Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (2024)

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (1)Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (2)Getty Images

For many young women, there have been very few film adaptations as hotly anticipated as Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us.

The 2016 book became an internet sensation a few years ago - it took TikTok's #booktok by storm with more than one billion tags and sold 20 million copies as the number one New York Times bestseller.

While on the surface the film appears to be a standard romantic comedy, it comes with a dark twist.

Starring Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, it tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic abuse and winds up in the same position years later.

Lily, a florist in Boston, navigates a complicated love triangle between her charming but abusive boyfriend Ryle Kincaid - played by Jane the Virgin's Justin Baldoni - and her compassionate first love, Atlas Corrigan, acted by Brandon Sklenar.

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (3)Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (4)Sony

Speaking to the BBC at the premiere, Lively says she felt the "responsibility of servicing the people that care so much about the source material".

"I really feel like we delivered a story that's emotional and it's fun, but also funny, painful, scary, tragic and it's inspiring and that's what life is, it's every single colour," says the 36-year-old actress who is married to fellow actor Ryan Reynolds.

But the film has been met with some criticism that it romanticises domestic abuse.

A two-star review from The Telegraph called it a "queasy drama" that "repackages domestic violence as slick romance".

Tim Robey added that the film "splices abuse and glossy courtship in the big city to deeply dubious effects".

Hoover has explained that her inspiration for the novel was the domestic abuse that her mother endured.

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (5)Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (6)Getty Images

Rebecca Goshawk, who works for Solace, a charity that supports victims of gender-based violence, says she is worried about how the film may have covered domestic abuse.

"Film can be a really powerful way for young people to see examples of domestic abuse and educate them about healthy relationships," she explains.

"But when it's done poorly it's really worrying as it could romanticise unhealthy relationships and young people don't have the knowledge to see what is dangerous behaviour."

Lively, who is also credited as a producer, tells the BBC that she is adamant the film has been made sensitively and "with lots of empathy".

"Lily is a survivor and a victim and while they are huge labels, these are not her identity. She defines herself and I think it's deeply empowering that no one else can define you."

Fans at the premiere also say that they don't think the book or film romanticise unhealthy relationships.

Taylor Lopez, 19, says that showing the story from the perspective of a victim who grapples with the difficult decision of loving someone but also needing to leave them is done really well.

Her friends Phoebe and Celina agree, adding that the film "perfectly comes together" and "the feelings and experiences of the characters are so relatable".

They all also think that Lively, who rose to fame in the 2000s playing Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl, is the perfect casting.

"In the book Lily is a 23-year-old and so people have complained about her casting but actually she's the perfect choice," Celina explains.

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (7)Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (8)Sony

'Pretty Woman meets 50 Shades of Grey'

However, the critics have not been so favourable, awarding the film a mix of two and three stars.

The Independent said the film was "sincere but completely ludicrous" in a two-star review and added that Lively's character "does not register as a real person, so, it’s odd, and a little uncomfortable, to see her burdened with such raw trauma".

The Guardian acknowledged that there were "expected clichés, but there are also many that are mercifully avoided too, the story not always conforming to type".

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (9)Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (10)Getty Images

A four-star review from The Times was one of the most favourable and described the film as "Pretty Woman meets 50 Shades of Grey” and a "dizzy, guilty pleasure".

"Lively is perfectly cast and has that combination of self-consciousness, determination and doubt that is wholly fitting for a character yearning to break free from the coercive clutches of those around her," Kevin Maher wrote.

Adaptations of popular books, particularly those read by younger women such as Twilight and The Hunger Games, have become blockbuster hits.

Hoover and Lively's loyal and impressively large fan bases may help It Ends With Us on to that list, despite the lukewarm response by the critics.

Film

Books

Blake Lively says It Ends With Us is both tragic and inspiring (2024)

FAQs

Why are people upset about It Ends With Us? ›

Warning: This story contains mentions of rape and descriptions of domestic violence. While romance does feature in It Ends With Us, it's actually an incredibly graphic story about the intergenerational effects of intimate partner violence.

