It Ends with Us 2024

I got the chance to see a free, early screening in Boston. And I have to say it’s not very good. But I also had very low expectations. I was aware of the drama around the casting. But I’m also not a big Colleen Hoover fan. I mostly went because it was free. I did read the book, but it was a bit ago, so my memory is a bit foggy.

For one, the acting is weird. Blake Lively gives off a “I could care less” performance that gives me strong Serena VanDerWoodsen. It’s very strange given how Lily is more much energetic (in my memory of the book at least). Throughout the whole film, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow that’s Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni,” and that kept interrupting my experience. Baldoni does a good job with the intense scenes, and the young Lily Bloom did a good job mimicking Blake Lively, though.

The lighting and setting is very flat. There’s no depth. For some reason, they said, “Hey, New England is known for seasons, right?” and added way too many scenic, light streaming through the leaves shots.

I will say that the movie uses the setting more than the book does. You’ll see the Boston skyline and whatnots. And one of the people sitting next to me kept commenting about each Boston setting, which was fun. Everyone groaned when they said it’s better in Boston, though.

Overall, it was boring and dull.

It happens exactly how you'd expect and want it to, so not worth more than 1 watch honestly.

Not a Blake fan because her acting is just her being her , hair acting, and biting her lip too much and you find all of that here.

I honestly don't think I've seen Justin in anything else before so not able to compare to past performances but he did a WONDERFUL job at making you like him and pulling him in along with Lilly.

Jenny Slate killed it, she's always fun but her role was important and she played it well.

Isabela Ferrer NAILED it as young Blake! She had it down

The actors who played atlas killed it. Honestly he's the most interesting character. A male based drama about him would be a better watch to be perfectly frank. A young boy goes to kill himself after living with his mom who dates abusive men chooses the abuser over him, then he sees a girl who changes his mind, shows him kindness, but she has her hardships, yadda, yadda, joins the marines all while hung up on the girl, moves back to his home town to find the girl he loves settles there also. Then he finds out she has gotten herself in the same situation as her mother and fights to save her but ultimately has to let her go to make the choice herself (the whole if you love them let them go trope). And in the end he gets the girl. It is full of some cliches and dark content matter but at least that story sounds like it could be more interesting from his perspective as he was the only character that really had me care even a little bit.

Now, I will say I didn't expect to like it at all because of the media nightmare around the author and Blake (who I already don't like) but I will give credit where credit is due.
1st they did NOT romanticize abuse at all which is really good. In this day and age it seems like the romanticize a lot of very unhealthy things so that was refreshing.
2nd They did do a good job of portraying gaslighting yourself and coming to terms with reality. I like how you go through that with her. You're not really sure what happens the first time (she is in denial and explains it away as an accident), the second time you're pretty sure you saw what happened but he draws you right back in with his charm. I think the reason we have a better glimpse of the 2nd time is because the veil is lifting for Lilly and she actually has to try harder to convince herself of it being an accident. The 3rd time there is no sugar coating it as she is completely terrified and it can not be explained away.

HOW IT ENDS
Now in the end he makes the noble choice because the "It ends with us" is not about Lilly and Ryle it is about Lilly and their child. (Lilly literally says it to the baby.) Ryle does the Noble thing and agrees with Lilly that the abuse has to stop here for their daughter so he agrees to a divorce because now he has a new perspective and doesn't want his daughter to be exposed to his violent nature and influence her to take up an abusive man herself as an adult. Because ya know, not hitting the woman he loves is just too hard for him apparently. But she keeps her flower shop, continues her friendship/sistership with Allysa, and rebuilds the relationship with her mom who helps with the baby and is proud of her daughter for breaking the cycle. She of course runs into Atlas again and the fated pair obviously start a new little family unit.

Apparently there is a sequel which I'm not gonna lie, I'm sort of interested in because honestly what is left to tell at this point? I'll watch just about anything at least once so why not?

Overall I'm glad i didn't pay to see it, It isn't rewatchable, and I wasn't super grabbed by the plot or characters... It is more of a "Meh" or 5 movie but I gave it "Fair" or 6 because the actors did actually do a good job.

What makes "It Ends with Us" special is its deeply emotional and realistic portrayal of complex human relationships, especially around the themes of love, trauma, and domestic abuse. Adapted from Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel, the film stands out for how it doesn’t shy away from addressing the difficult subject of abusive relationships in a raw and compassionate way. Rather than simply painting characters as heroes or villains, it delves into the grey areas of human behavior, showing how trauma can influence both the victim and the abuser.

The movie also captures the struggle many face between heart and mind—how love can sometimes blind people to painful truths, and how breaking the cycle of abuse requires immense inner strength. This emotional authenticity, combined with powerful performances from stars like Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, makes it resonate with viewers on a deep level.

