Me Before You Movie Analysis Essay

The theme of embracing life is very consistent throughout many media pieces. But this paper will be discussing how it is interpreted throughout the movie, “Me before you”. The movie came out in June of 2016 and had mixed reviews but won a People’s Choice Award. This movie was trying to convey the importance of embracing life, taking risks, and appreciating all the challenges that may come one’s way. This theme is shown quite often throughout the entire movie and really represents how taking risks can make life more enjoyable. Instead of watching life pass them by, Lou and Will learn to dive into their ambitions and live life to the fullest throughout the film. Overall, being grateful for the life given is an important trait and this paper will dig a little deeper into this theme shown in the movie. 

In the film, Me Before you, the main theme is taking the challenges that life throws and still living life to the absolute fullest. By being able to embrace the bad things that come with life, people are able to really appreciate the little things and will not take things for granted. In the film, Lou is given a new job to take care of Will Traynor who is a tetraplegic. This is obviously a challenge because he needs assistance in doing everything; so Lou is faced with either taking the job with a positive attitude or being negative about taking care of someone disabled. She chose to embrace this new job opportunity and her cheerful personality actually helps Will be able to enjoy life a little bit more than before. He used to be a grumpy guy that saw no point in living anymore, but Lou helps him realize that there’s more to life than sitting at home all the time even with him being sick. Together, they help each other to be more excited for life and they fall in love. Which is a risk because Lou ends up getting heartbroken because Will wants to take the route of assisted suicide. But she takes the risk anyway and falls in love with him until his very last breath. It is important for people, especially with disabilities, to be grateful for the life they have and try to make the best of it. ““Despite having a terminal illness, one is alive. After confronting death, every day is a miracle”(Kuhl). This quote is saying that even though one is sick, being able to live another day should never be taken for granted. So throughout the film, Will learns this idea and that he should appreciate the beauty of life more because it was still worth living for the short amount of time. Also, he was most likely questioned with the thought of “do I embrace life or do I prepare to die” which he goes back and forth with what to choose(Kuhl). In the end he falls in love, sees the beauty of music, enjoys a wedding, goes on an island vacation, and so much more. He sees that his life was worth so much more than he originally thought.

The theme is being used to really convey the message to the audience that life is so short and teaching that it is possible to be grateful for even the bad things thrown our way. It is teaching the importance of gratitude, “gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity” meaning that this movie is able to showcase how even when there is not much to look forward to; life can still be beautiful(Pearce). Also to teach that acceptance is a very big step to truly appreciating life, “Acceptance is the first step towards being grateful — to take moments and people — even the weather — as they are”(Razzetti). It proves how being able to be okay with one’s current situation, they will be able to truly be grateful for all of life and be able to take those big risks that may have been scary to do before. It reveals that many people just watch life pass them by and lose opportunities, but it is important to realize that life goes by so fast so every chance should be completely embraced. 

The way the theme is presented is quite effective since it shows situations that could actually happen in real life. The way it is presented by having two people who have just given up on being grateful about life, then shows how they go on a journey together to learn to embrace life; just shows a powerful message. It is able to convey the important message to all viewers that taking on life with the most positive attitude possible leads to better outcomes. This theme helps people realize that “ambition drives people to accomplish greater things”, especially when they realize that life is not so bad after all(Economy). Also, this theme is effective by showing that people are using ambition as a “major driver for personal growth and development. No one can succeed without a healthy dose of ambition” revealing that ambition is needed for the growth of one’s character(Economy). Ambition comes from learning that life is worth living, so in turn it helps people be able to accomplish their goals and push for more in their lives.

To sum up what has been stated, the theme of embracing life and taking risks is a very important lesson for all people to learn. It needs to be considered because sometimes life can get hard and feel like there is nothing good coming out of it; but it’s important to remember that life is a beautiful thing and should never be taken for granted. This theme can connect to the general idea of living life to the fullest because it is not known when someone’s last day may be. Life needs to be looked at as a precious and delicate thing because humans only have one life; so it needs to be filled with love, adventure, risks, and heartbreak. That is the only way to truly embrace life and experience everything as best as possible. Overall, this theme teaches an important lesson and that even though life may not be as it used to, it can still be just as good or even better than before. Life can always get better in any circumstance because opportunities will always be out there just waiting to be taken.