At the time, the attention Clarke received for her Game of Thrones work overshadowed her filmography outside the show, which included major appearances in Terminator Genisys and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Since Game of Thrones concluded, Clarke has gone on to star in the disappointing MCU show Secret Invasion, and she’ll next appear in the highly anticipated Peacock spy thriller show, Ponies. While fans wait for that, they must check out Clarke’s most important movie to date.
What Is Me Before You About?
Based on Jojo Moyes’ international bestselling 2012 novel of the same name, Me Before You stars Emilia Clarke as Lousia “Lou” Clark, a sunny yet flighty young woman who takes a job as caretaker for the wealthy Will Traynor (The Hunger Games‘ Sam Claflin). Recently paralyzed after a motorcycle accident, Will is extremely cynical and cold, and his mother hopes Lou will lift his spirits.
Though there is initial friction between Lou and Will, eventually they start to bond, and Lou learns that Will plans to end his own life via assisted suicide. Lou becomes desperate to change his mind, and through her efforts, she and Will begin to fall in love.
Why Me Before You Is Still Popular 10 Years Later
Despite being almost a decade old, Me Before You is thriving on Netflix’s streaming charts. As of this writing (January 12), the film currently sits at No. 2 of the streamer’s top 10 movies in the world (via Flix Patrol), sitting just behind People We Meet on Vacation, a Netflix original movie released on January 9 — also a romance.
This isn’t the first time Me Before You has found streaming success, as it also appeared on Prime Video’s top 10 U.S. movies list almost exactly one year earlier. Based on its enduring popularity in the streaming landscape, it’s clear that Me Before You isn’t fading from pop culture consciousness anytime soon.
There are likely a few reasons why it’s still such a beloved movie. The first is its A-list cast, particularly Clarke, who has a huge fanbase that has likely taken renewed interest in her in anticipation of Ponies, her new show set to premiere on January 15.
Me Before You‘s cult classic status also speaks to how beloved romances, and between this film and People We Meet on Vacation, audiences have a huge appetite for the genre in myriad forms. Whereas People We Meet on Vacation is a light-hearted rom-com, Me Before You is a weepy tearjerker.
Me Before You’s Reviews Don’t Match The Movie’s Impact
Me Before You may be enjoying a decade’s worth of success, but when it was first released in June 2016, it performed poorly with critics. With a middling Rotten Tomatoes score of 55%, with pundits dinging the film’s “clumsy treatment of a sensitive subject.” ScreenRant‘s own Me Before You review said the movie’s “reliance on formula prevents it from being as compelling as it could have been.”
However, the movie’s mixed reviews certainly didn’t hurt its box office performance. Me Before You took in a worldwide gross of over $208 million opposite a modest $20 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). These numbers make Me Before You a hugely successful movie, and it’s been going from strength to strength in the streaming world.
Sadly, Me Before You‘s massive disparity between its success with audiences and critics speaks to an overall dismissal of the romance genre in terms of film criticism. Romance movies are often looked down on for being “cliché,” “formulaic,” and ultimately, “fluff” — which is to suggest that they don’t matter and shouldn’t be taken as seriously as other films.
