Me Before You

Me Before You wants to make you cry.

Not in a mean, merciless way, of course — it's just out to play your heartstrings like a harp and get you blubbering like a baby before sending you out of the cinema with the feeling that you've experienced enough sweetness to counteract the sadness.

It's a pretty effective tear-jerker this one, so straightforward and unpretentious in its approach that it's easy to overlook a few of its faults. Yes, it's a bit overbearing at times. But is subtlety something you really need from a three-hankie love story like this one? Sometimes it's better to err on the side of 'too much' rather than 'not enough'.

And Me Before You, based on the bestselling 2012 novel by Jojo Moyes (who also wrote the screenplay), is generous in its helpings, whether it's the unfailing cheerfulness of its heroine, Louisa 'Lou' Clark (Emilia Clarke) or the charmed life once enjoyed by its leading man, Will Traynor (Sam Claflin).

Will was once a wealthy banker with an array of extreme-sport hobbies but he was rendered quadriplegic after being hit by a motorcycle. Now living with his posh parents in the small village where he grew up, he's gone through a number of caregivers, driving each away with his surly, sarcastic attitude.

That was before Lou showed up. Desperate for work, she's untrained in the requirements of the job but she's eager to help and twice as eager to please. Given Will's chilly cynicism, she has her work cut out for her. It's not too long, however, before her warmth starts thawing him out. Despite the happiness Lou brings to Will, he is determined to end his life, believing he has nothing to live for. But Lou is just as determined to change his mind.

Theatre veteran Thea Sharrock makes her debut as a film director with Me Before You, and the occasionally heavy-handed approach she employs in some scenes (put it this way, there's a lot of syrupy Ed Sheeran music ladled over certain scenes) is offset by the tenderness and sensitivity brought to others.

Most of the heavy lifting is left to Claflin (recently seen as Finnick in the Hunger Games films) and especially Game Of Thrones' Clarke, a lovely screen pairing. Claflin goes for understatement, which provides a nice and possibly necessary counterbalance to Clarke's sunniness, but while it's hard to fault his work, it doesn't fully indicate the depths of his pain and dedication to his course of action.

And Clarke, maybe looking to show a different side to the steely Mother of Dragons she plays on her hit TV series, does overdo the adorably goofy side of Lou a touch. Not so much, however, that you're not on her side every step of the way throughout Me Before You.