Rarely do you go into a theater having a low baseline of expectations only to be completely blown away by the intensity of the film you just watched. For those who have not read Colleen Hoover’s bestselling romance novel ‘It Ends With Us’ (like this critic), Justin Baldoni’s film will generate enough intrigue and curiosity that will make you want to read the
Why, you ask? Because romantic dramedies are a lost art. Few come to mind when you think of the 2000s, the decade of stellar rom-coms. To that end, It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Skelnar, Hasan Minhaj aces the dramatic scenes, giving us a look into the psyche and dark past of its principle characters.
It Ends With Us: Plot
Blake Lively plays Lily Blossom Bloom (wait till you hear what she does for a career). She arrives at the funeral of her father and doesn’t have anything nice to say about him in his eulogy. The stage is set for what’s about to follow. Lively meets Ryle (Baldoni), at a rooftop and mistakes him for a rich crypto bro (he is a neurosurgeon by profession).
The two bond over flower puns, shared trauma and candid conversations. The dialogue between the two is clever, their chemistry sizzling. Baldoni and Lively light up every frame they are in. The film goes back in time and we are introduced to a young Atlas (Alex Neustaedter), a homeless teenager. Lily (Isabela Ferrer) helps with groceries and the two begin dating.
As adult Lily bonds with her neurosurgeon boyfriend, and his sister Allysa (Jenny Slate), she runs into an adult Atlas (Atlas Corrigan) at a restaurant. As the star-crossed lovers meet, there is tension in the air. Atlas and Ryle come to blows as Lily discovers the truth about Ryle’s traumatic past.
It Ends With Us: Writing And Direction
The portrayal of grief and intergenerational trauma is common in cinema. But rarely do we see such an accurate analysis of dysfunctional families, in a breezy, seemingly lightweight romantic drama. I love films which have a trick up their sleeve—films which pull off a surprise at the last minute and surprise the viewers. ‘It Ends With Us’ does this finesse.
Slowly and steadily, layers are peeled off each character. We discover that the bruise under Lily’s eye wasn’t an accident. Neither was she falling off the stairs. Nor was Ryle’s brother accidently killed by a gun. Much like Lily herself, Ryle has a dark past, given that he too comes from an abusive family. Beneath the glamorous clothes, tight-fitted shirts, high heels and slit gowns, lies pain and unhealed childhood wounds.
It Ends With Us: Performances
The first half of the film unfolds like a dream. Lily dresses up in glamorous avatars, in what seems like an effort to win over Ryle, who she clearly feels is more attractive than her. She puts an effort into her appearance, to the point it takes her mother by surprise. However, a run-in with her ex-flame kicks off a chain reaction which causes the house of cards to tumble.
Amid intense flashbacks and violent showdowns, we see a traumatized Lily, crying for help, clearly having a panic attack. I uttered the loudest gasp in the theater (yet again) when the nurse in the Emergency Room said “We don’t give X-Rays to pregnant women”. That is when it hits you—the extent of Lily’s abuse doesn’t become obvious until that singular moment when all the things that happened suddenly make sense.
It Ends With Us: What Works, What Doesn't
“It was difficult to leave and I loved him”, says Lily’s mother when she is asked why she stayed in an abusive relationship. From a third person’s perspective, walking out of an abusive dynamic seems like a no-brainer. But the choice isn’t easy. For Lily, who is the cycle breaker of her generation, the choice to divorce her abusive husband wasn’t easy. “What would you tell your daughter when she says she loves someone who hurts her?”
A telling choice of words exposes just how damaging abuse is. “It ends with us”, Lily whispers to her newborn daughter on the hospital bed. She then takes her to the grave of her grandfather, Andrew Bloom, to pay respects. I couldn’t help but appreciate just how succinctly the film portrays the impact of parental abuse on the romantic lives of adult children.
Star Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
It Ends With Us is now playing in theaters.
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