How is this a love story? - Me Before You (2016) Discussion

[–] Lucy9596 8 years ago

I never saw this as a love story in the meaning of "two guys love each other and live happily ever after"

Both Will and Lou knew exactly they never would have met if he was his former self. My opinion is Will liked her very much, gave her even the opportunity to decide what to do with her life - money helps a lot - and he had enough to give some of it to her. And Lou didn't love him in the way you think of but wanted to "rescue" him. Of course she liked the lifestyle and she really liked Will and his way to treat her but that was not LOVE. IMHO

Can.You.Hear.Me?
Hell yes!

****

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[–] kermifairy 8 years ago

Very true! I'm also bothered by the fact they never really said I love you.

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[–] xsarahlwx 8 years ago

Why does admitting that she isn't who he would notice when he was able bodied mean that he doesn't care about her or love her? That's like saying no one can fall in love with someone they weren't initially attracted to or someone who isn't their type, which is ridiculous because people do fall in love like that all the time. All he admitted was that in his life when he was able bodied she wouldn't have been the type he would go for, yet there he is, with this girl he's fallen for.
And as for "I love you" sometimes it doesn't need to be said. There are other ways of saying and expressing those words without saying those exact words.
But, that's just me, clearly I'm just a huge romantic at heart and prefer to see that side of things instead of analysing it and breaking it down to losing all feeling.

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[–] d-l-bfanoffangs 8 years ago

Xsarahwlx... I couldn't have said it any better!!!!!! I don't know why people insist on defining a couple's love story by the events from their own lives. Love comes in many shapes, sizes and colors!!!!!! We all have to write our own stories!!!!!!!!!!! Namasté

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[–] kramtue 8 years ago

Different events and circumstances can change people, for better or worse. When people are forced to see life through different eyes and perspective, a lot more things can happen. He used to be all high and mighty, but got sucked into reality when he got paralyzed. The movie is more about how his accident made him a better person, but his life a living hell.

They do fall in love, but the timing and circumstances just wasn't right. It's more of a tragedy than a love story, but it's still romance

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[–] jrhpax 8 years ago

The kiss at the end was one of the most moving I have ever seen on screen. They didn't have to say "I love you." The kiss showed us that they did.

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[–] lindz07-1 8 years ago

I'm going to be that annoying "the book is better" person, but it is. In the book you see much more of their relationship and how it does grow into love because of the way they both open up to each other about things they have hidden, plus you see other peoples view on their relationship (mom, dad, Nathan). Also, in the book she does say I love you to Will on the beach. I was a little disappointed that those words didn't make it into the movie, including the part where she says "*beep* you" after Will says he wants her to go with him to Switzerland. There is just SO much of their growing relationship missing from the film.

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[–] marisanz 8 years ago

I agree, the book offers much more intense moments than the movie.At the beach,Lou even takes Will's hand and she caresses his hair and face.In the movie she acted less sweet and affectionate.
But,in part I agree with the OP.I think Will loved her but he was not in love with her.There are many forms to love, and I dont see Will loving Louisa like a guy crazy in love.I think she was not his type..He was used to the life of a yuppie, and he missed that with everything,his sports, his holidays, his affairs, expensive hotels and the life of a millionarie.
I guess he had a circle of V.I.P friendships and girlfriends and Louisa was like a 12 years old girl, really I can get she was not enough for him.He was used to other kind of woman and people and he did not feel fullfilled and in love,if he had done,I think he would have waited some time to comitt suicide.

There is a part where he says he would like to have sex with her but he can't and he used to enjoy the sex very much.Okay, it seems he likes Lou, but if he had been really in love with her I think he would haave waited some months or even years to die or maybe she would have changed him so much than he had lived with his illness.The time they spent in the island was great but that did not change his mind,instead,he "ran" to fly to Switzterland to die.
If he had loved Lou really,he would not have thought of the suicide in those moments.Altough he could not have sex with her, he would have her love,and they could adapt the things to get some orgasm doing other things but for Will that was not an option.

I remember the case of the actor Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana.He also wanted to die because he was in the same situation than Will, but Dana supported him and loved him and then he decided to stay with her.
That is love for me.

I admit Lou and Will had feelings for each other but Will was not so much into Lou like Lou into Will.
Besides Will was the kind of guy who dated and slept with girls who looked like models and porn stars.He would never have looked at Louisa if he had spotted her in a disco or a bookstore.In the movie even it seems he still loves his ex because in the wedding he looked really sad and heartbroken.

