Me Before You

When Will Traynor is left paralysed following a road traffic collision, he is forced to give up his jet-set lifestyle and return to his family home, a castle in the English countryside. In constant pain and struggling to adjust to his new way of life, Will attempts suicide on several occasions. Following these suicide attempts, Will makes his wishes clear: he wants to end his life; however, he promises to give his parents six months to come to terms with his decision. In this context, Will’s parents employ a young, local woman, Louisa Clark, to care for their son and try to “cheer him up.” Louisa is, in many ways, the antithesis of Will; however, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship and, later, a romance, as Louisa tries to persuade Will that euthanasia is not the best option for him. The pair embark on experiences and adventures of all kinds and develop a profound bond, yet Will still decides to end his life by assisted suicide in Switzerland. Although she is initially against his decision, Louisa eventually changes her mind and flies to Switzerland to be with Will in his final days.

The film asks questions around value of life and addresses a number of issues associated with suicide tourism, albeit in a very light-touch way. At the time of its release, the film sparked an outcry from disability rights activists, as it was seen to promote an idealised view of euthanasia and to suggest that disabled people should just “hurry up and die” (a paraphrase of words used by the activists themselves). Protests were staged at the film’s UK and US premiers, led by the disability rights group Not Dead Yet. Particular exception was also taken to the film promoters’ decision to use the hashtag #LiveBoldly, with disability rights groups taking to social media to denounce the hashtag as, in their eyes, a euphemism for #DieQuickly. Despite this backlash, the film was a firm success. Both Jojo Moyes, the screenwriter and author of the novel on which the film is based, and Thea Storrock, the film’s director, have defended the book and the film’s somewhat unexpected ending, citing stories of healthcare professionals who have known patients to make identical decisions, in similar circumstances.