Am I the only one who saw this movie? Anyway, in my post about this movie on the other side of this forum, I was critical of the score. When I first heard this wonderful novel was to be made into a movie, I thought John Barry would be the perfect composer, but since that can’t happen, I was thrilled Craig Armstrong was selected. However, as I wrote below in my initial post, I was disappointed with Armstrong’s music. I never heard a well-articulated, lovely love theme. I guess I was expecting something more bombastic like in Love Actually.
And then I read Jon Broxton’s review and realized that upon first viewing, I was too engaged into the movie to really notice the score.
Below is what I initially wrote and below that is what I’ve learned. (“For anyone who is interested.”)
“ME BEFORE YOU. 8.5 out of 10.
I loved the novel. It was so insightful into a key ethical dilemma, into working class Britons versus the posh, educated, wealthy Britons, and mainly into how two people can change the lives of each other in a short time. The “Me” of each character changed as they got to know the “You” in each other.
The movie does as much as it can with the novel. Emilia Clarke, the blonde dragon lady in Game of Thrones, is absolutely marvelous as a very quirky working-class girl. Her smile and laughter are like glowing bonfires. She was amazing. Sam Claflin as the elegant, classy paraplegic, brings a quiet dignity to his role.
Bring a box of Kleenex. It is funny in places and at times very sad but not overly maudlin.
My only disappointment was Craig Armstrong’s music. I usually love his music, but in this movie, it is just serviceable, not memorable. One or two of the needle-drop songs were more poignant than his score.”
Here is what I’ve learned. First of all, read music reviews. I was too engaged in this movie to seriously notice the music. Heck, I’ve admitted in previous threads that when I first watched Dances With Wolves, I really didn’t take note of the music. This can happen. Now, after reading Jon’s review, I know I’ll rent the DVD of Me Before You when it comes out, and this time I will lend more attuned ears to the music. Maybe I still won’t be enamored with it, or maybe I’ll make marvelous aural discoveries.
Glad you posted this review, Jon. I shall listen more carefully to this score in the future.
My missus is reading the novel right now and enjoying it. She will probably watch the film at a later date. I don't have much interest in seeing the film (but will prob see it on DVD with her) but I am a Armstrong fan, so I'm curious about the music.
Ew. Did the youtube user raise the volume or is that cue a victim of the loudness wars? The last half of the cue where the orchestra gets louder is all distorted and it sounds like the dynamics have been cut off.
I had low expectations for this movie but it turned out that I actually enjoyed the movie than my girlfriend.
For the score, it functions well enough. I was surprised to see Craig Armstrong's name in the credits because I had not been able to identify the composer from the score in the film.
Well, Kevin, you should never have had low expectations of this movie after reading my review. LOL. Seriously, I'm really glad you liked it. Emilia Clark is so very different from her role as the Dragon Queen in Game of Thrones. She is a decent actress. Also, it is an heart-felt and moving journey that is so well depicted in the movie and the book. Now the author has a sequel out that I hope to read soon.
Well, Kevin, you should never have had low expectations of this movie after reading my review. LOL. Seriously, I'm really glad you liked it. Emilia Clark is so very different from her role as the Dragon Queen in Game of Thrones. She is a decent actress. Also, it is an heart-felt and moving journey that is so well depicted in the movie and the book. Now the author has a sequel out that I hope to read soon.
I saw the movie before your review.
Also one nit-pick, how does a girl from a lower middle class family dress impeccably every day?
I'm not sure, even with the icon, if you are joking about her being impeccably dressed. I think you are. I thought she had horrible taste in clothes, especially in certain tights. But bad clothes didn't cover her inner light.
I'm so grateful to see that this got a proper CD release. I listen to all my music on headphones and this Japanese CD sounds MUCH better than the iTunes version. I didn't mind paying $35 for it, I recognize that CDs are becoming a niche market and I'm just grateful there was a label that decided to release one of my top 5 scores of the year. Kudos to Rambling Records for rescuing this lovely score from digital oblivion.
Interestingly, it seems like there are a lot of CDs and Blu-Rays that are released in limited runs for the collectors' market in Asia. I just got a Blu-Ray of the brilliant German film Good Bye Lenin that was released in South Korea as part of a line of cult films.
