It Ends With Us [Movie Review]

 2016 Colleen Hoover released the novel It Ends With Us, telling the story of Lily, Ryle, and Atlas. It was initially very popular, but received heightened attention when BookTok gained momentum, shooting the novel and Hoover all the way up in the bestseller listings. In 2019 the movie adaptation starring Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively was announced. The initial reaction was quite mixed between excitement and hesitation. 

Hoover and her novel had already made some headlines, not only concerning the marketing of the book, as well as Hoover’s refusal to add trigger warnings to her writings and her behaviour towards fans. The low point being her own son being accused of SA, and her venomously defending him.

When the first picture of the set and characters were released, the excitement among fans decreased further. Critique about the ageing up of characters, the costuming and again marketing.

Nonetheless after the strike in Hollywood had wrapped up and shooting continued, the movie was finally released to cinema in 2024. And yet, concern regarding the marketing of the movie as a romcom, and Blake Lively’s behaviour during the premier and interviews, made the movie gain negative reviews rather quickly. 

But first things first.

Despite my personal hesitation to see the movie, I made the decision to purchase a ticket when the conversation about the surroundings of the movie got louder than the movie itself. I had to see it for myself to give my two cents and that’s exactly what I did.

The one thing that gets lost in all the conversation and critique is that the movie is not bad. It’s actually pretty good. I think especially for people who have not read the book, the adaptation to screen can be a rather enjoyable experience (as far as that is possible considering the themes presented). Though changes were made to the story, I think the adaptation overall was well done. At the beginning I had my concerns about the choice of Blake Lively as Lily Bloom. For one, I did not like the idea of ageing up the characters to divert from a too young audience. I think it took a little from Lily’s story to portray her as in her 30s, instead of her 20s. Secondly, and I already cemented that opinion, Blake brought too much of herself to the character. I do not mind actors making the roles they play their own, but I think Blake just went a little too far. From dressing Lily in her own close, to constantly sliding passed any questions about the experience her character had to endure. She turned a quiet, hurt and complex character into a fashionista obsessed with hair care, almost completely negating the things that shaped Lily Bloom into the woman she is.

However, Justin Baldoni really has to be highlighted in his performance of Ryle. One can definitely tell that he did his research and tried to portray his character with all the nuances that are to him. Just from going by his interviews about the movie, I think he had the hardest as well as best understanding of the nature of the story. I can only applaud him.

Similar to the novel, the movie tells Lily and Ryle’s story in an emotionally manipulative way which is a smart choice considering that as a viewer you are supposed to identify and understand the lead’s perspective, and that only works, if what is done to her is done to the audience. Though not fully comparable, one can say that Hoover did something similar as Vladimir Nabokov  did when writing Lolita. A lot of people critique this about Hoover’s catalogue of works, however I do have to say that this style of writing is something one has to acquire and work on, but not every reader will like it.

Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the marketing. One has to start with the marketing of the novel to understand how long this has been a problem. Many bookstores and even Hoover herself market the book as romance. However, I do not think this is the right category. Yes, this novel discusses romantic relationships, but considering it discusses the issue of intimate partner violence, you sort of need an intimate partner aka a romantic relationship to do so. To me this novel should be home in women’s fiction, and the movie should have been marketed as a drama instead of a romcom or something alike. This would have avoided much  of the pushback from readers and viewers. Additionally, instead of trying to sell nail polish and colouring books, they should have considered forming an organisation that helps women in these situations. Imagine how amazing that would have been. Even just working with an organisation that does that would have set the tone that would be appropriate. 

Not to mention that someone should have done some media training for Blake. I do not know what is going on with her, but the way she is behaving during interviews and when asked about the heavy themes of the movie, is very inappropriate. It is quite easy to direct someone towards No More, the organisation named at the end of the movie to which  one should reach out if you yourself or someone you know is affected by DV. Or simply say that. It is totally understandable to set a boundary, especially if during filming certain scenes was really hard on the actors, however to completely avoid any questions and joke when asked about the matter of DV, is just not it. This is a movie about gender based violence, you will have to comment on the issue, if you star in it. It Ends With Us is not Barbie or Legally Blonde, it’s a serious movie about a very serious topic. Please, get it together, Blake! This is not the time to gush over your husband and sell your hair care line.

Lastly, I want to clarify that I will not put any critique on the depiction of DV in this movie. For one, though I have some personal experiences that I do not want to share online, I think every experience is unique and highly individual. I think it’s not my place to tell my audience where the portrayal is right or wrong. Secondly, the story of It Ends With Us is based on Hoover’s mother’s story. Hoover literally is Emmerson. I again think it’s not my place or anyone to critique an experience that is not my own and how someone chooses to discuss their own experience with an audience. The only thing that I would wish for is that the story finds its home in women’s fiction and there is a trigger warning added. 

I am not a fan of Hoover’s, and have not read a novel by her in years. I think It Ends With Us is her best and most important work and it deserves some respect. Hoover has a tendency to use very real traumatic stories for profit without ever truly giving back to people who are affected by DV, infertility, disability, etc. I truly wish she could improve in this area.