It Ends with Us - Film Review
By Angela Kagucia
“This is it, bubba,” she said, pressing a kiss on Emmie’s forehead. “It stops with us, bubba. It ends with us.”
It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, opened in cinemas on 8th August, 2024. The highly anticipated movie is based on Colleen Hoover’s global best-selling novel of the same name. It tells the story of Lily Bloom, who falls in love with the it-should-be-illegal-to-be-this-hot Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon. As their love story unfolds, darker aspects peek through, forcing Lily to face the reality of her relationship. In the end, she has to make a choice – to break the pattern, or let the pattern break her.
Cycles are so easy to get into, and even easier to get trapped in. Lily’s story really shows us how easy it is to become trapped in cycles that began even before we were born. Lily’s relationship with Ryle echoes some aspects of her mother’s relationship with her father. Lily is desperate not to be like her mother, to have a love that is different, and in that desperation she finds herself trapped in the very cycle she was running from. She wants Ryle to be different from her father, but unfortunately, he exhibits the same characteristics as the father she both loved and despised – so much so that she couldn’t say any nice things about him at his funeral, preferring to stay silent instead.
Many movies based on books often stray from the original source material, forcing readers to compare what’s on screen with what the novel talks about. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was very little deviation from the novel. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni brought Lily and Ryle to life, and their on-screen chemistry completely sold the love story. As the dark side of their love story emerged, Lively accurately depicted what it is to so desperately and helplessly love the person who is hurting you, and how much it hurts to have the person you love the most hurt you in the worst way possible. I saw the fear and the love as she fought for their love to stay on course and her dignity as he forced her into an untenable situation.
While many have criticised the ages of the actors, Baldoni and Lively brought a maturity to the story that made the story all the more believable. Their maturity lent a gravity to their characters that sold the performance better than a pair of younger actors could have. Under Baldoni’s direction, the movie brought to life the well-loved global phenomenon, It Ends with Us. This movie is well worth the watch, but trigger warning, you will need to have a good cry afterwards. Both the novel and the movie broke my heart – they tell the story of so many people who don’t have the opportunity or ability to break the cycle of abuse.
We all need an Alyssa in our lives. While she, as Ryle’s sister, loved him and wanted the best for him, she saw him for what he really was and gave Lily the support she needed to remedy the situation. If you, or someone you know, are in a similar situation, please reach out a hand for help to break the cycle. The UC Medical and Counselling Centerprovides medical and health advice, and assistance, as well as a free counselling service for students. You can also call the UC Crisis Line by Phone: 1300 271 790 or text: 0488 884 227 for after-hours support to all students, including on weekends and public holidays. For off-campus help, reach out to 1800respect.org.au.