It Ends with Us is the first feature film adaptation of Best Selling Author, Colleen Hoover. The story follows Lily Bloom’s journey through a turbulent relationship with the charismatic yet troubled Ryle Kincaid. As their bond evolves, Lily grapples with profound revelations about love, sacrifice, and her own value.

Full disclosure, I am not a fan of the book. That said, there are a lot of films based on books I didn’t care for, but turned out to be great movies with necessary changes. I was hoping that It Ends with Us would follow that pattern. Sadly, it didn’t. But, before I dive into all that, let me start with the positives.

IT ENDS WITH US HAS GREAT WORLD-BUILDING

It Ends with Us builds the world of Colleen Hoover’s book better than I imagine from Lily’s flower shop to Blake Lively herself. Originally, I thought Blake was too pretty to play the awkward, frumpy girl who gets the hot doctor. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the meticulous attention to detail in costuming, including the use of bad wigs, and Blake’s compelling performance that truly made the character believable on screen.

I also really liked the casting of 1923’s Brandon Sklenar as Atlas. While he doesn’t look how I pictured, he has the essence and character attributes I wanted. The soundtrack is also fire with music ranging from Taylor Swift to Cigarettes After Sexy. Every scene change had me happy in my seat.

NOW THE BAD

I asked for changes to It Ends with Us. The film gave me a lot of the changes I begged for. However, some of these changes cause the film to drag over 2 hours and 10 min runtime. I have never checked my watch more in a film. Most of the changes push the audience towards falling in love with Rial as Lilly does. However, a lot of Lily’s changes make it seem like she’s not really interested in him with one foot always out the door.

Director/Star Justin Baldoni has gone on record about how the character of Rial and the physical harm he’s supposed to do made him incredibly uncomfortable. Sadly, that reads on screen. His hesitancy and uncomfortableness with the character cause him and Blake to have zero chemistry. There was never a moment where I was rooting for them as a couple, even before the reveal of him being a monster.

Overall, I don’t think the lukewarm reception will keep studios from adapting more of Hoover’s books. This just wasn’t the big explosion they hoped it would be.

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