As I filed into my seat at the local AMC, popcorn in hand and soda in the cup holder, I had very low expectations. I was here to watch “It Ends With Us,” a controversial rom-com-dram based on the best-selling book by Colleen Hoover. “It Ends With Us” follows Lily Bloom, a florist (yes, I know), and Ryle, a neurosurgeon with anger issues. “It Ends With Us” is not the kind of movie I would normally watch, and all I had heard about the movie up to that point was the controversy surrounding it. And yet, as the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but think, “why does everyone hate this?” To my shock and horror, I loved “It Ends With Us.”
The movie documents the romance of Lily (Blake Lively) and Ryle (Justin Baldoni) as their relationship turns abusive when Ryle becomes jealous of Lily’s reconnection with her high school sweetheart, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar). The movie follows Lily from teenager to parent, cutting between the present with Ryle and the past with her former lover Atlas. As Ryle, director and star Justin Baldoni provides us with a terrifying performance as an abuser who will do anything to stay with Lily. Ryle has an arc, but far from a redemption. We’re able to feel for him at the end without forgiving or excusing him. There is also Sklenar, who delivers a heartfelt and charming turn as Atlas, who fights for Lily at every turn –the antithesis of Ryle. One thing that “It Ends With Us” did expertly was represent domestic abuse. Abuse is no easy task to portray on screen, or even to talk about, but the movie shows firsthand the gaslighting, ignorance, and other red flags that come with it, as Lily shrugs off the repeated abuse and views her relationship with Ryle through rose-colored glasses. “It Ends With Us” also excels at perspective. The movie reveals new information about the plot through editing. Throughout the movie, we see these bouts of abuse. Whenever Lily confronts Ryle, Ryle tells her it was an accident. And with what we saw, it looks like maybe it is. She gets hit when he burns himself and breaks a glass – it was chaos! She fell down the stairs during an argument –she slipped! Toward the end of the movie, as Lily starts to come to terms with the abuse, we see the same footage of the “accidents” again. Except this time, we see one-to-two seconds more of each clip, revealing that during the chaos – he swung on her. At the stairs – he shoved her. Just one more second reveals what was happening all along,, and shows her remembering things she suppressed or ignored.
With the clever pacing, thoughtful story and powerful performances, you could imagine why I was surprised at all the hate It Ends With Us It Ends With Us was getting. So, where is the controversy coming from? The press tour. Throughout this tour lead actress Blake Lively has insisted on the movie’s themes being taken seriously as a drama, while in the same breath asking people to “grab your friends, wear your florals, and head out to see it” as if it’s a feel-good chick-flick. That stark contrast with the heavy subject matter of the movie continued when Lively used the press tour to plug her newly released hair care line. Other points of contention surrounding “It Ends With Us” are the alleged feuds between the cast and Baldoni. Throughout the press tour, Baldoni has only done solo interviews while the rest of the cast has done interviews as a group.. HHe seems to be the only member of the cast to genuinely show interest in the story and repeatedly spread awareness about domestic violence.repeatedly spread awareness about domestic violence. Because of the distance between Baldoni and the rest of the cast, as well as the contrast between their message in interviews, fans started to suspect that there was a rift between the director and cast.
After watching, I do not think this movie deserves the hate it gets. The criticism has been largely directed towards the movie itself, when it should be for the marketing. The movie itself is shockingly solid. So I implore you, don’t be like me. Come in with an open mind, and enjoy “It Ends With Us.”
