Question for book readers about casting

I haven't read the book but upon watching the film, I didn't really like Emilia Clarke's portrayal - I don't know if it was the character or the actress but she was way too much for me and felt exactly like a character in a book, rather than a real person. Personally, I would have like Jenna Coleman in the lead role instead.

Sam Clafin was good - engaging, real and of course, gorgeous!

I think the casting choices fit, personally. Emilia Clarke really embodied Lou; and Sam Claflin...well, he's the attractive type, for sure. And I didn't think of Finnick Odair once while watching him as Will - a sign he's not been typecasted. :)

Two gorgeous people overall, playing the characters quite well I thought. Emilia's charm is definitely evident in this movie...so much so that I think part of it just has to be her natural personality. She's so just effervescent and infectiously happy as Lou - you can't fake that level of smiley. If so, you gotta at least give her props for that - she does a heck of a job. I did think some of the clothes they had her in looked a little dowdy/dopey: considering she was s'posed to be this '20something' but I digress...some of them were perfectly okay. That red dress for example - lovely!

As for the ages, I think both Emilia and Sam fit their characters' ages. I believe Lou is written in the 26 to 28 range, and Will is supposed to be around 35. They made Will slightly younger in the movie, but as it stands; Sam is 30, so I don't think it was much of a stretch at all. And Emilia is 29, but I personally think she looks much closer to mid-twenties, rather than almost 30...so again, I found it pretty plausible.