If you think that you just felt an earthquake, let me reassure you that you're not in danger: that frightening, rumbling sound is just book influencers and their followers marching to their nearest cinema. The cause of that chaos is It Ends With Us, an equally chaotic adaptation of Colleen Hoover's smash hit novel of the same name, written for the big screen by Christy Hall while directing duties are handled by Justin Baldoni who also stars in the film.
We are introduced to Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), a woman in her thirties who's planning to open a flower shop in Boston. We also learn about Lily's teenage years (Isabela Ferrer playing her as a teen) when she witnesses domestic abuse in her household and first encounters her first love Atlas Corrigan (Alex Neustaedter). At a random rooftop, adult Lily runs into Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a charming surgeon and the two soon find themselves in a whirlwind of a romance, before their relationship starts to reflect the violent nature of what she has seen in the past. Making things even more complicated, Atlas (now portrayed by Brandon Sklenar) re-emerges as a successful and sympathetic restaurateur, whilst Lily's new colleague and pal Allysa (Jenny Slate) happens to be Ryle's sister.
Look, it's pretty clear that we're not dealing with the sharpest thorns of roses here when we get character names like Lily Bloom, Atlas Corrigan or Ryle Kincaid so it'd be your own fault if you come into this expecting greatness. With that said, you certainly have to buy into a lot of sugary characterisations, ''live, laugh, love''-level of insight to them and heightened emotions at first, before we even get to the make-or-break points of the movie. And yes, to be fair, the dialogue is oftentimes pretty simplistic and hollow, and most likely the film's weakest asset, particularly in the rooftop scene mentioned above and in later scenes set at a hospital. Based on the questionable reputation of the original novel (which I'm not familiar with), much of those cheesy and bland elements still remain in the transposition, which tends to not work in a visual medium.
But thankfully the film rises above expectations otherwise as the cast especially makes some of the dodgy material work. Lively expresses Lily's hesitation, trauma and shock rather deftly with her body language, although the actor's lip biting rivals even the thirstiest fuckbois on the internet in a distracting way, whilst Slate emerges as the sparkliest presence in the movie since her comedic timing and line deliveries make every scene she's in extremely captivating. Funnily enough, Slate also is lifted by Eric Daman's striking costume design, whereas Lively's attires sadly don't tell us anything about Lily as the focus instead seems to be on looking good, or bankable, in the stills. In terms of the guys in the triangle, Baldoni portrays Ryle's charm and ire quite well, sometimes both in a single scene, and Sklenar exudes the kind of warmth and regret that makes the last 30 minutes so pressing because that's a connection you need to root for at the end.
On the way to that particular crossroad, the soap opera-esque storytelling has plenty of moments where Baldoni and Hall lose you but also pull you back in. Most importantly, It Ends With Us actually has something to say, but ironically only when the characters mostly stop blabbering and Baldoni along with DoP Barry Peterson let the images speak for them. It is after all a messy yet inspiring narrative about domestic abuse and recognising it, best highlighted by a scene where Lily seeks refuge from Atlas' understanding eyes at his restaurant after a traumatic event, and another where Lily and Allysa have a heart-to-heart chat. The words there are again insipid but Slate's expressions in that scene can earn a tear or twenty, depending on the viewer. Those relationships are the reason why you'd be invested in the outcome for Lily.
The craftsmanship of the movie is also where there are almost as many misses as there are hits. In addition to the costumes, the music can be a tale of two wolves residing inside. Duncan Blickenstaff and Rob Simonsen's score is surprisingly lowkey for a romance movie with sweeping emotions and tough subject matter, but the gentle mixture of pianos and keyboards allows the quieter story beats to land properly. On the flip side, the song choices and how they're utilised vary from, yet again, simplistic indie tunes to perplexing pop cuts. The worst offender in that regard is a song by Taylor Swift—who might be the lead actor's best friend, for context—where the music editing and sound mixing is outright amateurish, almost as if they were contractually obligated to feature the song in such manner that it ultimately turns the edit of the scene into a clip for a tacky music video. It's horrendous filmmaking no matter what.
Set decorators Alexandra Mazur, Carrie Stewart and Elizabeth Nakane fill the frames with gorgeous detail when it comes to colour and texture, which Baldoni then uses effectively in a few well-blocked scenes that move characters from warmer environments to colder ones or vice versa when relationships between characters shift shapes. It often underlines that the movie is at its strongest when it puts this ugly violence against a picturesque backdrop, and not necessarily when it tries to be a flimsy romantic drama with quips and whatnot.
You should definitely keep your expectations very low because, then you might be appreciative enough of how the movie handles its thorny themes and the melodrama that it uses to convey them. As an adaptation of a possibly underwritten novel, it's probably as good as it gets. As an exploration of trauma, boundaries and processing the aftermath of violence, it gets its message across, albeit just barely.
Smileys: Set decoration, Jenny Slate, score
Frowneys: Dialogue, soundtrack
Don't worry if Lily doesn't show up on time—it's because she's a late Bloomer.
3.0/5
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