Besides Lou was not a very mature person,I dont know if what she felt for Will was the typical platonic love that you feel when you meet a guy who is handsome,rich, nice..Will is the typical guy that any girl would like to have, specially the teens, and Lou was so "teen" that in her boring world, Will was like a revelation.
I need to read the second book to see how she lives the life now without Will...In the first book I can see she really loved him, but I dont know if his death would lead her to a depression and non stop crying or something..

Anyway,I dont see much of a love story here,it is more a tragedy.And if I name the love is from Louisa's part because it is clear for me Will was not in love.
He just appreciated Louisa and had a fun time with her, but she was not his reason to live at least a few months or years more.

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[–] Sanjasss 8 years ago

I'm inclined to agree. Will did not seem in love, especially not in the movie. But that is perhaps because we're being told the story mostly through Lou's eyes in both the movie and especially the book.

He might have been truly in love with her. He did say that he didn't want to be the reason that she'd be missing out on a lot. He wanted her to have everything. That is love. But is it platonic love or a passionate love?

I'm on the fence. I do find it very strange that he didn't prolong his life even for a few months or years because of her. I mean he did love in in some way and he did give his parents six months, so I always found it strange that he didn't do the same for Lou. Just a little more time would have been a more effective way of showing how much he did love her.

This way it does come across as you say - that he wasn't in love with her. Maybe that is what the author intended however. Does anyone know? Has she spoken out about this matter?

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[–] marisanz 8 years ago

Sometimes I thought he might be in love secretly ,above all I suspected this when at the beach he told Lou their romance could not happen because he could not be a man with her, meaning he would never be able to have sex with her,or touch her and he enjoyed the sex very much and he could not stand the fact of seeing her naked or wearing funny clothes and not be able to do the things he wanted to do to her.

But that doesnt mean he was necessary in love,maybe he just felt attraction and desire.In the second book we learn Will had a lot of girlfriends and affairs and his father said he used to see many girls getting out of his room in the morning after a night of sex.Besides also,in the second book he was described as a playboy who used women .He was unfaithful to his girlfriend Tanya and had a lot of affairs.
So maybe for him,Lou was just a virgin land to conquer,but not necessarily love.

And I think he saw her more like a friend,a very best friend of those who you allow yourself flirt a bit or even kiss.
I guess the fact he felt frustrated because he could not give her a sex life was just because he could not set free his desire but not because he was in love.

Besides he always called her "Clark" and in the movie and book,but a couple of moments where both hold hands,he always treated her as a friend who gives a piece of advice and listens to her problems.So I did not see love from Will's part,in terms of a couple.It was a love of friend.
Besides she was not his type,as I said,he saw her as a funny best friend.
If he accepted to do things with Lou was not because he was in love,it was so she felt alive and realized there was a world full of possibilities for her.

I think Will wanted Lou to discover the life he had had before, travelling, doing funny things and that is why he accepted to go to the island with her, to give her something good.But he was determided to die no matter what.

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[–] Sanjasss 8 years ago

You have made some excellent points. I do agree but there's just that little piece of me that badly wants it to be real romantic love, and not just a friendly love.

I just finished reading the second book and it only made me sure that he wasn't in fact in love with her. He did love her, that much is certain but reading the second book it made it even more apparent that he may not have felt the same way that she did.

I remember a part in the second book where Lou realizes that Sam loves her enough to fight for his life. She finally feels worthy of a love like that and happy that another person would have such strong feelings for her that they would fight to stay alive in large part because of her. That right there was sort of the authors way of saying that Will didn't have strong feelings for Lou and that in his mind she was not worthy the pain and suffering. Maybe it was to please fans as I take it that a lot of fans were sad and angry that Will decided to end his life and that Lou didn't manage to persuade him otherwise.

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[–] axl7 8 years ago

I'm on the fence. I do find it very strange that he didn't prolong his life even for a few months or years because of her. I mean he did love in in some way and he did give his parents six months, so I always found it strange that he didn't do the same for Lou. Just a little more time would have been a more effective way of showing how much he did love her.

I think we tend to believe that love can conquer everything, bit it's just not true.
We were expecting Will to give Lou and himself some more time, but Will had made up his mind. He did not want to live like that and he made this clear, and he certainly felt he "didn't have the luxury of time", he said so in the book when they were at the beach.
In the maze scene also Will talked to Lou and said to her that he would lie in bed at night and be so terrified about how he was probably going to get worse ...I think he really thought he had to go through with his plans before he lost completely the ability to do so: he thought he was going to be hospitalized permanently, or end up on a ventilator...
I think he loved Lou but he had his plans and did not let his feelings divert him from what he felt he needed to do.
Love is not enough sometime.

