Emilia Clarke’s Romantic Drama That Sparked Global Protests Is Climbing Streaming Charts 10 Years Later

1 week ago 17

Emilia Clarke smiling in a nice dress in Me Before You

Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.

Emilia Clarke's controversial romance drama Me Before You is again a hit on streaming. Clarke stars opposite Sam Claflin in Thea Sharrock's book adaptation, with the supporting cast including Janet McTeer, Vanessa Kirby, Jenna Coleman, Brendan Coyle, and Charles Dance. The British movie came out in 2016 and currently has a 55% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Me Before You follows Lou's romance with Will after she is hired as a caretaker for him, as he has recently been paralyzed. The movie's release sparked major protests, including disability rights campaigners who confronted the cast and crew at the UK premiere. Me Before You has been widely criticized for its depiction of disability, with Will seeking assisted suicide after his accident.

As of today (January 5), Me Before You is the No. 3 movie in the world on Netflix, per FlixPatrol. The movie is not available via Netflix but MGM+ in the U.S. According to the worldwide charts, Me Before You currently only ranks below Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story and The Great Flood. It has overtaken the relatively new hit Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Emilia Clarke as Louisa smiling and sitting on the lap of Sam Claflin as Will in a wheelchair in Me Before You

Me Before You was also a streaming success on Prime Video around this time last year. Despite its mediocre reviews and problematic storylines, Me Before You's high-profile cast, and possibly interest in understanding the controversy, has brought people back to it on several occasions, almost a decade after its release. It's worth noting that it has a better audience score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Emilia Clarke is, of course, best known for playing Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen, one of the most iconic TV characters of all time. She has had less success with her film career, starring in divisive franchise entries including Terminator Genisys and Solo: A Star Wars Story, but has multiple other projects coming up, as the Game of Thrones franchise continues to be a success.

Meanwhile, Sam Claflin has been a part of multiple major franchises, namely The Hunger Games and Pirates of the Caribbean. He also stars in Daisy Jones and the Six, Snow White and the Huntsman, Peaky Blinders, Adrift, Enola Holmes, and The Count of Monte Cristo. He recently joined the cast of Johnny Depp and Ti West's upcoming Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.

Movies like Me Before You are proven to have an audience — Netflix recommends It Ends With Us, My Oxford Year, and Purple Hearts in place of its absence in the U.S. While the talented cast of Me Before You still garners attention, audiences are possibly also reflecting on why the movie was so controversial years ago, with this new resurgence on the streamer.