CONTENT WARNING: It Ends With Us discusses domestic violence. If you or a loved one are experiencing abuse, you can contact 800-799-7233 for help 

The cultural phenomenon that overtook many bookshelves in the last few years, Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us,” has been made into a motion picture depicting Lily Blossom Bloom– yes, she is a florist– and her journey breaking the cycle of domestic violence.

The opening scene reveals Lily preparing to give a speech at her father’s funeral, but she ultimately walks out. Later in the film, it is revealed that Lily witnessed her father abusing her mother when she was a child. 

Bloom then makes her way to Boston where she settles down, hoping to open a flower shop. Aside from her horribly ironic entrepreneurial ventures, the first half of the movie appears to be what it was marketed as: a romance movie. 

Lily falls in love with a stranger she meets on the roof of a random apartment building. She reunites with him accidentally when her coworker, Alyssa Kincaid, is revealed to be the brother of her handsome stranger, Ryle Kincaid. 

Ryle and Lily fall in love in a series of occasionally humorous and occasionally cringe-worthy montages. Throughout, pieces of Lily’s childhood are revealed, specifically, her relationship with Atlas Corrigan, a local homeless teenager who she was romantically involved with.

As an attractive and successful neurosurgeon, Ryle seems like the perfect guy, except he isn’t. Ryle’s toxicity comes to light after a cooking accident, where Ryle ‘accidentally’ strikes Lily in the face. Directly after this, Lily brings Ryle to meet her mother at a new restaurant, but the waiter is not who she expected. Enter Lily’s childhood love: Atlas Corrigan, waiter and restaurant owner.

When Atlas comes to take the group’s order, he notices Lily’s black eye and Ryle’s bandaged fist. Atlas throws the first punch, and Ryle responds with ferocious aggression, exposing his explosive temper and violent tendencies. Lily’s shocked expression reveals her disbelief and reluctance to accept that Ryle might resemble the behavior of someone she is all too familiar with—her deceased father.

The overall viewing experience was mildly tainted by the drama surrounding the film. There is no correct way to market domestic violence, but there is definitely a wrong way to do it. Blake Lively, playing Lily Bloom, has been in hot water with the public after being accused of not taking the message of the movie seriously. Videos of her responding condescendingly to interviewers have blown up on the internet. Critics also claim she may be using the attention of the movie to advertise her hair product line, when it should be targeted toward combating domestic violence. Her personal marketing approach is untrained and insensitive. 

Lively’s acting was sub-par. Her giggling walked a fine line between endearing and infuriating. Her stylist made some bold choices that suggest she may have gotten lost in an Anthropology warehouse from 2016 when picking out the outfits and then proceeded to dress Lively with a blindfold on. 

As a 36 year old, Lively’s age has been scrutinized as many considered her too old to take on the role of 23-year-old Lily Bloom. Although this may be true, the same could be said for most of the actors cast in the movie, not just Lively. Justin Baldoni is 40, Jenny Slate (Alyssa) is 42 and Brandon Skelnar (Atlas) is 34. The cast was poorly orchestrated. Even if Colleen Hoover herself picked the actors, I would suggest she reread her own book. 

The director and actor of Ryle, Justin Baldoni, had the best acting in the movie and seems to be doing his best to maintain a sensitive marketing campaign. Baldoni’s down-to-earth personality is so at odds with the character he plays who only spirals into violent behavior after the restaurant incident. 

As a director, Baldoni was set up for failure since Colleen Hoover, the author of the original book, was highly criticized for romanticizing domestic violence and toxic relationships in “It Ends With Us” and her other titles.

He made the best with what he had, and the movie has definitely attracted attention. Whether or not this attention is being used effectively to help victims of domestic violence is arguable. 

One thing the movie gets right is showing the real love that developed between Lily and Ryle, highlighting the issue for many domestic violence victims. Lily truly loved Ryle and that was why it was hard to accept his violent nature. 

Ryle feels threatened by the relationship between Lily and Atlas, which contributed to several violent altercations ultimately leading to Lily leaving Ryle. When Lily is checked into the hospital for the injuries she sustained from her then-husband, Ryle, she finds out she is pregnant. Ryle begs for her forgiveness, but ultimately the birth of their daughter results in her decision to divorce Ryle and break the cycle that her mother never could when she stayed with her abusive father. 

Her relationship with Atlas was lackluster and was void of the romantic chemistry depicted in the novel. At the end of the movie, they reconnect years later at a farmers market and this is where the film concludes. 

“It Ends With Us” was a thorough attempt to portray an issue that many steer clear from for fear of misrepresentation. I laughed and cried and when I left the theater, I had a lot to think about. The movie was intensely thought-provoking, and for all of its faults, it was an honest attempt to bring awareness to domestic violence. 

“It Ends With Us” 7/10 romance, drama