4.5 out of 5.0 stars
“It Ends With Us” — both the 2016 hit novel written by Colleen Hoover and the new film — tells a story of intricate human love. “It Ends With Us” is also a raw unveiling of perpetual domestic abuse. These two statements are not mutually exclusive, no matter what the film’s thoughtless press tour advertises.
Luckily, the film escapes the shambles of off-screen drama and seamlessly showcases Hoover’s story in a way that is both heart-shattering and uplifting. The romance drama film is directed by Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni, who co-stars alongside executive producer Blake Lively.
Told through alternating past and present sequences, the film follows the ironically-named florist Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively) and her journey through many life milestones: her first love, her dream move to Boston and the death of her father — with whom Lily and her mother did not have a good relationship. Immediately following his funeral, Lily meets the persistent and outspoken neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, played by Baldoni.
Once this new relationship resurfaces formative childhood wounds for both Ryle and Lily, the two embark on a struggle to navigate their now-exposed trauma and make sense of their complex emotions. From then comes Atlas Corrigan, portrayed by Brandon Sklenar. Not only does Atlas serve the irreplaceable role of Lily’s first love, he does an invaluable thing: saves Lily’s life by showing her the love she deserves.
For fans of Hoover’s novel, this film’s plot is utterly satisfying, with details like Lily’s tiny but extremely meaningful collar bone tattoo to her conclusive title drop line. The film also successfully replicates the cliff–hanging, suspenseful nature of the novel. Every flashback sequence is cut perfectly in between the present to reveal pivotal moments, which explain the significance of certain events, people or symbols. The use of flashbacks is accompanied by attentive cinematography, such as the vertical camera pans that create jaw-dropping character entrances. With Hoover credited as an executive producer alongside Lively, the inclusion of these book-centric details is not surprising.
These camera pans are also utilized to introduce the near-perfect casting of the film, as young Lily Bloom (Isabela Ferrer) is introduced by a chilling transition from a scene with Lively. Besides the fact that Ferrer and Lively are strikingly similar in appearance, the two actresses’ completely align in their portrayal of Lily on a meticulous level, from their joyful body language to their general vocal cadence.
The wardrobe is one sore spot. While Lily is a spontaneous character, the mix–match patterns are overwhelming to the eye and come off as a bad attempt at being theatrical or quirky.
The vulturous headlines circling the cast of “It Ends With Us” only serve as a distraction from the pure success that this film is. This film hits crucial marks like intentional cinematography, thoughtful casting and comprehensible narrative pacing, elements that allow book-to-screen adaptations to cross the threshold from being just a good visual interpretation to a solid, standalone movie in its own right.
