IT ENDS WITH US

Heading into 'It Ends with Us' and knowing its subject matter, I had concerns over how this was going to play out. The story deals with domestic abuse. We have seen time and time again heavy subject matters played for cheap melodrama, especially in the romance genre. 'It Ends with Us' is extremely tasteful with how it handles the subject of abuse. This is largely attributed to Blake Lively; her performance here is extremely captivating. She drew me in and I was with her the entire time. The framing is also very solid - what could have been a "who will she choose? The abuser or the childhood crush?" plot instead chooses to focus on Lily and her journey. It's never framed as a love triangle and the tension is based on will she get out of this toxic relationship and not who will she end up with.

The problem, however, is the structure. There is a lot of ground to cover: we have to learn about Lily's childhood relationship with Atlas and her parents' issues. We also have to see Ryle go from charming to abusive while also seeing her flower shop open and have a friendship with Ryle's sister, Allysa (Jenny Slate, 'The Bob's Burgers Movie', 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On'). Because there is so much groundwork, the third act suffers and is very rushed. Atlas also gets thrown to the sidelines and seems to be here because this is mainstream romance film and we need to have some positive hope that Lily will find love again. The book apparently has a journal from when Lily was a teenager that she finds and is reading - which is why flashbacks are happening - but the film does not. Flashbacks just happen sporadically and don't have a natural flow in the story.

The oddest choice for me is Justin Baldoni, once again directing a romantic drama, but this time around cast himself as the abusive boyfriend. It seems strange to me to cast yourself in such a role. Compared to 'Five Feet Apart' and 'Clouds', this is a much more polished directorial effort, but still nothing exceptional.

'It Ends with Us' is sure to appeal to those BookTok fans. It's a surprisingly respectful and emotional story that is decently executed. Lively is carrying the film and completely draws you in. It suffers from structural problems and they make the final product weaker, but I do think its core demographic will get what they want out of this.