Additionally, the film’s focus on self-growth and finding the courage to make hard, life-changing decisions makes it not just a story of pain, but also one of resilience and hope. It's this balance of heartache and empowerment that makes "It Ends with Us" stand out from other romantic dramas.

"It Ends with Us" is a deeply emotional and thought-provoking film that explores the complexities of love, trauma, and self-discovery. The story revolves around Lily, who navigates difficult relationships while coming to terms with her past and present choices. What really stands out in this movie is its raw portrayal of domestic abuse and the emotional toll it takes on the characters. The film doesn’t shy away from tough subjects but handles them with sensitivity and care, making it both heart-wrenching and hopeful. The performances are powerful, particularly in the way they convey the inner struggles of each character, and the cinematography complements the emotional depth of the story. Overall, "It Ends with Us" is a poignant reminder of the strength it takes to break the cycle of abuse and choose oneself.

They say that when a film that was expected to be a success turns out to be bad and a failure in the audience in its first days of screening, the studios create conflicts between those involved, mainly actors, to generate box office interest in society. Recently, the protagonists of It Ends with Us have been involved in controversy due to the very different way of promoting the film: while Justin Baldoni emphasizes the need to give a voice to women who suffer domestic violence and that this film can encourage them to stop it and stop accepting the excuses that their partners give, Blake Lively promotes it with luxury designer outfits and promotion of her flower company.

It has also been said that Blake, being the producer of the film, decided to generate a new cut different from that of the director Justin Baldoni, and presented it to the studio, which was the one that was finally chosen.

The truth is that the story is based on a best-selling book that I have not read and I do not know if the film presents a correct adaptation. What I do know is that it is a very feminine film, in which more than half of the story is presented with everything that a woman would be excited about: flirting, being conquered, making a best friend, having a successful business, marrying an attractive and wealthy man. That look even got annoying; I just thought that Christy Hall's script was unnecessarily long.

But then the climax came, and then I was left thinking that maybe all of the above was necessary to understand the protagonist. The way of depicting the opening of the eyes is interesting and appropriate. And everything improved a lot, until the end came... which again becomes cheesy.

The truth is that I did not think it was a good film, even though the subject is interesting and with a better treatment it could work much better. Blake Lively is wonderful in the role of Lily Bloom, but Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid did not convince me. If the controversy is really to give the film publicity, I would honestly believe it, because on its own, it would not be successful.

I did enjoy watching this! and Justin Baldoni’s acting was great, although i have to say Jenny Slate stole the show.
However, the whole film had a sort of rushed feeling to it, but it did manage to get the entire first book into it which makes sense, if they didn’t then people would complain they’d cut out key moments from the book so it’s a lose-lose situation.

I don’t think Blake did a bad job at acting but the whole thing was very Serena Van Der Woodsen, a little stiff but not a bad job.

You could definitely tell who out of Justin and Blake directed which scenes, all were visually stunning, but it was an obvious clash of differences between the two, creating a sort of disarray.
I mean there was a cut scene to Lily wearing the Louboutin Lipstick heels, which cost £1k roughly, seemed out of character and so weirdly unnecessary, a full on cut scene to a pair of shoes:joy: to be fair the entire wardrobe for this film was questionable, not terrible though, it all looks better in film than online.

I question whether It starts With Us will even happen given what’s going on with the film, Blake Lively and the massive PR nightmare but if it does, i’ll look forward to it - that was the better of the two books for me personally and i’d like to see it adapted to the big screen.
I think Justin Baldoni deserves to direct the sequel, he’s been nothing but compassionate and genuine throughout this whole movie process.

I found 'It Ends with Us' to be largely great, though the way it ends does make me question how I feel about it.

The performances of Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni (just me who thinks he looks a touch like Runar from 'Ice Age'? ...), Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate - heck, even Isabela Ferrer and Alex Neustaedter (iffy likeness aside) - are stellar. I sensed a lot of chemistry between Lively & Baldoni and Lively & Sklenar, which is impressive to succeed in that area twice.

Pace-wise the movie jumps along nicely, all the other major elements like editing, music and whatever are all well done and are only plus points. However, the conclusion disappoints a bit. I do think it just about regains its footing to produce a positive ending, though how it gets there by wrapping up the relationship between Lively's Lily and Baldoni's Atlas left me feeling a bit uneasy. As did a few other scenes, though they were of course as intended.

Amusing that I'm pretty sure I was the only dude (or at least one of a few) in a packed cinema watching this. Upon exiting, visually I kinda felt like Will Smith in that famous 'The Pursuit of Happyness' (which I still haven't seen btw, gotta get on that) crowd scene - only surrounded by women. Bit awkward, I can't lie. "Will watch anything!" evidently leads me astray sometimes!