As my wife is a huge Blake Lively fan there was no way that we were not going to see It Ends with Us in the theatre. This is based on a book by Christy Hall and it is the true story of her growing up and witnessing the physical and emotional abuse in her parent’s marriage. This is a romantic drama, it is very important that you do not go into this thinking it is some kind of rom-com as it is certainly not that.
How to Download It Ends with Us
It Ends with Us was released on August 9, 2024. You should be able to download or stream the film from a digital platform such as Netflix 45 days after its date. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability.
The Movie Review
One thing that is kind of interesting about the movie is that it is directed by Justin Baldoni who is also plays one of the main characters, Ryle. What is interesting about this is that behind the scenes there was supposedly a lot of drama between Baldoni and Lively in regards to the way the movie was shot and even some re-writing and reshoots happening. If you love to read about behind the scenes drama in movies, It Ends with Us is fascinating to read about.
Blake Lively as Lily
Ok, back to the actual movie! Blake Lively plays the role of a woman called Lily. Lily is impossible not to love, she has a real vulnerability about her after growing up in a house with domestic violence. Still, she is trying to make the best of her life and she is running a little flower shop and this is where Ryle walks into her life.
Ryle is incredibly handsome and charismatic and this dude is ripped to shreds as well! It is very easy to see why at first Lily would fall for a man like Ryle, but cracks start to appear. Lily went into this relationship with the best of intentions and you can tell that she fell really hard for Ryle and that she wanted to make it work.
The Reality of Domestic Abuse
However, a smashed glass here, a freak out there, and a few other things make Lily realize that she has ended up in the exact kind of relationship that her parents had and she decides “It Ends with Us”. Blake Lively is fantastic in this role and it is impossible not to feel for her and want her to get out of this situation and end up with a good guy.
I do not want to go into spoilers here at all, but what I have told you is the gist of the movie and to be honest, it is pretty predictable. However, that does not make it bad as things go the way you would expect them to go. I will say that the way the movie shows domestic violence is quite interesting. We do not get to see the extreme sides of things here, do not get me wrong, you can tell that Ryle is out of control and she needs to get away from him, but it is not as extreme as you may think it is going to be.
A Subtle Portrayal of Abuse
At first, I thought that this was strange, but I think it is done in this way to make you realize that domestic violence is not just all about a black eye or bruised ribs, often it is the stuff that is not so obvious that is so hard for people in a situation like this to deal with. Granted I am simplifying this a great deal, but having grown up in a house like this myself, I can see what they were going for with the way domestic violence was shown.
Final Thoughts
To be honest, if it was not for my wife being a huge fan, I would have been more than ok waiting for It Ends with Us to hit streaming and I think that may be the best way to watch this movie as it is not one I would say you have to see in theatres. Still, I did enjoy this and I thought that Blake Lively was very likable here and she really made this movie.
