justification for your life.

Me Before You!  The title is romantic, suggesting that the appearance of someone in your life changes who you are.  Louisa actually tells Will at one point how she is a completely different person because of their time together.  I don’t want to dive into a deep deconstruction of the movie, but I do think that the sub-text of the movie/book title is narcissism.  That is, I am going to put myself before you, me first regardless of how much you love me, how much you cry, I am doing this.  The underlying message of the story is that if life does not work out exactly how you want, on your terms, to make you happy, then it is okay to end your life and it’s your choice.  Not one person made a compelling case for why this happened to Will or what he might learn from it or how he might use his experience to be an inspiration to others.  At one point Louisa’s father notes that he is still very bright and could return to business, but his pride would not allow him to consider it.  I know that some will read this and think it heartless – you don’t know what it’s like to be crippled or have cancer or have an incurable disease that is constant pain.  While that is true, that does not mean that I don’t have sympathy for them and can even use human reason to understand why they would want to end their lives.  But that does not justify ending life.  We cannot draw an arbitrary line in the sand to determine when life ends.  If we do, we will arrive at a point of allowing suicide for every discomfort, every non-terminal disease, every financial set-back, every broken relationship, every time someone is upset and wants to end life, it would be okay because it will put an end to their unhappiness.  It troubles me to think we are becoming those people, but that is the logical conclusion of this story and that is the logical conclusion of all moral relativism.  I know that God has given life to all people, that all people are created in God’s image and that those walk with God by faith are assured of God’s hand of providence in their lives.  If you are a child of God, then God is sovereign over your problems, your hardships, your health, your set-backs, your shattered dreams.  When I come across circumstances in which people are asking why, I often think of the words of Jesus from John chapter 9:

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

It is our duty to find meaning in the pain by submitting to the God of all comfort to work through us, to gain wisdom from what God would teach us through it, to have resolve in our faith and be resilient in life, that is to be our response to the tragedies of life.  Will was not terminal, but he was so caught up in who he was that he had no vision for what he could be, or what good could come from his condition.  He had no desire to do good because to him, goodness was only measured by personal happiness.  Even Louisa’s promise to love him for life was rejected because he feared being the subject of future regret.  In the end, I think Will’s story is one of weakness and narcissism that culminates with a man who was unable to live life on his own terms, so he gave up the gift of life and went into eternity without faith in God, with unknown hope and complete disregard for the love of God, family and Louisa.  It was truly disappointing because I was looking forward to this film and I had no intention of writing a movie review.  I held out hope to the very end, as did many movie goers who were openly weeping, that he would choose life and choose love, but he chose self.  It was a great two hours of movie and a dreadful five minutes at the faithless, hopeless end.  The movie ends with Louisa in Paris reading a letter from Will telling her she has a duty to live life to the fullest.  Hollow words from someone whose shallow definition of life led him to give up life and fade to black!