It Ends With Us, from a novel to a film, showcases the truth behind domestic violence and refound love in a way that is touching and inspiring.

Colleen Hoover’s best selling novel, It Ends With Us, was a smashing success and has sold more than 8 million copies since its release. The book went so viral on TikTok that fans began demanding a film adaptation. The book follows Lily Bloom, an aspiring florist who falls in love with her co-workers’ emotionally complicated neurosurgeon brother, Ryle Kincaid. As Ryle and Lily’s relationship takes off, Ryle is known to be passionate and protective of Lily. But one day, a piece of Lily’s past, Atlas Corrigan, comes back into the picture. Ryle’s protective nature quickly becomes possessive. 

The film adaptation stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid, and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan. The movie expertly brings to life a touching story that increases awareness of domestic violence as well as abusive relationships. 

The movie kept true to the plot of the book, maintaining each character’s motives and backstories; however, I felt as if Atlas’s character was underdeveloped when compared to his role in the book. In the book, the reader is taken on a journey through Atlas’s complicated and truly traumatic childhood. However, in the movie, his character is merely Lily’s first love, leaving behind all of the key events that developed his character. The underdevelopment of his character ultimately leaves the audience unconvinced as to why Lily would be holding on to her short-lived high school romance.

On the contrary, Ryle’s character was even more developed in the movie than he was in the book. Ryle’s character in the book is quickly painted as abusive and evil, whereas his character in the movie is portrayed as misunderstood. Ryle’s character is developed from the beginning as being arrogant but sensitive with a soft spot for Lily, who he claims is the only girl he had ever loved.

As for Lily’s character, it felt as if the character was more Blake Lively than Lily Bloom. Lily’s character is described as “pale and red-haired” in the book, but in the movie, Lily is portrayed as a brassy strawberry blonde with tan skin. The character’s costumes were also hit or miss, with some of her outfits feeling too extravagant or odd for the character of Lily, and again, more of a reflection of Blake Lively. Additionally, I think that Lily’s character was severely weakened from the book to the movie. In the book, Lily is aware of Ryle’s abusive behavior and stays because she loves him. In the movie, Lily is portrayed as being manipulated to believe she is not being abused. 

One aspect that the movie made really beautiful were the allusions to the book. There were several nods to some of the characters’ interests through props and indirect dialogue, such as newspapers and wall art. I thought that this was really expertly done and gives audience members who read the book things to look for. Intricate details that made the movie feel more heartfelt and sincere.

Another detail I thought was interesting was the soundtrack. The soundtrack throughout represented the different stages in the cycle of abuse, and many of the songs were by well-established artists. In a turning point for the film, the entire four and a half minutes of “My Tears Ricochet” by Taylor Swift played, connecting two popular fan bases as well as showcasing Lily’s despair in an artful and personal manner.

Overall, the movie was incredibly touching and did an excellent job of shedding light on the truth behind domestic violence and provides visibility on what these relationships can look like. While some of the character’s were not as developed as they were in the book, the movie still does a really good job of creating meaningful moments between the characters as well as culminating a truly touching story of love and loss.