Content Warning: This article contains details of domestic violence.
Emma Lyons
When Justin Baldoni’s production company acquired the rights to It Ends With Us (2016), excitement among the BookTok community was rife. Fans eagerly awaited the release of this film, hoping it would do the story justice. And, thankfully, it does just that.
It’s safe to say Baldoni’s film delivers and brings the story to life with an important message on domestic violence at its centre. Let’s delve in to the film now it has landed on digital.
The ‘BookTok’ Effect
TikTok has had a significant impact on popular culture in recent years. The trends we follow, the things we buy and the movies we watch are all influenced by what we consume online. Books are no different.
The rise of a community of book lovers known as ‘BookTok’ has brought new audiences to books. Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us (2016), gained popularity on TikTok. Since then, it has become a fan favourite and there were high expectations on this film adaptation.
Lily Bloom’s Fresh Start
It Ends With Us follows the story of the ambitious and boldly dressed Lily Blossom Bloom, played by Blake Lively. She is a young woman who moves to Boston after the death of her father to open a flower shop. Her father’s death brought up complicated emotions, which we see when she is unable to speak at his funeral. Not because of sadness, but because she struggles to find positives in a man she witnessed repeatedly abuse her mother.
After her father’s funeral, Lily moves to Boston to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a flower shop. It is in Boston on the rooftop of a building that she has a chance encounter with Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin Baldoni. This meeting alters the course of her life.
Lily settles into life in Boston, opens up her shop and recruits the help of a kind stranger Allysa, played by Jenny Slate. Allysa becomes Lily’s best friend. She also happens to be the sister of Ryle, the mysterious stranger Lily met when she first came to Boston. Ryle is handsome and charming and he pursues Lily. But she is not taken in by his direct approach at first. Until eventually, she comes around. The standard enemies to lovers trope.
Returning To The Past
The film continues to follow the passionate relationship that develops between Lily and Ryle as they fall in love. It is easy to route for these two characters, with the chemistry between Lively and Baldoni successfully selling their love story.
But things become complicated when Lily comes face to face with her childhood sweetheart Atlas Corrigan, played by Brandon Sklenar. The film flashes between Lily’s present day and her teenage years when she meets and falls in love for the first time with Atlas. So seeing him again brings her back to the warmth and care she felt for him when they were younger.
Lily’s relationships become complicated and we see her in the midst of a very passionate all-consuming love with Ryle, while still holding onto the sweet innocent love she shared with Atlas.
The Fairytale Becomes a Nightmare
Audiences who have read the book know that the story is not one of a love triangle. Lily’s fairytale with Ryle darkens and her life changes when a moment of anger in their home ends in Ryle striking Lily. This is the first of many moments in which we see Lily’s suffering at the hands of her husband. As the film goes on, we see more painful moments where he pushes her down the stairs and forces himself on her.
Ryle gaslights Lily and Baldoni visually conveys this on screen. The audience is made to question whether the moments of abuse are accidental. Until they are fully revealed later in the film, dispelling all doubt. Watching the incomplete perspective of these violent scenes mirrors the confusion Lily feels about the reality of what is happening.
The Message in It Ends With Us
Lively is a force on screen. She portrays the heartbreak and tragedy of being hurt the most by the person you love the most. From the beginning of the film you are rooting for Ryle and Lily. Ryle who has all the conventional characteristics of a man who appears perfect in every way and Lily a brave and beautiful young woman.
Baldoni highlights how appearances are deceiving and that even behind the most outwardly perfect lives, domestic violence still exists. Baldoni said he hoped this film “would answer the question of why do women stay?” so that they can stop being asked. His storytelling highlights the complexities of loving someone so much and trying to always see the best in them, reinforcing why it can be so difficult to walk away.
While the film does not include all of the small moments from the book, Baldoni puts a heart-breaking story of domestic violence at the centre. We see this through Lily’s gaze and the storytelling allows an audience to come away from watching this film with compassion and empathy.
Read next:
-
LOVE ISLAND WINNERS MAKE HISTORY – WHY IT MATTERS
-
‘BRIDGERTON’: SHOULD WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG FOR SHORT SEASONS?
-
LEAKS AND LOSSES: THE GROWING CRACKS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Featured image courtesy of Jasmin Schreiber via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
