I remember burying my head in this new BookTok sensation called It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover a few years back. The book made me shed a tear or two as it felt like a safe space. So you know my excitement when I saw they are making a film out of it. The casting won my heart with talented people like Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni (also the director), Brandon Skelnar, Isabela Ferrer and Alex Neustaedter playing the characters. It attempts to strike a balance between a romantic comedy and a film about female empowerment while addressing the reality of domestic abuse. In the process, it kind of gets lost. But if you have read the book, get ready to experience some deja vu because it looks just like you imagined!
It Ends With Us: What Is It About?
Our protagonist, the immaculately stylish Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), bursts through a rooftop to take in the expansive majesty of Boston’s cityscape following the emotional upheaval of her estranged father’s funeral in Maine. Before she can reflect much, she meets Ryle Kincaid (Director Justin Baldoni), a neurosurgeon, who is both incredibly attractive and incredibly named. With a fury in his eyes, Baldoni storms onto the scene, flinging two steel chairs across the rooftop. Rather than feeling repulsed by this aggressive behaviour, Lily is captivated by his charisma and stunning grin. Their flirtatious banter intensifies, laced with jabs from Ryle that pass for flirtation until his beeper calls the handsome surgeon back to the hospital.
Inevitably this is not the last time we will encounter Ryle. Allysa (Jenny Slate), the eccentric, wealthy, and bored housewife Lily employs to assist her in running the Cottagecore floral shop of her dreams, just so happens to be his brother. Lily keeps saying that she wants to be friends, but Ryle follows her, disobeying her numerous requests in the same blatant manner as she disobeys all of his warning signs. Ryle Kincaid had his red flags upfront but lust wins.
Despite Allysa’s cautious cautions on Ryle’s past romantic involvement, he and Lily nonetheless fall in love. Yes, he is a swindler. However, he wishes to pursue a genuine connection with Lily. She goes for it, and suddenly out of nowhere, a boy she loved in her adolescence and who we’ve seen in flashbacks before enters the frame. When Lily sees Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), we can see that their romance is still going strong. Atlas Corrigan is a gorgeous but grounded restaurateur in Boston. However, Lily chooses to stick with the plan because she has already gained Ryle’s trust. Up to this point, It Ends With Us might pass for your typical, lighthearted love melodrama, complete with sensitive, hot sex and hints of romantic confusion.
But you’ll know what’s coming if you’ve read Hoover’s book. Domestic abuse affects Lily personally, and there are no obvious warning signs. Lily’s initial injury—a bruised eye that she tries to cover up with makeup—is explained away as the result of an altercation over removing a burnt frittata from the oven. Anyone could experience it. However, the third episode is violent, while the second is more defined. Even still, you regard Ryle—as Lily does—as potentially fixable.
What Made It Perfect: Casting Was Just Like I Imagined The Characters
Some parts of the film felt like I was flipping through the book, almost giving me deja vu. The performances were the best part of the film. Even though Blake Lively brings Lily to life and makes her the most special person which the book fails to convince. It’s hard not to fall in love with her. She adds the much-needed layers to Lily’s character and turns it into hers. Her dialogue delivery, and those eyes chico, they never lied. Justin Baldoni’s portrayal of the “perfect” neurosurgeon is portrayed well too. NGL I got chills when he was cold to Lily. But the person who won my heart the most in the book and on-screen as well as the character of Atlas. Brandon Sklenar caught my breath and never let it go. With the limited material he had, he made out the best with it.
The casting of the young versions of Lily and Atlas was on point and deserves a medal. The film boasts a visually pleasing aesthetic with great details and good cinematography. The many, many close-up shots let you in on the tension between the characters and what they feel. They tried to make it exactly like the book and to some extent they did! The background score of Blake Lively’s BFF Taylor Swift’s ‘My Tears Ricochet’ had the perfect placement too. The end scenes make you shed a tear as it carries strong dialogues and confrontations. Blake Lively’s wardrobe deserved a special shoutout from me because her hippie take on Lily worked.
Book To Screen Problems: Less Messy, More Perfect
The best thing about reading the book was the detailed description of each character. We go in and know everyone personally, and I felt I didn’t know the characters of both boys personally. Lily and Ryle fell in love with sizzling close-up shots, it was just meant to be, but why? What did she really see in him? The film, even though having a run of more than 2 hours, fails to focus on the main issue which is domestic violence. It turns slow in the first half just displaying Lily and Ryle sabotaging their urge to be together, leaving little time for the flashbacks and character developments.
The flashbacks were the most beautiful part of the storyline for me, and the parts, even though excellently played, needed to be showcased a little more, to understand everything. Lily’s childhood is messed up because of her dad beating up his mom but we see so little of her dealing with it, what she felt, what part of it stayed back with her? All these questions mustered my mind as I pretended to be a first-time viewer.
These are sweet and innocent passages, with the two young actors giving the youngsters the perfect mix of youthful optimism and world-weariness from all the horrors they have already experienced. However, Baldoni struggles to strike the correct balance between these moments and reality. Even though these early moments are far too short, Brandon Sklenar can create an easy, natural connection with Lively once he enters as the grown-up Atlas. Atlas with his perfect blue eyes and green flag behaviour deserved more. Even though Lively’s character was a borderline manic-pixie girl, it was Skelnar whose character ended up becoming that. To believe him as an equally messed up and believable character needed a little more than just a scar. The base problem lies with the undercooked characters who were just there to make a point and not weave the tragedy smoothly into the screenplay.
Also Read: Ghuspaithiya Review: 5 Thoughts I Had After Watching Urvashi Rautela’s Film About Cyber Crime
Victim Of Abuse
The much hate that was received by Colleen Hoover’s book was that it was allegedly falsely advertised as a love triangle which was not the crux of the story. However, even though the screenwriters try to shed light on it more, they fail. As mentioned, Lily watching her mother get abused garnered no tears. The film tried too hard to shed light on what made these male characters perform abuse rather than talking about what the women felt. The perfect opportunity for Lily to ask her mother why she decided to stay with her abuser was missed as it didn’t tell the audience anything. These scenes needed more time.
Verdict
Lively’s portrayal of Lily Bloom is commendable, capturing the character’s vulnerability and resilience. However, the film falters in its exploration of complex themes, often resorting to melodramatic tropes. The stark contrast between the passionate, volatile Atlas and the seemingly perfect Ryle feels overly simplified, reducing characters to archetypes rather than fully developed individuals. With topics like child murder, homelessness, generational trauma, suicide, unplanned pregnancies, and never-forgotten love all mentioned but only partially explored, it borders on melodrama. However, the end has some striking dialogues that stay with you. Some sweet comedy moments and heartwarming characters make it Lily Blossom Bloom’s world; we are just living in it.