The long-awaited and highly anticipated release of the movie adaptation to Colleen Hoover’s famous novel, “It Ends With Us” came out in theaters on Aug. 9, and lived up to the high expectations set for it. While this film has been a hot topic in the media and has received a lot of attention, of both positive and negative natures. As controversial as this romance/drama is, with its heart wrenching narrative and character driven plot, it is definitely a must-see movie.
“It Ends With Us” follows the plot of the novel very closely as it tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young woman living in Boston. In a then-and-now style, the movie shows Lily’s relationship with her first love, Atlas Corrigan, and her experiences as a teen witnessing her father abuse her mother. In the now portion of the movie, Lily opens up a flower shop and meets Ryle Kincaid, a successful neurosurgeon who seemed to be perfect. In this film, we see Lily face domestic violence and abuse throughout their relationship. Due to the love that Lily and the viewers grow for Ryle, the audience is given insight into the internal conflict of abusive relationships. Because of the heavy topics, the movie and the book hold a powerful message and provide a view into the hardship and pain of an abusive relationship.
Part of what made this movie important and anticipated is because the topic of abuse is so rarely covered in media and entertainment. The film, starring Blake Lively and the director Justin Baldoni had high expectations set for its ability to bring the novel to life in a tasteful and insightful way. There was some doubt in Baldoni’s ability as a male director to correctly create a movie intended to show such female focused experiences, but the movie
That is also largely why this movie is such a good watch: it is very different from most other movies out right now. “It Ends With Us” has the romance and drama aspect of many movies, but the twists and turns of the relationship make this movie unique. While watching it feels like you are watching something totally new, a feeling that has been somewhat lost recently in the entertainment industry.
A key part of what is difficult about this movie and message is the perspective of the outsider looking in on an abusive relationship. I think that the way they portrayed the abuse was actually very powerful. It showed not only the physical assault of the relationship but also the emotional trauma and manipulation that might be involved in domestic violence. Specifically, certain scenes when the physical violence was taking place appeared differently once Lily had come to terms with the state of her relationship, as it highlighted how women facing domestic violence can be blinded.
Although “It Ends With Us,” was quite serious, it was also entertaining and felt like a drama and/or romance during some parts of the film. While some didn’t like this because it felt like it could have taken away from the importance of the abuse to the film, I thought that it made the film even more captivating and gripping at many points.
This movie is a must watch not only because it’s entertaining to watch, but it is also a thought provoking movie that leads you to think about your own judgments and how you might act in a similar situation, leaving a lasting impression.
Visually, the screen adaptation of the novel felt overall pretty similar to the book. The only main difference being that the characters were casted older than they had been written. The setting of Boston as well as the appearance and wardrobe aesthetics of each character were eccentric and definitely aligned with how they had been portrayed in the novel.
While this blunder in marketing may be concerning to an extent, I truly thought that the film was powerful in how it displayed the pain of abuse and the resilience of domestic abuse victims.
Having read the book and waited for the movie, as I left the theater of “It Ends With Us,” I was very pleased with how the story was brought to screen. “It Ends With Us” is only one of Colleen Hoover’s many famous romance novels and is likely only the first of many to be turned into a movie. This movie is a great sign of what we can expect from Hoover in the future.
