It Ends with Us

 Did anyone expect me to review this film? 

I almost didn't, but with a movie theater gift card, I decided to give it a go. And so, let's check out It Ends with Us, and see what the fuss is all about.

Christy Hall adapted Colleen Hoover's novel for Justin Baldoni to direct and star in. But before we meet his Ryle Kinkaid, we meet the actual protagonist, Lily Bloom (Blake Lively). After a prologue, in which she struggles to say anything for her dad's funeral (for good reason, as we later learn), Lily returns to Boston to set up her own florist shop. She decides to enjoy the view atop a random apartment building, and that's where she, and we, meet Ryle, a famous surgeon, kicking a chair. She's still intrigued by this handsome stranger, and he with her, but they only hit it off after she hires his sister, Allysa (Jenny Slate).

Ryle, despite his charm, has a violent temper that he takes out on Lily. It gets worse when Lily reunites with her high school sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Skelnar), who is now a famous restaurateur. Not even Ryle and Lily getting married is enough to calm his jealous rage. Lily is no stranger to domestic abuse, for she grew up watching her dad abuse her mom (there's your good reason). How will she end her family's history of violence?

Lily's blanking out at her dad's funeral is awkwardly funny. Once we learn of her dad's abuse, that lapse becomes fully understandable, and perhaps a bit justified. "It's one of the most beautiful things I've never written." she says of her eulogy for him. She has great chemistry with Atlas, both as adults and as high schoolers (Isabella Ferrer & Alex Neustaeder are their younger selves). She spends most of the movie walking on eggshells around Ryle. We fear for her safety and somewhat understand her reluctance to leave him, or even get help. Therefore, Lively gets her best acted moment when Lily somewhat subtly calls Ryle out. All in all, she makes for a fine protagonist.

Ryle, once we get past the chair-kicking, seems like a charming guy. He may be a bit too insistent at times, but it's easy to see how he wins over Lily and her mom Jenny (Amy Morton). He's pretty believable as a nice guy, but he truly becomes frightening once his violent temper becomes impossible to ignore. The first instance he lashes out at Lily seems like a genuine accident; not so much the second. His mere presence was enough to make me shake in my seat. He does have a traumatic incident that the film, thankfully, doesn't want to use as an excuse. He's a bit graceful when Lily leaves him for good, so that's something nice.

Slate, as Allysa, is this film's ray of sunshine. She's not only funny, but she's a genuinely good friend for her eventual sister-in-law. She gets the film's single best-acted scene when she reveals the aforementioned traumatic incident and implores Lily to leave Ryle. If only one of the cast ends up getting Oscar-nominated, it should be her, and that scene will be why. Her husband, Marshall (Hasan Minhaj), is a similar breath of fresh air. How he and Alyssa announce their upcoming parenthood is pretty amusing.

The screenplay accidentally stretches itself beyond credibility thanks to a pivotal flashback. See, not only did Daddy Dearest (Kevin McKidd) abuse his wife, but he also clobbered Atlas when he caught him with Lily. The film really doesn't address the fallout of that incident, other than Atlas getting loaded into an ambulance. I'd think that would make his violent temper also impossible to ignore. So, a eulogizer speaking so highly of him at his funeral is appalling in hindsight. Another writing quibble, albeit a lighter issue, is that the finale is a bit too long.

The opening shot, as photographed by Barry Petersen, is a stunning flyover of smalltown Maine, complete with the sky reflected in a river. It's accompanied by a wonderful opening theme from composers Rob Simonsen & Duncan Blickenstaff. In terms of production design, Ryle's apartment and Atlas's restaurant are great to look at. Some of the violence is a bit incomprehensible, but I think you'll get some of the point rather well.

There's a sequel novel, It Starts with Us, that I'm not too interested in seeing as a film. For one thing, I don't like what I've read about it. For another, as imperfect as how It Ends with Us ended, it's still nice & rewarding. The feud between Lively and Baldoni might make a sequel moot anyway, but at least we have this movie. Now that I've seen it, I think it's a decent romantic drama. It's still in theaters, if you're curious about it ... or not.