Susan Granger’s review of “It Ends With Us” (Columbia/Sony)
The romantic drama “It Ends With Us” has become far better known for its behind-the-scenes controversy than its impact at the box-office.
When actor/producer/director Justin Baldoni optioned Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel about a toxic, abusive relationship and cast Blake Lively as its star, he obviously had no inkling about the on-set tension that would erupt.
But after filming was completed, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds deliberately avoided Baldoni and his wife Emily at the premieres. Apparently, Lively, having just given birth to her fourth child, felt Baldoni had “fat-shamed” her about her body and allegedly lingered too long in a kissing scene.
Other members of the cast seemed to side with Lively, although Baldoni’s friends steadfastly claim he’s a male feminist and would never behave that way. The conclusion seems to be that Lively & Baldoni had “creative differences.”
So what about the picture itself?
After surviving a difficult childhood in Plethora, Maine, Lily Bloom (Lively) has always dreamed of owning her own flower shop in Boston, where she meets Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a charming yet volatile neurosurgeon.
But then the first-love-of-her-life, protective Atlas Corrigon (Brandon Sklenar), reappears, and Lily faces a painful choice – which involves breaking the insidious cycle of domestic violence that entraps one generation after another.
Adapted by screenwriter Christy Hall, it’s related through Lily’s sensitive perspective, often lacking subtlety and glossing over violent parts of the story, demonstrating how intimidating abusive partnerships can be. Clichés and contrivances abound, many of which can be traced to the original book.
Flashbacks between teenage Lily (Isabela Ferrer) and homeless Atlas (Alex Neustaedter) reveal the traumas that shaped both of their lives.
Bottom Line: the theme serves as a reminder to domestic abuse victims that there is a way out. But it’s questionable whether Baldoni will direct Colleen Hoover’s sequel, “It Starts With Us,” which his Wayfarer Films also optioned.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “It Ends With Us” is a slow-building, redemptive 6 – now streaming on Netflix.
