Film Review: It Ends With Us

Trigger warning: domestic abuse 

Booktok certainly has its way of raising authors to fame and Colleen Hoover was no exception to her 7 minutes in heaven. Although perhaps her 7 minutes were more accurately around 130 minutes with the recent making of her 2016 novel ‘It Ends With Us’ into a movie, by director and co-star Justin Baldoni. Perhaps her fame also skyrocketed with A-list actress Blake Lively playing her beloved character ‘Lily Blossom Bloom’, alongside the combinations of on screen trauma and behind the scenes drama.

Starring Lively, the film revolves around her character ‘Lily’ and how she gets trapped in the cyclical nature of domestic abuse, where she initially had to witness her father abuse her mother and then experienced it more directly within her own relationship. It begins with showing her struggles with her paternal relationship at her father’s funeral. 

The movie then proceeds to constantly flip back and forth between the gentle budding relationship with young Atlas (Alex Neustraedter)  and young Lily (Isabela Ferrer) in which they seek refuge within each other from the violence surrounding them and adult Lily’s life. 

In the future timeline, she is the central focus point of the violence, which began when she met Ryle, a gorgeous neurosurgeon (clearly way too good to be true) on a rooftop. He enters the scene with a surge of anger and an act of violence. He then proceeds to talk to Lily gently after. This sets up the premise of their relationship, with his outburst of violence being followed up by him gaslighting and ‘taking care’ of her. 

‘It Ends With Us’ also explores female friendship through Jenny Slater’s character Allysa, examples of healthy relationships with Allysa and Marshall (played by Hasan Minhaj with impeccable comedic timing), and aspects of motherhood through Lily’s blooming pregnancy (excuse the pun). We also get to see Lily Blossom Bloom iconically opening her own gothic floral shop in Boston where old flames are slightly rekindled with former lover Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar). 

The soundtrack was divine with the holy trinity of Taylor Swift’s ‘my tears ricochet’, Lana Del Rey’s ‘Cherry’ and Cigarettes After Sex ‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby’, alongside the likes of Ethel Cain, Lewis Capaldi and others. The soundtrack also perfectly matched the general autumnal aesthetic, which mirrored an ‘All too well’ love affair. The colour palette of her outfits also mirrored her flower shop, although they didn’t represent her character well. 

In terms of casting, it is insane how much Isabela Ferrer resembles Blake Lively, with their mannerisms, their appearance and their voice. However, there were apparent issues with the cast in terms of the behind the scenes drama. It almost had me as hooked as the infamous ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ complications, with rumours of Justin Baldoni being on the other side of the door and accusations of Blake Lively as a mean girl. The friction between the two may have complicated any hopes for a sequel following the second novel ‘It Starts With Us’. 

Finally, the movie ended with Lily holding her newborn daughter and saying “It ends with us” which was a very touching ending, bringing me and others in screen 5 to tears, as it represented how she was ending the domestic abuse cycle with Lily and Emerson (her daughter). I’m also just a sucker for film titles appearing in the movie. 

Although I did leave the cinema with mascara stains, the movie did not completely live up to expectations I had whilst reading the novel and seeing Lily grow further within herself as an adult would have been fascinating. Perhaps the clash of creative directions caused some conflict or perhaps there was simply not enough depth considering how important the topic is. Ultimately, however, it’s definitely still worth a watch.

It Ends With Us is currently finishing its run in UK cinemas and is available on digital on October 23rd.

Words by Momnah Shahnaz

Edited by Henry Clarke. Photo Credit : Sony Pictures UK