It Ends with Us

It Ends With Us Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar

Director: Justine Baldoni

What’s Good: Blake Lively is charming as ever, and the cinematography is quite pretty at times.

What’s Bad: The entire production lacks energy and there’s definitely a terrifying level of romanticizing abuse for some reason, and that feels very wrong.

Loo Break: The film feels long and the second act is as muddle as you can imagine, so you can go and have a loo break right in the middle of the film as things happen very slowly.

Watch or Not?: Watch only if you are a fan of the novel or if you are a Blake Lively.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Theaters

Runtime: 130 Minutes

User Rating:

There was a time when novel adaptations were being done left and right, and they are still a major source of material for Hollywood, especially if the novel is a bestseller. It Ends With Us does just that, and it will probably be a big success this summer as it fits perfectly in synergy with Deadpool & Wolverine starring Blake Lively’s own husband, Ryan Reynolds. However, unfortunately enough, the film’s execution doesn’t pop-off to the desired level to make it big on its own as a film, at least on a creative level.

It Ends With Us Movie Review: Script Analysis

It Ends With Us seems to be the kind of film aimed specifically to a female audience, as the story mixes romance, slice of life elements, and darker elements such as domestic abuse, but also gives it a dangerous edgy edge to it, which, at least in my opinion, feels a bit gross. However, it seems this is the formula for success as the film is expected to open big this opening weekend, but as a film, and as a story, It Ends With Us ends up lacking the punch, and the execution that it would need to stand on its own as a solid film.

One of the first things you will notice about the film is the way in which the story is being told. The story of a domestic abuse survivor, which already tells you that you are in for a ride when it comes to emotions and while it didn’t hit me at all, it is certain that for some people, especially women who sadly have been victims of these circumstances it will hit, and it will hit hard; so, there is no way to avoid the fact that this story will be powerful and impactful for at least one section of the audience.

However, the script and the way some scenes are directed walk the fine line of condemning abuse but also romanticizing it, as a show of deep passion, and bottomless love, and from the reactions some girls had by the end of the film, it seems that the abuser might end up having a group of fans by the end of the day. While this naturally seems nonsensical, the film’s producers will definitely make more money from this as the word of mouth will inevitably give this movie legs at the box-office. However, for me, it left a bad taste in my mouth, and might be one of the biggest reasons why I can’t recommend the film.

The script also fails the actors in several scenes by making the dialogue laughable, and very stiff; and while this might be a result of having a source material of that same quality, it definitely feels like this could be a chance to improve upon it? Whatever was the case, the dialogue, and the way some scenes are set up feel amateurish, and will definitely remind some people of the 50 Shades of Grey franchise, another story that also dwelled into abuse but made it look hot for some reason.

It Ends With Us Movie Review: Star Performance

If there is something that really bothered me with the film were the performances, not because they are bad but because they could have been so much better, as the subject of the film would allow these characters and their actors to really go deep into several and diverse emotional situations but for some reason, all the performances in the film felt a bit distant, and artificial, which gave the entire film a layer of soap opera execution that would be a turn-off for some, and a campy delight for others.

Lively is, of course, a charming presence on screen, and she is a very good protagonist for the project, but she seems to be still waiting for that breakthrough role that will demand from her all of her talent and discipline, but her role as “Lily” in this movie is not it. Baldoni becomes the highlight of the film on a performance level, and it makes sense as he is the villain of the piece, and he is also the director, so he definitely made sure to catch his good side every single time. Sklenar on the other hand does fine, but just like everything in the film, his role lacks energy.