It Ends with Us was a fine film, but it never felt fully interested in telling a story about a woman who experienced domestic violence. The beauty of the film and the chemistry between the leads do a lot of the heavy lifting, but shielding the audience from the truth of the narrative is a shortcoming that ends up shooting its credibility in the foot.

It Ends with Us is the first of several Colleen Hoover novels that will soon be adapted into films. It’s up to this film to set the tone for what we should expect from the next few. It’s been surprisingly difficult to come to terms with my thoughts. After ruminating for a couple days, it seems that “it’s better than I thought it would be” is the most accurate conclusion I can bring myself to. The film was directed by Justin Maldoni, written by Christy Hall, and stars Blake Lively, Justin Maldoni, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar, Amy Morton, Alex Neustaedter, and Isabela Ferrer. 

Blake Lively stars as the inexplicably named Lily Bloom, a woman who moves to Boston to open a flower shop. The film begins with Lily in her hometown in Plethora, Maine, where her problematic father has just died, and she is supposed to give the eulogy. Unable to follow through, she gets in her car and heads back to Boston, where she finds herself on the rooftop of a random building in the city. Her solace is interrupted by Ryle Kincaid, played by director Justin Maldoni, who had come up to the roof to escape the pain of losing a patient. They start a conversation where he reveals he is a neurosurgeon, and she tells him she is a florist, among other “naked truths.” Ryle admits he wants her, but she is a relationship kind of girl, in contrast to his playboy desires. As their flirting commences, he gets called back to the OR, and they head their separate ways. 

Then we have the first flashback where a young Lily (Isabela Ferrer) lives in her house in Maine and sees the homeless boy across the street for the first time. She leaves a bag of food, clothes, and a sleeping bag for him in front of the broken window of his shelter. This young man is Atlas Corrigan (Alex Neustaedter). They first become friends, but their relationship ramps up when she defends him from bullies on the bus and as they spend more time together after school. He is a sweet guy who got kicked out of his house for trying to defend his mom from her abusive boyfriend.

In the present, a woman named Allysa (Jenny Slate) asks for a job in the flower shop after seeing a hiring sign in the window. Lily learns her brother is Ryle from the roof. He becomes a consistent figure in her life when she hires Allysa. After some flirting and teasing, they eventually strike up a romance. While out at a new restaurant named Root with her mom and Ryle, Lily sees Atlas again for the first time since he went into the military at 18. From then on, she begins to evaluate her relationship with Ryle and whether she wants it to continue.

As for the positives, the performances are solid. Despite online rumormongering, Blake and Justin had good chemistry, which is certainly helped by being two of the most beautiful people on the planet. A character like Lily Bloom is right up Blake Lively’s alley; I can see why she was cast in the role. Justin Baldoni is so ridiculously charming that I left wanting to turn on Jane the Virgin when I got home. According to my research, Lily and Ryle were aged up for the film, which I found to be a good choice. Not only does it make more sense for their careers, but it adds a layer of authenticity. As for the young actors, they did a good job balancing their innocence and their chemistry. Isabela Ferrer, the actress who plays young Lily Bloom, looks like a mini-Blake Lively clone. The pair actually felt like the same person at two ages. It was lovely to watch her get an “introducing credit” in the final credit sequence. The two Atlases did a fine job, although they were much less central to the story than the trailer let on. 

One thing I enjoyed about It Ends with Us was how pretty and lush everything looked. Lily’s flower shop was carefully decorated, and Ryle’s apartment was extravagant and sleek. As I watched, I kept thinking how Lily’s wardrobe felt like something Blake would wear, only to be confirmed later that those were a mix of her clothes, her husband Ryan Reynolds’s clothes, and her friend Gigi Hadid’s. 

Where the film loses me is the tone. For a movie about domestic violence, it stays in the romance genre for far too long, and it is much too light. While I agree the beginning should entice the audience just as Lily was being pursued by Ryle, the film chooses to shield us from the truth for quite some time. As a non-book reader, I wasn’t sure what statement was being made based on how the film was edited. It continued to play up the romance to the point that I almost assumed it was going to be a love triangle instead of the story of a woman coming to terms with trauma. This film will have a huge reach, especially to a female audience, and it should have taken more responsibility to portray the situation more clearly. Lily calling herself an unreliable narrator during the rooftop scene isn’t enough. 

Also, Ryle is viewed too sympathetically for far too long. The people who need to unlearn certain things about domestic violence who watch the film shouldn’t be given leeway to see anything in shades of gray. Toward the end, Lily learns of Ryle’s traumatic incident from his childhood. The purpose of including it seemed like an excuse for his behavior, which weakens the story. There should be no excuse for abusing women, no matter what happened in the past. There is another spoiler-y reason for including his childhood incident. There was a way for Lily to choose that without the film using it as an excuse for his behavior.

It Ends with Us was a fine film, but it never felt fully interested in telling a story about a woman who experienced domestic violence. The beauty of the film and the chemistry between the leads do a lot of the heavy lifting, but shielding the audience from the truth of the narrative is a shortcoming that ends up shooting its credibility in the foot. Although it could sound a little gauche to call a film where there is domestic violence involved corny, it is unfortunately true. Some dialogue and story choices felt strange (not the domestic violence moments). Thankfully, several of the weirder parts of the book were toned down or modified, such as her younger self’s journal entries, all of which were addressed to Ellen DeGeneres. It Ends with Us is perhaps not the best domestic violence-related book to adapt into a film, even if it improved on several aspects of the source material. Despite the issues with tone, casual viewers will certainly find the film compelling. Although it may not be a perfect representation, it is difficult to not be happy that a female-centric film has this many eyes on it and will potentially be a gateway for moviegoers to learn more about domestic violence. 

If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.

Grade: B-

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Where to Watch: In Theaters