Me Before You backdrop

Films like Me Before You (2016)

Published: Mar 30, 2026

A selection of touching films similar to "Me Before You," about love that begins in the most unexpected circumstances and leaves a lasting impact on the characters’ lives. In these films, romance is closely intertwined with personal trials, pain, loss, and a struggle against time and the inevitable. The closest in spirit are "The Fault in Our Stars," "A Walk to Remember," "Sweet November," "Keith," and "The Theory of Everything."

The Fault in Our Stars

1. The Fault in Our Stars

Romance Drama
7.6

2014 · 2h 6min

United States

Director: Josh Boone

Hazel, a seriously ill girl, is forced to attend a support group, where she meets Augustus—a boy who has overcome the same disease. As they spend more time together, they gradually grow closer and fall in love.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Bleakness, Tone, Conflict

Shared keywords

Character study, Grief, Mortality, Bittersweet


A Walk to Remember

2. A Walk to Remember

Drama Romance
7.3

2002 · 1h 41min

United States

Director: Adam Shankman

High school star and rebel Landon is forced to stay after school and work as punishment after a bad incident. There he gets to know the unassuming Jamie, and over time feelings grow between them.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Grief, Mortality, Tragic, Romance


Sweet November

3. Sweet November

Drama Romance
6.7

2001 · 1h 59min

United States

Director: Pat O'Connor

Workaholic Nelson devotes all of his time to his career in advertising. His life changes when he meets an unusual woman named Sara, who asks him to spend a month with her in the hope of changing the way he sees life.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Grief, Mortality, Tragic, Romance, Bittersweet


One Day

4. One Day

Drama Romance
7.0

2011 · 1h 47min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Lone Scherfig

Emma and Dexter meet on their graduation day at the University of Edinburgh and spend the night together. Afterward, they agree to remain just friends, but that special day leaves a lasting mark on both of their lives, and their paths continue to cross over the years.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Themes

Shared keywords

Character study, Grief, Tragic, Romance, Bittersweet


The Theory of Everything

5. The Theory of Everything

Drama Romance
7.7

2014 · 2h 3min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: James Marsh

A biographical drama about the life of renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at a young age with a serious illness that led to paralysis. The film focuses on his relationship with his first wife, Jane, who stood by his side and supported him through the hardest years of his life.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (-17%)

Shared keywords

Character study, Mortality, Legacy, Bittersweet


Keith

6. Keith

Drama Romance
7.3

2008 · 1h 33min

United States

Director: Todd Kessler

Natalie’s life changes when a new student named Keith transfers into her class. At first, she cannot stand him, and he only annoys and frustrates her. But as they work together on a lab assignment, they gradually grow closer and fall in love. However, a painful secret Keith has been hiding threatens their relationship.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Bleakness, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Self discovery, Mortality, Romance, Bittersweet


Five Feet Apart

7. Five Feet Apart

Romance Drama
7.2

2019 · 1h 56min

United States

Director: Justin Baldoni

Two teenagers being treated for a serious illness in the same hospital fall in love. But because of the risk of infection, they’re forbidden to get closer than six feet to each other.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Themes

Shared keywords

Mortality, Romance, Bittersweet


If Only

8. If Only

Drama Romance Fantasy
7.0

2004 · 1h 32min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Gil Junger

Focused on his work, Ian does not give enough attention to his wife Samantha and fails to notice that their relationship is slowly falling apart. After one of their arguments, Samantha dies in a tragic accident, and Ian blames himself. Then, through a mysterious twist of fate, he gets the chance to relive the day of her death and try to change what happened.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Themes

Shared keywords

Grief, Tragic, Romance, Bittersweet


P.S. I Love You

9. P.S. I Love You

Drama Romance
7.0

2007 · 2h 6min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Jerry and Holly’s happy life falls apart after Jerry dies from an illness. Struggling with deep grief, Holly tries to learn how to move on, helped by a series of messages Jerry prepared in advance with advice and instructions to guide her through this difficult time.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-17%), Romance (-18%)

Shared keywords

Character study, Grief, Self discovery, Romance


We Live in Time

10. We Live in Time

Romance Drama
7.0

2024 · 1h 48min

United Kingdom

Director: John Crowley

The film tells the story of a chance meeting between chef Almut and a man named Tobias after she hits him with her car. What begins as an unfortunate encounter gradually turns into a love story shaped by the difficult choices and challenges they face together.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Themes

Shared keywords

Character study, Mortality, Romance, Bittersweet, Melancholic


The Vow

11. The Vow

Drama Romance
6.8

2012 · 1h 44min

United States

Director: Michael Sucsy

Leo, a successful music producer, and Paige, an artist, are a happily married couple living in Chicago who cannot imagine life without each other. One tragic day, they are involved in a car accident that leaves Paige in a coma. When she wakes up, she no longer remembers Leo or the last several years of her life, and believes she is still living with her parents and studying at university.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Tone, Conflict

Notable differences: Bleakness (-27%)


The Choice

12. The Choice

Drama Romance
6.5

2016 · 1h 51min

United States

Director: Ross Katz

Two neighbors—Travis, a veterinarian, and Gabby, a medical student—fall for each other soon after they meet. But their connection is tested right away: Gabby already has a boyfriend, and Travis wants no commitments.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Shared keywords

Mortality, Romance


Love & Other Drugs

13. Love & Other Drugs

Drama Comedy Romance
6.7

2010 · 1h 52min

United States

Director: Edward Zwick

Jamie, a charismatic young man used to casual relationships without commitment, gets a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative selling Viagra. At one of the clinics, he meets Maggie, a young woman living with early-stage Parkinson’s disease, and a romance begins between them.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Pacing, Tropes, Conflict

Notable differences: Bleakness (-17%)


Now Is Good

14. Now Is Good

Drama Romance
7.0

2012 · 1h 43min

United Kingdom

Director: Ol Parker

Seventeen-year-old Tessa learns that she has an incurable illness and decides to make the most of the time she has left. To do that, she puts together a list of things she wants to do, with the help of a friend. But her plans begin to change when she falls in love with her neighbor Adam.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Bleakness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Romance (-16%)

Shared keywords

Character study, Mortality, Bittersweet


Love, Rosie

15. Love, Rosie

Romance Drama Comedy
7.1

2014 · 1h 42min

United Kingdom, Germany

Director: Christian Ditter

Rosie and Alex have been best friends since childhood. They’ve loved each other for a long time, but indecision and a twist of fate keep them from admitting their feelings. After finishing school, Alex goes off to a university in Boston, and Rosie unexpectedly becomes pregnant by a classmate...

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Conflict, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (-37%), Pacing (+13%), Humor (+25%)

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About the movie Me Before You (2016)

Me Before You plot: A small town girl is caught between dead-end jobs. A high-profile, successful man becomes wheelchair bound following an accident. The man decides his life is not worth living until the girl is hired for six months to be his new caretaker. Worlds apart and trapped together by circumstance, the two get off to a rocky start. But the girl becomes determined to prove to the man that life is worth living and as they embark on a series of adventures together, each finds their world changing in ways neither of them could begin to imagine.

Keywords: Character study, Grief, Self discovery, Mortality, Tragic, Romance, Empathy, Legacy, Bittersweet, Melancholic

Style characteristics: Romance, Bleakness