How “It Ends With Us” deals with heavy topics

BY ASHTYN HANSARD / Executive Producer

Towards the end of summer, the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” was released in theaters. Just as a warning to readers, there will be some spoilers and discussion of sensitive topics, such as domestic violence, throughout this review.

“It Ends With Us” is a romance/drama movie that deals with the serious topic of domestic violence. Throughout the movie, audience members are able to see these topics brought to life on the big screen. In order for this to work, the cast and directors had to make sure they portrayed these situations correctly and in a sensitive manner. In my opinion, they did an excellent job.

The cast, while it may not have been what all the book fans were expecting, did a great job in this movie. 

Blake Lively (Adult Lily Bloom) and Isabela Ferrer (Young Lily Bloom) did a fantastic job bringing Lily’s eccentric and care-free energy to life. They both perfectly encapsulate her wild side while also portraying the fear she felt during more serious scenes.

Justin Baldoni (Ryle Kincaid) was showstopping as Ryle, making the audience fall in love with him and feel his anger later on in the movie. He easily twists the audience’s view on Ryle and makes you second-guess his words.

Brandon Sklenar (Atlas Corrigan) was the ultimate heartthrob when playing Lily’s first love. Sklenar’s performance mixes beautifully with Lively’s, making their care and intimacy for one another feel natural.

While the acting may have been amazing, one critique I do have of the movie is the styling. While Lily Bloom is known to be a bit of a wild character, a lot of her outfits in the movie just seemed messy. 

In one instance, Lily enters her best friend’s party in a long dress that had slits in the side with an oversized light brown jacket on. While I can see what the costume director was trying to accomplish with Lily’s style, I don’t think she achieved her goal.

Another great addition to the movie was the soundtrack. In the trailer for “It Ends With Us,” the song “Strangers” by Ethel Cain was used. This song was also used towards the beginning of the movie when Lily first meets Ryle. 

Another big song played is “my tears ricochet” by Taylor Swift. While I wasn’t surprised that Swift would have a song in the movie since she and Lively are good friends, I believe it was a nice addition for the scene the song was used in.

While there is romance in this movie, a large part of the storyline has to do with Lily’s history of domestic violence. During the movie, the audience learns that Lily’s father (Kevin McKidd) was abusive to Lily’s mother (Amy Morton). 

Lily ends up falling in love with Ryle and starts an intense and serious relationship with him. After some time, an accident happens in their apartment and Ryle ends up “accidentally” hitting Lily after he burnt his hand and yanked it away. A second incident occurs where Lily is chasing after Ryle after he gets upset and ends up misstepping and falling down some stairs.

It isn’t until a third incident, one too tense for me to fully discuss in this review, where Lily realizes the previous two weren’t accidents. She starts to get flashbacks and sees that Ryle meant to hit her after he burnt his hand and he shoved her down the stairs. 

During these scenes, I realized how important the camera work is when telling a story. When these incidents first happen, they are filmed and acted out as if they were actually accidents, making the audience believe Ryle did it unintentionally. However, when the third incident occurs, the scene is filmed as it actually happens.

Through Lily’s flashbacks, we see them filmed differently, showing how Ryle intended to do these things to Lily. This moment alone made me wonder if that’s how some victims of domestic violence view their own incidents. Does the adrenaline and shock of the situation make them believe something entirely different happened?

There were two quotes from the movie that really stuck out to me in relation to the violence Lily experienced throughout her life. 

The first quote is from her mother. Lily moves back home after finding out she’s pregnant with Ryle’s baby. She and her mother are building a piece of furniture when Lily asks her mother why she stayed so long. 

Her mother replied saying, “It would have been harder to leave him. And I loved him.” 

This quote got to me, knowing so many victims of domestic violence stay with their partner because they don’t think they have the option to leave and simply because they still love the person that they first met. 

The second quote was said by Lily. Right after she gives birth, she tells Ryle she wants a divorce and ends their relationship. Afterwards, she says to her baby, “It ends with us.” While this is not only a reference to the title of the movie and book, it means so much more to Lily’s character. 

In this moment, Lily is deciding that the abuse she had seen her entire life would stop with her and her baby. She’s making a vow to her daughter that she would not experience the same violence Lily had when she was younger.

“It Ends With Us” is an amazing movie that dived deep into a complicated story. I encourage fans of the book or curious readers to watch the movie, but I do want to warn you. Some scenes, like the third incident that happened to Lily, are tough to watch. 

If you are sensitive to topics of domestic violence, I urge you to think carefully before heading to the theater.

If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence or needs to discuss a situation related to domestic violence, please call 800-799-7233.