Louisa "Lou" Clark (Emilia Clarke) makes a cup of tea to solve every problem. She's 26, living at home with her mother, unemployed father, senile grandpa, sister Treena (Jenna Coleman),and Treena's son Tom. She loses her waitress job and the family needs her to get another job. Her boyfriend Patrick is more interested in running than interested in her. The Traynors are the rich family in town and the former lords of the castle. Camilla Traynor (Janet McTeer) hires her for six months to assist her paralyzed son Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) who was run over by a motorcycle two years ago. Will is bitter at losing his globe-trotting outgoing lifestyle with his girlfriend Alicia and high-finance friends. He is cold to the quirky Lou at first. Alicia announces that she's getting married to his former best friend. Then Lou overhears Camilla arguing with her husband Stephen (Charles Dance) about Will's plan to get euthanized in Switzerland in six months. Lou struggles to give Will a reason for living as male nurse Nathan helps her to understand his pain.

This is a sappy romance. There's nothing wrong with that but it's really uninspired in its execution. The best thing in this movie is Emilia Clarke being allowed to be her natural goofy-grin self. This version of her is really charming and winning. The infuriating part is Will's refusal to live his new life. Nathan explains that Will really tried the first year and that he's hiding his painful existence from Lou. The movie does not do a good job portraying that idea and therefore leaves Will's reasoning bare-thread. They need a scene where Will is actively trying to hide his pain. His reason cannot be a lack of a James Bond lifestyle.

"Me Before You" is a definite contender for the most known romantic drama of 2016. But first things first: This one here runs for 110 minutes and was directed by Thea Sharrock while Jojo Moyes adapted her own novel for the screen here. And the result isn't shabby at all as this one scored a decent deal of awards recognition that turned the film into by far the most known work for both writer and director. And while male lead actor Sam Claflin has already starred next to the likes of Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Johnny Depp and other pretty big names from Hollywood, there is no denying that he plays only second fiddle here to female lead Emilia Clarke. The latter is of course known to millions, if not billions, from Game of Thrones, but good news is that thanks to the different hair color, it is very easy to not see her Daenarys character this time which may have hurt the film overall. I think she did a very good job. Her energetic, sparkling presence was one of the best aspects about the film and makes it easy to forgive her for occasional moments of "overthetopness", for example when her boyfriend arrives on her birthday and she tells everybody that somebody rang the doorbell. They also really tried to make her look not as gorgeous as she is, which was a huge challenge as even in these strange clothes she was obviously still a huge stunner. Claflin did a very good job too and he had the difficult task that really all his acting had to take place above his neck because of the character's disability. I found him memorable. Other known names include Charles Dance, Oscar nominee McTeer or Matt Lewis from Harry Potter, but honestly those were just in the shadows of the two protagonists because their material simply wasn't on the same level in terms of both quality and quantity.

As a whole, I thought this was a really good film. The writing was smart on many occasions and it is always a success for films closer to 120 minutes than to 90 minutes if they drag as little as this one here. It also manages to stay away from the pretentious side and there was the danger it could enter this area on several occasions. But it managed nicely. The film is also not trying to make any political statements as it really is all about the tragic(?) story of the two protagonists here. Some scenes stay in mind especially like when he reveals his suicide plans to her because his body was a cage. Or also the scene in which she is watching an old video of him before the accident. The film included exactly the right approach to romance too in my opinion. They did not have to go for a huge love story or anything in order to have the tragedy work here. If you enjoyed this film as much as I did, then let me recommend you "A Walk to Remember" or "Griffin and Phoenix" or "The Notebook" although I am sure you have at least seen the latter already. Back to this one here, I do share the praise and I think it is an achievement that feels both real and touching. Maybe it is generally more for women, but definitely not exclusively if you manage to open yourself up here to the fate of the two protagonists. I also quite like the title. I am not a Game of Thrones fan at all, so I guess this makes up for a slight Emilia Clarke fanboy tendency and turns me into a neutral observer. A good, no a great watch for people curious about Game of Thrones stars in other projects. And actually for everybody else too. This film is among 2016's very finest and I highly recommend checking out.

The twenty-six year-old waitress of a cafe Louisa "Lou" Clark (Emilia Clarke) is a charming woman that lives with her parents Bernard (Brendan Coyle) and Josie Clark (Samantha Spiro),her sister Katrina "Treena" Clark (Jenna Coleman) and her grandfather (Alan Breck) in a small town in the United Kingdom. Lou supports the whole family since Bernard is unemployed and Treena is a student. When she loses her job, she applies to the position of caregiver of the wealthy banker Will Traynor (Sam Claflin),who was hit by a motorcycle two years ago and became tetraplegic. Will´s mother Camilla Traynor (Janet McTeer),supported by her husband Stephen Traynor (Charles Dance),hires the unexperienced but happy Lou to take care of her son together with his nurse Nathan (Stephen Peacocke). When Lou meets Will, she finds a bitter, cynical and depressed young man that had lost the will to live. Further, she learns that the handsome Will was a successful athlete and banker. Will she lift his spirit?

"Me Before You" is an adorable dramatic romance in the directorial debut of director Thea Sharrock. The central subject, euthanasia, is not discussed but it is easy to understand Will´s attitude based on his athletic and sexual performances before the accident. The chemistry of Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin and the beautiful locations in the United Kingdom are enough to grant a wonderful entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Como Eu Era Antes de Você" ("How I Was Before You")