Trigger Warning: It Ends with Us explores domestic abuse and includes an instance of attempted sexual assault.
In 2024, a film released in theaters in which a woman has a meet-cute with a man, finds herself falling love, struggles to come to grips with the feeling amid swelling, uplifting pop songs, before succumbing to the romance until things become too much and she breaks it off. Thankfully, due to the warm cinematography giving the film a feeling of pervasive comfort, one never really worries about any of the contention in the film. This, of course, describes the rom-com The Idea of You, currently on Prime Video, but, strangely, also book adaptation It Ends with Us, directed by/co-starring Justin Baldoni (Five Feet Apart) and featuring Blake Lively (The Rhythm Section). While it works for the former as a fairly rote rom-com elevated by the chemistry of its leads and by lead actor Anne Hathaway’s (Ocean’s Eight) prowess as a performer, the latter suffers because the underlying themes of the narrative speak to spousal and parental abuse (with a dash of attempted sexual assault) don’t align with the execution. In the home release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, individuals who found themselves moved by It Ends with Us can revisit as they like, but that’s all you’ll receive is there’s not a single petal of bonus materials included.
Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in IT ENDS WTH US. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
After the death of her father, Lily Bloom (Lively) returns to Boston to continue the process of opening her flower shop. The night of her return, Lily stops at a random building and journeys to the roof to look out over the city and contemplate the complicated nature of familial relationships when Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) appears in a huff, interrupting her tranquility. The two begin to talk, sharing details of their lives, but are interrupted by an emergency call that sends him away. The two meet again through Lily’s employee, Allysa (Jenny Slate), who Lily didn’t realize is his sister, and the pair begin a courtship that seems destined for a happy ending. But destiny doesn’t always bring us what we want, wrapping up trials as a false gift; requiring Lily to confront a part of her life she never wanted to revisit.
L-R: Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid in IT ENDS WTH US. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
It Ends with Us is an adaptation of the best-selling Colleen Hoover novel, written for the screen by Christy Hall (Daddio), and utilizes topics of spousal abuse and familial violence to explore the cycle of trauma that impact so many families around the world. On its face, this is an engaging and worthwhile narrative to tell as audiences watch Lily ping-pong between two timelines, the present and the memories of her past, as she grapples with a home life that was filled with stress and a lack of safety, a circumstance she never wanted to be in again, only to find herself back in it. This is a real issue as young women and men grow up seeking to avoid the same types of volatile relationships, only to stumble into them without the tools to extricate themselves. Having not read Hopper’s novel, this reviewer can’t speak to how well the source material rides the line between romance and self-actualization/development of agency/healing, but this film botches it entirely by not being clear on the type of film it wants to be. Does it want to depict the truth regarding the complexity of love blindness and personal delusion? Does it want to uplift by presenting a facsimile version in which safety is guaranteed regardless of narrative road bumps? It’s a film that tackles too much without actually doing the work on any of it thereby creating a vapid sensation in the watch versus a connection that elicits a pleasant emotional response.
Director Justin Baldoni on the set of IT ENDS WITH US. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A critical element of this is the visual language of the film via cinematographer Barry Peterson’s (Zoolander; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) work. The film itself is lovely, but it doesn’t convey romantic drama so much as romantic comedy. The colors are bright and each scene, regardless of tension (light or full), is given the same temperature, indicative of a perpetual safety. It doesn’t matter if Lily is remembering a violent action by her father unto her mother, going on a double date with Ryle and Allysa, or being tossed down some stairs, each scene is given the same visual style so that there’s no sense of actual danger, realism, or weight. Now, part of the narrative is about how Lily finds herself in the exact relationship her mother was in, the type she swore she wouldn’t get into. The execution of the way the film presents what Lily tells herself versus the truth is fantastic as one may find themselves going, “well that was clearly an accident,” in the moment only to have their preconceptions torn asunder as the truth comes to light. So, if the decision to use a rom-com visual language and color temperature to create a sense of safety amid danger is intentional, it’s a brilliant concept, except the final product doesn’t convey this intentionality, especially with the inclusion of Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), the boy whom Lily loved as a teen and whom she bumps into as an adult and is the cause of Ryle’s jealously. (For clarity, there’s zero excuse for Ryle’s violence, not even jealously, but the inclusion of Atlas is deployed by the narrative to serve as catalyst for Ryle’s violence and is, therefore, presented as the main “cause.”) Additionally, the inclusion of Atlas isn’t just as a safe space for Lily amid the turbulence of her journey, but as a tool of romantic longing for the audience to pine over. (An element that increases in the film as Lively’s chemistry with Baldoni is virtually non-existent, but is off the charts with Sklenar.)
L-R: Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan in IT ENDS WTH US. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Perhaps if the home release included any manner of special features allowing for the audience to learn about the adaptation process, on-set development, or any other behind-the-scenes materials, the intention of the film would be clearer. Strangely, there’s absolutely nothing included here. Just the film and audio settings — that’s it. Perhaps it’s due to the controversy that swirled around the initial theatrical release about strife between Baldoni and Lively (both as actors and director/producer on the project) or the poor reception of the project, but it’s an odd choice to go through with a physical release and not even include a theatrical trailer for the film. Surely someone enjoyed this film enough to buy it and they would want to know more, right? Perhaps, down the road, if a 4K UHD edition is released some extras would be included, but I wouldn’t count on it.
L-R: Jenny Slate as Allysa Kincaid and Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in IT ENDS WTH US. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
As someone who grew up in a similarly tumultuous home, there’s a strong desire to avoid that kind of bond again. Yet, my desire to not abandon or be abandoned set me up for relationships that were doomed because I could not see why they weren’t right for me and vice versa. We, as people, are generally fallible, our vision the clearest when it’s not our story, thus all the faults of Lily’s story seem worse because we can identify them. That said, there are several moments wherein, the way they’re presented, and without the inclusion of mental/emotional control abusers may have over the abused that makes them feel isolated or restrained to their abuser, it’s hard to follow Lily’s reasoning for contacting her abuser for help or to include him in the birthing of their child due to his toxicity. This is made worse when the film opts to create a particularly poignant moment of clarity for Ryle as if his feelings and recognition of failure matter when his decision to abuse Lily destroyed any responsibility on her part to consider him for anything at all. The film appears well-intentioned, but it’s inability to keep its focus on Lily, to center her journey absent the will-they-won’t-they rom-com elements, and to present the film with a coding of danger, makes the experience a vapid one that doesn’t do anything for the subject matter beyond exploit it.
No special features are included with this release.
Available on VOD and digital September 24th, 2024.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD November 5th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures It Ends With Us webpage.
Final Score: 2 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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