Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends with Us has sold well over a million copies. It went viral on TikTok in 2021 and found itself on the top of sales lists again. It was only a matter of time until someone optioned the rights and made it into a movie. That someone is producer/director Justin Baldoni (Five Feet Apart), and the movie is, of course, also called It Ends with Us.
It Ends with Us is about a young woman named Lily Bloom (Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively) who moves to Boston to open a flower shop. She meets a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) who sweeps her off her feet. While at dinner one night, Lily and Ryle happen to run into Lily’s old boyfriend, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar from 1923), which ignites a jealousy in Ryle. This causes Lily to flash back to her own parents’ relationship, which was anything but healthy.
Yes, the trio of main characters in It Ends with Us are named Lily Bloom, Ryle Kincaid, and Atlas Corrigan. Lily’s middle name is even Blossom – Lily Blossom Bloom (and she owns a flower shop). This is part of the problem with the movie. It deals with an extremely serious and troubling subject, yet the whole thing has kind of a Fifty Shades of Grey, soap opera vibe to it. The movie swings a little too freely from scenes that are powerful and emotional to scenes that are corny and campy.
This is as good a time as any to mention that It Ends with Us should come with a trigger warning. It deals heavily with the sensitive subject of domestic violence.
Screenwriter Christy Hall (I Am Not Okay with This) follows the story and plot of Hoover’s novel fairly closely, changing just enough to make it cinematic. Which is a good thing, because the fanbase of the book is just rabid enough to pull out the torches if too much had been changed. And the story is an extremely personal one for Hoover, so butchering it would be blasphemous in the eyes of fans.
Between swapping timelines between present day and the younger Lily and Atlas, and the unpredictable and evolving relationship between the older Lily and Ryle, It Ends with Us seems to suffer from an identity crisis. Going from peace to chaos to show the volatility of Lily and Ryle’s relationship is one thing, but this movie goes from Lifetime Network cheesiness to terrifying violence at the drop of a hat, and it frequently leaves its audience confused over exactly what they are watching.
With movies like The Shallows, All I See is You, A Simple Favor, and Age of Adeline under her belt, Blake Lively can seemingly take literally any role and make it memorable. And Justin Baldoni casting himself as (minor spoiler) an abuser is a brave choice – this is the kind of role that could follow an actor around for the rest of their career. Lively’s Lily goes from vulnerable victim to fearsome survivor while Baldoni’s Ryle goes from playboy prince charming to Hannibal Lecter. The pair has an undeniable chemistry, both as passionate lovers and as cat-and-mouse foils. And that’s almost enough to save the movie from its saccharin-sweet, eye-rolling dialogue. But these verbal attempts to portray Ryle’s dark side and gaslighting come off as a tad ingenuine.
Overall, It Ends with Us feels like it is trying to walk a line between being too serious and being too lighthearted, and it doesn’t quite hit that mark. The lightheartedness almost portrays Ryle sympathetically, and the seriousness feels out of place amidst the laughter. Admittedly, it’s a tough fence to ride, neither sugar-coating the trauma nor turning audiences away from the stark reality of it. It Ends with Us doesn’t completely pull it off.
It Ends with Us means well, and it has important things to say about the cycle of violence and abuse victims covering up for their abusers. And while it may not be entirely successful, its heart is in the right place.
Colleen Hoover has already released a sequel novel called It Starts with Us. And, by not ending a scene or two earlier, the movie does leave the door open for said sequel to be made into a movie. So, whether anyone asks for it or not, we’ll most likely get an It Starts with Us movie sooner than later.
GRADE: C+
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, sexual content, and domestic violence
Release Date: August 9, 2024
Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Studio: Columbia Pictures
This post was last modified on August 8, 2024 10:20 pm