Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Line Cinema,
Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Brendan Coyle
Will Traynor (Sam Clafin) is a very lucky man. He’s from a wealthy British family that owns a castle, and he’s grown into a very handsome young man with a beautiful girlfriend, a high visibility job, and an active lifestyle filled with skiing, surfing, climbing, and all sorts of activities. But in a split second it’s all taken away when a single moment rips away all but the money. Two years later, bubbly and happy Luisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) loses her job as a waitress when the cafe closes. With her father out of work for a long time, the family depended on her waitress salary to stay afloat, so she needs a job. She applies and gets a job as a caretaker for Will, but it’s only for six months. Will is deeply depressed and very disturbed, and Lou sets out to make him smile a little and try to bring some meaning to his life. Little did she know how determined he was to be sad and grumpy at what he has lost.
Based on a novel, this film is a true romance story, but with lots of heartache and sadness, and some terrific highs. My wife and I went to see this film on a Tuesday (aka discount night) date night and I wish I could blame this “chick flick” on her choice and my graciousness of bending to her will, but the truth is that I have been wanting to see this film. As a youngster I had no doubt that I was an unusual kid. I loved sharing music with my grandmother and became a fan of old music, and I loved books and movies. I’ve never been a big one for fast cars, and can’t tell a Dodge from a Toyota, and never really got into playing sports. I had a much bigger enjoyment of the arts and nature and travel and things of that nature. As a teen, name a song, and I could tell you who it was by, what label it was on, how long it was, and what was on the other side, and I amassed a treasure trove of 45’s and LP’s and my record player my Dad rescued from someone’s trash and built into a really nice stand for me for Christmas was probably one of my most treasured Christmas presents. So I am a sucker for “relationship” movies and a lot of what people call movies for girls. Now my favorite genre is horror, and I love comedy. Favorite films would have to include Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, all the Star Trek movies, and so on. But I do like really good people stories too. This is certainly a touching (can I say tear-jerking) film, but dang it was a really good story as well. With a British setting and with British actors, the accent was there throughout, but unlike some films that I have a really hard time understanding, this was really easy to follow. There are a lot of twists and turns, although the truth is that it is completely logical step by step. I don’t know any of the actors in this movie which really made it a lot more believable to me as well, and I must admit I was totally invested in this story. It is a bit intense for very young kids, and even though it’s a PG-13 film, I would hesitate to bring children under 13 as it would be tough for them to understand, but for older kids and adults, this is a really touchingly bittersweet story but one that I’m very glad I watched. If you have a heart, I highly recommend this story. Get out and see it while you can!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
