It Ends With Us Film Review

“It Ends with Us”

Based on the best selling novel by Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us dives deep into domestic abuse, and is

not a romantic comedy. (Warning: some sections contain spoilers and could be triggering to the victims reading

this. Please express caution before reading).

Positive Elements: Lily is a bright woman who strives to protect herself. She makes a friend in Alyssa

(Ryle’s sister). Both women comfort each other in hard times. Lily opens her flower shop and is polite to

customers.

When meeting Ryle, Lily is charmed by him. However, a deep dark secret fuels his anger, and Lily makes

the tough, but right choice to leave him. Ryle accepts Lily’s terms, wanting to respect her wishes. 

I should note that Ryle and Lily’s father are not portrayed as monsters. Both have issues, but the film

realistically shows how unhealthy it is to keep rage bottled up. Ryle decides he does need help with his anger

issues, and is willing to work on them.

Atlas is Lily’s friend from high school. Lily offers her home as a place for showering and clean clothes when

he is kicked out of his home. She shows kindness to him on several occasions. In return, as adults, Atlas is

gentle with Lily. He encourages her to leave Ryle, but knows she’s in a vulnerable position. When Lily leaves

Ryle, Atlas lends his place to her. Both sleep in separate rooms.

Sensual Content: It’s clear that Lily is in a love triangle. In high school, flashbacks show her and Atlas

kissing. They do have sex, but the camera cuts away before the act. Lily gives Atlas a condom from health class,

and it’s indicated this is her first time, but not Atlas’. 

When she is an adult, Lily meets Ryle. Both engage in heavy flirting, longing looks, and passionate kissing.

One scene shows them undressing to their underwear and cuddling in bed together. Alyssa warns Lily that Ryle

is no good at one point. Lily and Ryle have sex (again the camera cuts away before the act, but we still see

kissing and some clothes removed in several scenes).

Lily and other women wear revealing tops and outfits. Ryle is described as a “casual sex” person, though

he doesn’t rush Lily at first. Lily becomes pregnant later in the film and gives birth. Lily and Ryle do get married.

Violence: This section is not for the faint of heart, reader. I’d urge you to express caution here.

Lily experiences abuse at Ryle’s hands. Three separate encounters display domestic violence. In one of

them, Ryle gets aggressive with Lily and nearly rapes her. The scene also flashes back to when Lily’s father

sexually assaulted her mother. Ryle breaks a lamp (offscreen), and the camera shows Lily with a bruise on her

head. He doesn’t take her to the hospital after checking for a concussion. 

Atlas and Ryle engage in a fight. They punch each other a few times before being held back by customers.

Ryle cuts his hand with glass after slapping Lily in the face. Lily’s father beats teen Atlas almost to death (we see

him being lifted into an ambulance). Atlas mentions to Lily that he was contemplating suicide before her

kindness saved his life. His mother kicked him out in favor of one of her abusive boyfriends.

Alyssa confides to Lily that Ryle inadvertently murdered his older brother when they were kids. Ryle

confesses he couldn’t save a boy who was in a similar situation. Atlas walks over to Lily’s flower shop to

apologize for his part in the fight with Ryle.

Language: Several abuses of God’s name (including three or four pairings with “d—n”), close to twelve s-

words, a few uses of “a—“, and two misuses of Jesus’ name. There is one f-word as well. 

Drugs/Alcohol: Characters drink on several occasions, at one point Alyssa is a bit tipsy. Ryle and Lily

consume orange juice in wine glasses.

Other Negative Elements: Atlas is teased by classmates about his homeless condition. Lily chose not to

see her father before he died. When asked to list five things she loved about him, Lily can’t do it. She still

harbors bitterness over her dad nearly killing Atlas. As the movie progresses, Ryle becomes controlling with Lily

and grows jealous when Atlas is in her life. Lily lies to Ryle twice about the meaning of her heart tattoo.

Conclusion: It Ends With Us is not an easy watch. Victims of domestic abuse and people who read the

book will be surprised or triggered as there were changes in the movie adaptation. Some people feel as though

the film wasn’t realistic in the depiction of abuse.

Controversy aside, this is one of the rare films where both sides are shown. Often, many films display the

“vulnerable” or “men are monsters” side of the equation. It Ends With Us thankfully doesn’t head that route.

Instead, the film graciously acknowledges both the “please leave when you can” and “I don’t know how to leave

this person” sides. It never forces an agenda on viewers but manages to balance them out. The actions are

never excused, but do give insight on why characters act the way they do.

I should warn again about the sensuality and domestic violence on display here. Though the violence isn’t

glorified, there are moments where it becomes intense. Even though we never see characters having sex,

several scenes lead up to that act alone. The harsh language should give viewers pause here as well.

That said, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni bring their A-game as Lily and Ryle respectively. The film’s

scenery is beautiful, never feeling like it’s too much space-wise. Lily is kind to almost everyone she meets. 

Though It Ends With Us does need a trigger warning for domestic abuse victims, it still handles the

subject matter with a serious, but gracious attitude. If you decide to watch, It Ends With Us is worthy of your

time.