How "It Ends With Us" tackles domestic violence in film adaptation
They meet on the roof of an apartment building. She has just buried her dad. He, in turn, tells the story of a boy who accidentally shot his little brother while playing. This is how "It Ends With Us" begins. The book was a sensation, a social media hit. How does the movie fare?
Colleen Hoover lived the truest American dream. A mother of three, a social worker, and a teacher. In 2013, she managed to self-publish her first book. Three years later, she wrote "It Ends With Us," in which she tackled the issue of domestic violence, which - as she revealed - she herself experienced as a child. Lily Bloom's story sold quite well, but the real boom came in 2019 when the book was rediscovered and became a social media sensation. "It Ends With Us" sold a million copies and has been translated into 20 languages. There was real madness on TikTok - the story reigned on the so-called BookTok, where netizens recommend various books to each other. And from an internet sensation, it's only a short step to a film adaptation.
Millions of copies sold and genuine fascination
What's it all about? "It Ends With Us" is the story of Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), whom we meet just after she has to give a speech at her father's funeral. It's quickly apparent that the girl didn't have a good relationship with her father. She can't even name five things she loved about him. Stories from the past will profoundly impact Lily's life, especially when a handsome neurosurgeon named Ryle (Justin Baldoni) comes into her life. He also has a messed-up past that will soon come to light. But before that happens, Lily and Ryle experience a beautiful storybook romance.
Beautiful people, beautiful places, passion hanging in the air, electrifying looks – what isn't there to love? Ryle is so fascinated with Lily that he decides to take the risk and enter his first serious relationship. At some point, the past catches up with him with double the intensity. By chance, Lily's teenage love Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) - the boy she lost her virginity to and the only one who knew that her family home, filled with luxury, was also filled with violence - comes back into her life. Meanwhile, Ryle, who claims to love Lily more than life itself and wants only the best for her, begins to behave aggressively towards her.
This story has been causing quite a stir for years. On one hand, it was pointed out that Colleen Hoover romanticises violence in the book and forcefully tries to justify the abuser. On the other hand, there were voices that the author addresses the issue of toxic masculinity and, most importantly, simply brings up the subject of violence in relationships. Esteemed psychologists even debated the book in American media, but negative comments about Hoover's fictional story did not subside. The subject is so delicate that criticising this story seems irresponsible.
The film shows a girl who - consciously or not – begins to repeat the pattern of her parents' marriage. When she is hit for the first time, images of her mother being abused by her father flash before her eyes. Back then, as a child, she was paralysed with fear, and it's the same now. She doesn't want to believe that the man she's head over heels in love with is an abuser. She tries to explain his behaviour until she suffers such a brutal attack that she has to start taking action. How many real-life stories similar to this do we know?
You can have doubts about how suddenly Ryle's brutal side is shown. It awakens in him out of nowhere, but violence - including domestic violence - cannot be neatly categorised. There aren't mathematical formulas for it.
After the book became a social media hit, it was said that Ryle is depicted as a handsome, good guy with some issues that supposedly justify his behaviour. But no one is born a monster. What "It Ends With Us" does well is show that an abuser isn't just a guy in old, ragged sweatpants living in shady neighbourhoods, constantly drinking vodka. Violence also occurs in beautiful apartment buildings.
You can criticise certain parts of the script, but the fascination young girls have with Lily Bloom's story can have quite a positive effect. The story shows the path to understanding that one is a victim of violence and points out how to break free from repeating patterns. Maybe the picture-perfect Lily from "It Ends With Us" will show them which relationships to avoid. Incidentally, that would be the best outcome of this film, a well-made production. There are interesting characters, great costumes, and Boston in the background. This story, carried mainly by the flawless Blake Lively - the queen of melodramas and romantic films- may even bring you a few tears.
