Best-selling novel "It Ends with Us" by Colleen Hoover comes to theaters showing fans the beautiful story of Lily Bloom. This film features Blake Lively as Lily, Justin Baldoni as Ryle, and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas. It is full of heartbreak, abuse, and strength.
Synopsis
The story of Lily's struggle with physical abuse is told in this film. A few months after one particular incident, she and Ryle fall in love. Her life as she knows it changes after 15 seconds, and it's all over. In the movie, Atlas appears as her childhood friend. He looks after Lily and hasn't seen her in almost ten years until he bumps into her in his Boston restaurant. She finds that running into him eases the abuse.
Highs
This film, which depicts the identical sequences from the novel, is packed with high points. The primary highlight is the early chemistry between the characters. The story of how Lily and Ryle met on the Boston rooftop is the same as the book's opening. Lily's punk flower shop is another highlight; it performed better than anticipated. It featured a darker tone that was perfectly appropriate and was adorned with lovely flowers. The way certain book situations were depicted was another highlight. Except for when she laughed, the scenes of the first time Ryle hit Lily were exactly as envisioned.
The emotion that Lively conveyed in her portrayal of Lily Bloom was flawless. She depicted a powerful woman who was initially manipulated and endured abuse. She reacted with such emotion when she was attacked multiple times; the last time it happened was devastating. Given that Baldoni is the exact opposite of Ryle in real life and that this is a challenging role for him, he did an incredible job portraying the character. His portrayal of the character was completely consumed by his emotions, as he displayed all the symptoms of controlling Lily and being enraged and depressed.
Allysa, played by Jenny Slate, who is precisely like the character in the book, is another standout. She provides Lily with the qualities of a bubbly and delightful best friend. Their relationship was sincere and lovely. Another standout was Sklenar's portrayal of Atlas, who was a very emotional role. He played the part of getting into a fight with Ryle, demonstrating how much he still cared for Lily despite not seeing her for a decade. Atlas and Lily had a wonderful and much-needed bond.
The final high point was seeing Grey's Anatomy actor Kevin McKidd portray Lily's abusive father. He said in several interviews that the part was challenging since he had to play this terrible, abusive husband. It was surprising to fans that McKidd was portraying Lily's father. He played the character precisely as fans had imagined.
Lows
This film had very few low points. The first disappointing point is Lily's wardrobe selections, which were random and poorly reflected her personality. It did not show this naive girl who had a punk flower shop in Boston. It simply didn't fit right, it displayed a more tomboyish side. Her description in the book was that of a girly girl rather than a tomboy, thus it wasn't what everyone had expected and hoped for.
Another low point was that, although the eatery was called "Bib's" in the Atlas book, it was called "Root" in the film. This explains why Atlas chose the moniker "Everything is Better in Boston" for his restaurant. Atlas said this phrase and in the book, Lily had a magnet that had this saying on it. That was one of the primary reasons Ryle was furious at Lily, however the film did not depict this. Another disappointment was how Lily and Atlas's story ended—it wasn't how the book depicted it.
Verdict
"It Ends with Us" is worth watching as the best-selling novel comes to life. It shows the tragedies within the abuse that was endured between both Lily and her mother. This movie left fans in tears considering how deep it was.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Mariam Fakhreddine is a film and theater reviewer for The Eastern Echo. She has worked as a news and features reporter for The Echo for two years.