He showed his love by trying to give Lou a good life, trying to help her overcome bad memories, trying to encourage her, telling her she was special...
And in the end, he wanted her close to him on the day he died...he wanted his family and Lou. I don't think you ask someone you simply "like" or "fancy" or "care about" to be with you the day you die. You only want those you truly love.
Anyway, just my thoughts...

"Please, if you are trying to convert me, this isn't a good time"

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[–] Sanjasss 8 years ago

I do believe that had he loved her more, he would have given it some more time. I do think that loving someone makes you uncertain about things and makes you wonder. It does not keep you determined on a path you set out for yourself before you met that person. I mean, you may still go through with your plan eventually but I think that it takes longer because of the person that you love. They interrupt the path and make it more questionable. What I mean to say is that if Will had been in love with Lou he would've taken some more time.

This way it seemed as though Lou's presence in Will's life didn't make much or any difference at all. He changed her life and her forever, but she did nothing for him. She even says so in the sequel.

I would have liked to see some of Lou's impact on Will's life. And I mean some real impact that changed things. But it never happened. Will was in the same frame of mind after spending all that time with her and her trying to make his life worthwhile. It left a bad taste to be frank.

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[–] marisanz 8 years ago

I agree 100%. For me, It was Will who did something for Lou, instead of Lou for Will. That is the joke of the story.
He was like a good brother or a best friend for her.
Giving her advices, guiding her future to new possibilities and opening her mind.

I always said if Will had fallen in love with Lou, he would have waited some time.Even paralyzed and sick, he would have wanted to spend some time more with her and specially considering he was "enjoying" a bit more the life,going out with her and laughing at her jokes.But it was an illusion.His heart was not there..

On the book it seems he is enjoying the new activities with Lou, like the music concert, the picnics, the Island, but now I am sure he was just doing all that so Lou enjoyed the life for first time and then she made new decisions.
I think he felt sorry for her,ironically, because she was good person and she had not much of a life.
Her boyfriend Pat was a jerk, she had not a career or a high level of studies having to accept poor jobs, and she was living with her parents like if she was 8 years old..

I think Will thought she deserved something more and he spent his last days showing her a new world but honestly I dont think he enjoyed anything.
The idea of the death was inside his mind and just a special girl who had touched his heart, maybe, would have him made change his mind or at least to postpone that for a time.But for me it is clear he did not see Lou as a love interest.
Sometimes I think maybe he was still in love with Alicia.
He got angry and broke the pictures when he knew Alicia was getting married and in the wedding he looked sad but when Lou proposed him to dance...

What bothers me about the second book is, she did not do anything for herself after Will helped her with the money to start a life.
She bought an apartment but she ignored the University and the career.Will gave her the money so she studied a career and she just ignored it.Nathan was who offered her something better with the job in New York, but Lou still wanted to work in that bar at the airport and it was like..why?? why these lame jobs when you have a new chance to study and get better?

I feel she ignored Will's advices ,altough I understand she was going through a depression or a dark period, but when she found Sam and seemed happier she still though of working as a waitress.It is like she never had aspirations despite Will's advices..

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[–] kanlaya_ch55 8 years ago

I couldn't' agree more of what you have written here and I feel shame for Lou that she tried too hard to rescue him and love him. I felt bad for her boyfriend in the way that she treat Will in front of him no man would accept that.

Love doesn't require "Trying" as it is the most natural thing in life :) so if she just takes it easy and doesn't give too much it should be an equal exchange. but again.. we cannot how we feel/falling in love with someone. :) but not happy with the story so much.

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[–] xix_azn_luv_xix 8 years ago

He also mentioned about not being noticed by French women anymore lol

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[–] allisonjoys 8 years ago

Yeah, this was not a love story. So much potential wasted.

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[–] FrouFrouFoxes 8 years ago

Her love was shallow also. She coldly dumps her long-term boyfriend for her wealthy, handsome employer who can take her on a dream vacation. She has only has to overlook his disability, which actually makes her feel needed and useful when otherwise she is as dumb as a doorknob.

True, her BF and her were incompatible, albeit equally dumb, vulgar and shallow, but she had stayed with him 7 years. Once her emotional affair began with Will, she should've had the decency and spine to end it with her BF. It is another movie following a recent trend where the female lead drops her current relationship cold when the more handsome, charismatic male lead shows up. I never get the justifucation for this, and this movie also doesnt even bother with it. Instead it makes her out to be the kind of woman who cannot handle being alone or independent. I guess Will's suicide is somehow the remedy for that. Soooo romantic. The self-absorption of female leads in romantic movies nowadays is gross.

In short- the story was awful.

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