Fans of Colleen Hoover’s books will flock to see It Ends With Us and resolutely defend every aspect of its existence. If you fall in that category, you likely aren’t even reading this review. For those of us who have not read Hoover’s novel and aren’t die-hard fans of the author, this adaptation has some problematic pitfalls.

 

The main character is the unfortunately named Lily Bloom (Black Lively) who has a dream to open her own flower shop. As she’s turning that dream into a reality in Boston, she finds herself on a rooftop where she meets a ridiculously good-looking neuro-surgeon, Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni). Their instant spark (along with plenty of red flags) blossoms into a connection that seems like a match-made in heaven. Lily is even best friends with Ryle’s sister, Allysa (Jenny Slate), a bored, rich housewife who helps out in the flower shop. 

 

Their seemingly perfect life together takes a turn when Ryle begins physically abusing Lily. The violence adheres to the PG-13 rating and doesn’t get too grisly, but we see enough to get the gist. Every so often flashbacks reveal snippets of Lily’s youth, documenting her father’s abusive ways and her first love with a boy named Atlas who sleeps in an abandoned house next door. Isabela Ferrer makes the perfect younger Lively and pairs well with Alex Neustaedter, who doesn’t match up quite as well with his older counterpart Brandon Sklenar. 

 

Lively tries her best with Lily but there isn’t much to work with. Aside from her dream of owning a flower shop she doesn’t have many definable traits other than tousled hair and a stunningly eclectic wardrobe that seems more well suited for a fashionista than a flower shop owner. Baldoni, who also directed the film, has a blistering stare that he unleashes in nearly every scene and his intensity makes Ryle compelling despite the many warning signs that he’s bad news (during our first introduction to him, he kicks a chair). Their chemistry is fun and carries the movie through its more clunky moments. The competing chemistry Lively has with Sklenar makes for an interesting pseudo-love triangle and ramps up the intensity and danger that trickles into other scenes.

 

The rom-com-esque scenes intertwined with depictions of domestic abuse coupled with how the movie ends, adds a glossy sheen on an otherwise gritty topic that feels a bit too optimistic. The movie sidesteps the complexities of the situation and instead offers on-the-nose (look at how the main characters’ names match their careers or character traits) messages that don’t feel particularly revelatory. But the trio of Lively, Baldoni, and Sklenar are admittedly enjoyable to watch and Baldoni knows how to frame each of them to optimize their beauty no matter what’s happening in the scene. It Ends With Us isn’t a bad movie, it’s just not exactly a must-watch either.