What is the main message of It Ends With Us? ›

It tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young woman who finds herself in a tumultuous relationship. As she grapples with her past and present, the book explores themes of resilience, empowerment, and the courage to break free from toxic patterns.

Is the movie It Ends With Us sad? ›

Is It Ends with Us a sad story? The story is both heartbreaking and uplifting, blending sadness with moments of joy, romance with pain.

Did Blake Lively direct It Ends With Us? ›

Inside 'It Ends With Us'

The movie adaptation is directed by Justin Baldoni, who also co-stars opposite Blake Lively. Baldoni executive produced through his production company Wayfarer; Lively is credited as a producer. Below, we're unpacking the "It Ends With Us" controversy, plus what the cast has said about it.

Is It Ends With Us tragic? ›

The story itself is heartbreaking and inspiring, sad and happy, romantic and painful. It is eye-opening to the ways that sometimes the people we love the most end up hurting us the most. It leaves the reader not knowing how to feel, and it is that confusion that is most captivating.

Is there inappropriate content in the book It Ends With Us? ›

There is a lot of detailed violence in this book. There are also a lot of detailed sexual scenes. This book was good, but it is also very deep and emotional. It's definitely not made for teens.

What is the famous line from the book It Ends With Us? ›

"There is no such thing as bad people. We're all just people who sometimes do bad things." This quote is from Chapter One, and it takes place during Ryle and Lily's first conversation, when Lily says that her father abused her mother. Ryle's quote could serve as a central thesis of the novel.

How old was Atlas when he slept with Lily? ›

Something that is not being discussed enough in reviews is the fact that Atlas had sex with Lily when he was 18, and she was only 15.

Why did Atlas leave Lily? ›

Atlas learns a family member can take him in in Boston, and though Lily dreads it, Atlas moves away to find more stability. She's heartbroken, but he returns on her 16th birthday. He gives her a magnet that says that everything is better in Boston.

Did Lily get the tattoo because of Atlas? ›

The heart tattoo symbolizes both the pain and solace for Lily in loving Atlas. Lily gets the heart tattoo in college, when she's missing Atlas, and wondering when he'll return to her.

Why did Lily go to the hospital in It Ends With Us? ›

Further down the line, Ryle sexually assaults Lily. The last straw for Lily, she finally realizes she has to get out and contacts Atlas for help. He takes her to the hospital, only for them to find out Lily fell pregnant as a result of the attack.

Will It Ends With Us make you cry? ›

“I've just been able to watch it with my mother. We both watched and cried the whole way through the film. And to watch her experience the film, and cry, the whole way through, I think that was so cathartic for both of us. But also just very healing.”

What is the It Ends With Us controversy? ›

The apparent estrangement between Lively and Baldoni is just one element of the It Ends With Us press tour that's created controversy. There's also been backlash to the way that Lively has promoted the film and Ryan Reynolds's presence at events for the movie—and subsequent backlash to the backlash.

Are Blake Lively and T Swift friends? ›

Swift and Lively's friendship goes back for many years. Blake Lively and Taylor Swift have been friends since the mid aughts, and it seems now they're just about as close as family.

How many guys has Blake Lively dated? ›

"I've had four boyfriends in my whole life," Lively, 24, told the magazine. "I've never been with anyone that's not a boyfriend. If I spend time with a man, it's because there's somebody that I know well who has been a friend for a while."

Has It Ends With Us been banned? ›

Sony Pictures' hit film adaptation of “It Ends With Us” has been prohibited from screening in Qatar, the Los Angeles Times confirmed Monday. The country's censorship committee rejected the PG-13 movie over kissing scenes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to comment.

Why is how it ends such a bad movie? ›

The story might've been something if it had gone anywhere. This film is honestly in the running for the worst I've ever seen. It's filled with random apocalyptic events that are never explained and the protagonists doing stupid things. The ending is nearly devoid of any sense of closure at all.

Is It Ends With Us overhyped? ›

I would say, they both were the red flags and their relationship was full of toxicity and lies. The only green flag in this story is ATLAS CORRIGAN who started his cafe in Boston for the sake of Lily hoping that he would meet her one day. So, I feel that this book is kind of misleading about domestic violence.

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