Me Before You director defends controversial ending after outcry from disability campaigners

'This is a brave ending. It’s too easy to do it the other way. We could all tell that story tomorrow. But this way… this is the more interesting way'

*WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ME BEFORE YOU*

What was surely intended as a light, tearjerker romance to while away summer nights has quickly turned into an ideological battleground; with Me Before You attracting severe criticism from campaigners for its representation of living with a disability.

The film stars Sam Claflin as the wealthy, young, and attractive Will Traynor; who becomes paralysed after a motorcycle accident, and falls in love with his new caretaker Lou Clark (Emilia Clarke). However, the controversy lies with the film's conclusion; which sees Will, despite his love for Lou, choosing to leave her and take the path of assisted suicide.

As Michaela Hollywood writes, it's an ending interpreted by many disabled audiences as "misleading and inaccurate"; seemingly implying that, "it's better to choose death than live as a disabled person." Activists have, indeed, protested the film's release; either expressing their anger through the film's own hashtag #LiveBoldly, or by protesting in person at the film's London premiere.

Me Before You's director Thea Sharrock has since defended the film's ending, saying it keeps intact the source novel's conclusion, and telling Entertainment Weekly; "Can you imagine it coming out now and we would be saying, ‘It’s exactly like the book. It’s just we have this whole new taking on the ending'. This is a brave ending. It’s too easy to do it the other way. We could all tell that story tomorrow. But this way… this is the more interesting way."

"It’s an incredibly serious and important subject," she added, noting she's not surprised by the backlash. "It’s interesting to me that the controversy has been much more so then what JoJo [Moyles] ever got for the book. And I guess that says a lot about movies and how out there they are in comparison to books."

The director added that Will's choice was always intended as a purely personal one, and that she remains proud of creating an old-fashioned shared experience during a time in which technology has rendered us increasingly isolated; indeed, for her, the very fact a discussion is taking place is an accomplishment for her.

"There is something wonderful about knowing that the person next to you is also bawling their eyes out and you’re sharing that with them," Sharrock concludes. “I think that’s a hugely cathartic thing. That side of it, I’m really proud of."