MovieChat Forums > Me Before You (2016) Discussion > Emilia Clarke

Emilia Clarke

posted 8 years ago by alligatoruk
19 replies | jump to latest

Just watched the movie last night and thought it was ok - there were some good parts and the ending was emotional but I overall I thought Emilia Clarke wasn't very good in this.

I don't know if this is down to her acting (or overacting) or if that is the way the director wanted her to be but she was quite irritating at points. I felt that Clarke was just "too much" - too smiley, too wacky, too chatty, too nice. And those clothes were just ridiculous, she was like Bubble from Ab Fab.

I haven't really seen her in much else (except Terminator where she was fine), so again I don't know if it was just the character was poorly written - she ended up like a cliché of a chick flick book heroine.

I went to see it with my mum and her observations were exactly the same as mine (as were those of some reviewers who saw it). And we both thought the film could have benefitted from swapping the sister roles - Jenna Coleman would have been a much better choice as Clarke.

[–] alan_h 8 years ago

Jenna Coleman was still doing Doctor Who at the time so she wasn't available to play the lead. Just playing the sister got her written out of most of the episode titled The Woman Who Lived.

[–] joasiafly 8 years ago

Did you read the book? Lou wore crazy clothes and was a little gabby

Bubble was an idiot which Lou is not.

Emilia does an incredible job as Mother of Dragons in Game of thrones, btw.

[–] alligatoruk 8 years ago

Did you read the book? Lou wore crazy clothes and was a little gabby

Bubble was an idiot which Lou is not.

Emilia does an incredible job as Mother of Dragons in Game of thrones, btw.

No, I haven't read the book, although I suspected that the fault was with the character, rather than the actress. That's not to say I totally disliked Lou at all, just that in some parts, she was a little bit "too much" for me personally (and a few others - I read reviews that said similar). Early on in the story she felt like a character, rather than a real person but as it went on she was far more likeable, as she felt more realistic.

Bubble was an idiot which Lou is not.

I only meant in terms of the clothes she put together. Those clothes were not fashionable, they were just mad.

Emilia does an incredible job as Mother of Dragons in Game of thrones, btw.

I don't watch GOT but I did see her in Terminator and she was fine in that - again I don't think it was necessarily Emilia's fault, I suspect the director told her to lay it on thick with the quirkyness early on in the film. I guess I just wasn't a fan of the character, she just seemed a little cliched.,

Overall I thought the film was ok and I did have a cry at the end (mainly due to Sam Clafin's portrayal). It won't put me off watching other films/tv that Emilia may do. As a Doctor Who fan I guess I'm more familiar with Jenna and I know she is a talented actress, who can pull at the heartstrings with great ease.

[–] Madonna-whore 8 years ago

The character she played is dead-on to the book character, she is a bit "too much" at times, and that's why intially Will doesn't like her.

She also does wear really outrageous outfits most of the time, there's a reason for that in the books though, she used to wear "normal" clothes, tight jeans and crop tops. She suffers a traumatic experience, and decides to stop dressing for others and only dress for herself from then on. This storyline was cut out o the movie entirely.

She also mentioned in an interview how she used a lot of facial expressions because after acting so sternly on Game of Thrones for 6 years, she wanted to be able to move her face and use her eyebrows more.

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Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not.

[–] samrolsotiefa 8 years ago

I have to disagree, Emilia Clarke's acting is cringe worthy in GoT. I haven't seen her in anything else, though.

[–] Belle-Et-La-B 8 years ago

I'm only a few episodes in but Emilia's my favorite actress on the show so far. Nothing in her acting has been cringe worthy for me.

Whatever the weather my ass! It's hot as hell out here!

[–] Naeblis5 8 years ago

I'm not familiar with Jenna Coleman's other work but I would disagree that she could have done the role better than Emilia.

Clarke did the role as it was written - I think it was fine, the problems with the film were mostly directorial (it wasn't shot or cut as well as it might have been) and so some extent there were issues with the script - the character development she underwent in the book and the dark explanation for why she chose to have absolutely no fashion sense was unfortunately left unexplained in this film.

[–] drtturner 8 years ago

Why did the book say she did it? I found her quite familiar like an English version of Ellen Page or that girl from Inception. I saw a slight bit of Matt Damon Good Will unexpected talent in her as well. The direction and timing of them falling in love seemed forced or sudden, but sometimes real life is like that. How

[–] jennart13 8 years ago

In the book, she explains that she was gang-raped after having too much to drink while hanging out with a couple of girlfriends and some guys. After that, she decided to start dressing crazy to deter guys and keep them from finding her attractive.

[–] jinnocente 8 years ago

I think you meant that you didn't like the character... Lou was too chatty and overall "too much"... So if you thought E. Clark was "too much", then she did well...

[–] alligatoruk 8 years ago

I think you meant that you didn't like the character... Lou was too chatty and overall "too much"... So if you thought E. Clark was "too much", then she did well...

Well that could be it - as I said I haven't read the book, so I don't have anything to draw comparisons with. Let's just say then, I found the character annoying and very unrealistic for the first third of the film. If she's the same in the book then I don't feel like she's a very well written character, she's very cliched. I find this is the case with a lot of chick lit, that their heroines are all of the same ilk.

[–] ckimsey-1 8 years ago

I thought she played a good part and had good acting skills.
What surprised me was that in real life, she is 29 or 30.

[–] disney213 8 years ago

I thought she was darling and sweet... and really likable

[–] Belle-Et-La-B 8 years ago

It's the character. Emilia definitely was perfect as Louisa Clark. It's just like Kristen Stewart as Bella in Twilight. That WAS the character. It's not the actor's fault most people don't like them.

Whatever the weather my ass! It's hot as hell out here!

[–] Esoteric86 8 years ago

I loved Emilia's portrayal of Lou. I thought she was absolutely adorable. Yeah she was a little over the top...but that was the whole idea. I found nothing "cringe worthy" at all with her performance. I watch GoT and she is just fine in that too. She has great range!

[–] DaGunnerZ 8 years ago

I think the same!just by watching the trailer i can see her being overacting!

[–] cyim89 8 years ago

I think her over-chattiness and bubbly personality was a curse and a blessing - at first, it turned Will off but in the end, is one of the main reasons he fell in love with her. She's positive and to the point, which Will completely lacked in his life.

She was serious when she needed to be and she wore her heart on her sleeve; Will recognizes this and loves her for it.

I personally loved her but understand we all have different opinions :) Hopefully she'll grow on you.