Al's Omniflick: Me Before You

Monday, June 6, 2016

Me Before You

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Thea Sharrock/Starring: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Stephen Peacocke, Janet McTeer and Charles Dance

You might think I had nothing better to do with my Sunday afternoon than see Me Before You; Britain's answer to Nicholas Sparks book-to-film adaptations. But it was this or suffer through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which looks excruciating. If you've seen the trailer for director Thea Sharrock's debut feature-film, you can claim to have seen the movie. A person raised by wolves in the wilderness and who has never seen a movie could anticipate every twist and turn in novelist Jojo Moyes' story. Moyes also wrote the screenplay so at least we can say the writer is close to her material. Let me disabuse you of any lingering doubts you may have; the movie is shamelessly weepy and utterly predictable but as shameless, weepy, predictable movies go, it isn't bad. If you read that last statement as an endorsement, then wait awhile; I'll disabuse you of that delusion too.

A pretty, perky, young British woman experiences the trials of high unemployment in her charming little English town. Having lost one job, her family pressures her to find another, being that her father is unemployed and because the family's economic situation is decidedly anemic. The young woman; Lou Clark (the charming Emilia Clarke) interviews at the home of the town's wealthy family, whose palatial spread overlooks a medieval castle they own and manage. The lady of the manor; Camilla Traynor (Janet McTeer), interviews Lou in the Traynor living room. Lou's mini-skirt mishaps become an embarrassing issue for her during the interview, much to the puzzlement of Camilla.

The job is straightforward; Lou is to provide companionship and care for Camilla's son Will (Sam Claflin); who was rendered a quadriplegic after being struck by a motorcycle--something we see in the opening moments of the film. Camilla introduces Emilia to Will and as we might expect; the initial meeting is hardly auspicious. We can immediately see Will resents his condition (who wouldn't?) and is keen to let everyone know. Lou's quirky fashion and talky, offbeat personality contrast sharply with Will's solemn gloom. Will is curt with her but in spite of the uncomfortable first meeting, Lou lands the job, which is met with jubilation at home.

Can you already see where this story will go? Ask yourself the very simple question: what will happen in a story where a young woman desperate for a job meets an angry, but handsome and rich quadriplegic whose true love left him for another man? Any guess will most likely hit the target and if not, won't be far off. Don't we already know that the irrepressibly upbeat and optimistic Lou will eventually melt Will's wounded heart? And knowing Lou must stay in her stagnant hometown while her sister goes off to college, can we anticipate the film's main themes will be about getting away, discovering oneself and living life to the fullest?

There is one wrinkle one might not anticipate. Lou learns Will's condition won't improve and because he also pines for his former life of adventure, he seeks out an organization that assists those who want to end their own lives. The film doesn't get into the morality or ethics of such a decision, which is a good thing--it's been done before and that stuff has no place in a teary romance.

In time, a romance blossoms between Will and Lou; which is preferable to her seven-year relationship with a fitness freak whose idea of a romantic getaway is a triathlon in Norway. Some scenes are pleasantly enchanting. Lou and Will's stroll through the castle remains is a subtle prince/princess in the kingdom moment. Another scene where Lou accompanies Will to his ex-girlfriend's wedding leads to a consummation of their relationship; a development Camilla isn't averse to.

And what film of this ilk would leave out the requisite message from the tragic hero about living well and living life to the fullest and all that twaddle tragic heroes or heroines spew when their time is near? The ending is sure to draw tears but it is also a life-affirming lollipop. A letter read in voice-over is supposed to be wise; dispensing touching advice about how Lou (and by logical extension; the audience) should live life while a very slow fade eases us into the closing credits.

I must say, I enjoyed the movie in spite of its production-line plot. If this had been an American weepy with an American cast, it would have been torturous. But an English director, an English cast and an English setting do wonders for an otherwise formulaic story. Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin actually have chemistry and do more with their characters than play attractive mannequins. Clarke makes a potentially annoying character delightful and at times sassy. I wish Janet McTeer and Charles Dance (for once he isn't playing someone evil and creepy) had had richer parts but the story belongs to Will and Lou. McTeer and Dance do well with very little before them.

Me Before You won't make anyone's Best of 2016 list but at least its a breather from the superhero movies bullying the competition. I seriously doubt I'll remember the title of this film a month from now but while it's here, it just may draw a sentimental tear or two from one's ducts. Can you remember the last time that actually happened to you in a theater?

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On DVD

Fury (1936)

Director: Fritz Lang

Though we might normally think of the films M and Metropolis when director Fritz Lang becomes the topic of conversation, less known is the legendary director's work in Hollywood. Having fled the ever-growing menace of Nazi Germany for America in the early 1930s', Lang eventually found himself under contract for MGM.

Though his work in Hollywood is very uneven, one standout is Fury, from 1936. Starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney, the film's condemnation of mob justice seems spectacularly daring now, considering lynching was still a reality in Depression-era America. We don't see one black person in the film entire but we know precisely for whom Lang film is sympathetic.

Spencer Tracy plays Joe Wilson, who is arrested in a small town while en route to meet his fiance, Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). Suspected of being part of a kidnapping of a little girl, Wilson is arrested on the flimsiest evidence. While he sits in cell; angry and indignant, Katherine is puzzled as to why her fiance hasn't arrived at their prearranged meeting place.

But Wilson's fortunes take a darker and more dangerous turn when a mob--already on edge--is roused to anger. Egging one another on, the mob moves on the jailhouse where Wilson is being held. As the angry gathering becomes a mass, drawing citizens of the town into their swelling numbers, a lynch-mob begins to form. The sheriff, determined to see due process take its course, refuses their forceful demands. Becoming angrier and angrier and bolder and bolder, the crowd storms the jail, overwhelming the sheriff and his deputies. Unable to unlock the cell doors to reach Wilson, the mob sets the jailhouse ablaze as an alternate method of lynching.

Katherine, having arrived on the scene, faints when she sees flames engulf the cell where her fiance is held.

In spite of the mob acting as a faceless entity, its principle members are brought to trial though the town and the defendants maintain a conspiracy of silence, hoping to escape convictions and censure.

A sure acquittal seems imminent until damning evidence assures their guilt. When the majority of the members receive death sentences, Wilson turns up at his brothers, having survived the fire. Knowing the public is unaware of his survival, he vows to stay in hiding to ensure the mob conspirators are executed.

The scene where Katherine, nearly insane from grief, comes face to face with Joe is a powerful moment in the film. As she slowly recovers from her state, she realizes Joe's vindictive determination to see the mob hang is in itself a great injustice.

The story climaxes during a stirring courtroom scene that brings the fascinating story to a close.

I would have never expected Hollywood to make a statement as powerful as Fury made in 1936. Given the fact that lynchings in America at the time went unpunished, the movie railed bravely, in spite of the main character being white rather than black, against what was then the status quo. The Oxbow Incident would make a similar and commensurately powerful statement seven years later.

The film's willingness to peer into the darker side of American life could be partly attributed to Lang, who co-wrote the story and who was no stranger to exploring the darker side of humanity. Having seen evil flower in his home country, it makes sense Lang would choose to tell this story.

Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney give wonderful, emotionally layered performances. Katherine's near descent into madness is depicted touchingly by Sydney. To see Tracy's mild-mannered Wilson become angry and vengeful is heartbreaking.

Even watching Lang's film on a small screen does little to diminish its power. Weeks after the viewing, I still can't shake its indelible images or its angry indictment of one of America's great crimes. One couldn't devise a better title than one it was given eighty years ago. Fury indeed.