It is a universally acknowledged fact that Hollywood will have its hands on a novel the second it lands on a bestseller list. Not all book-to-screen adaptations are made equal, but Justin Baldoni’s record is pretty solid so far in his career. After directing the adaptation of Five Feet Apart (2019), Baldoni has moved on to Colleen Hoover’s novel, It Ends With Us.

It Ends With Us (2024) follows Lily Bloom, a flower shop owner, who, after a chance meeting, falls for Ryle Kincaid, an enigmatic neurosurgeon. When Ryle’s volatile emotions make Lily question their relationship, she turns to her childhood love, Atlas Corrigan, for help.

While the casting initially caused internet controversy due to the actors being older than their book counterparts, every performance in the film makes the character behind it feel real. Blake Lively feels like a natural fit as Lily; it’s impossible to ignore her beauty and girl-next-door personality. Baldoni’s Ryle has an edge, even before his character becomes a villainous force. Despite mainly functioning as comedic relief, Jenny Slate shines as Allysa, Lily’s best friend and Ryle’s sister. Hasan Minhaj as Marshall, Alyssa’s husband, adds additional humor while also serving to juxtapose Lily and Ryle’s toxic dynamic. And from the moment he appears on screen, Brandon Sklenar brings a warmth to Atlas that will make audiences melt.

Although It Ends With Us contains many components of a typical romantic drama, the film’s central conflict — which surrounds domestic violence —  and its portrayal of life-altering love and violence are its greatest strengths. The use of dulled, muffled sound and distinct color grading ensures that every audiovisual element of the film drives home an important point: love and violence can’t coexist in a relationship. 

Due to the star-studded cast and popularity of the book, many young girls will flock to theaters to see this film, making it all the more important that this distinction between healthy relationships and toxic ones is made abundantly clear. This story, and its adaptation, have been approached with empathy and carefully translated on-screen, which I have to commend. 

Some critics have noted that the main issue is the film’s run-time. As New York Times critic Manohla Dargis says, it’s “almost offensively long”. An hour and a half into the movie doesn’t get us through half of the book’s narrative. Towards the film’s end, we see at least two major montages to wrap up the story, giving audiences less time to appreciate the difficulty of Lily’s decision and work toward healing her trauma.

Due to the nature of a dual timeline, It Ends With Us can’t accelerate the emotional investment the audience needs to have with its central love triangle. Lily’s love for Ryle has to be authentic so that his eventual downfall feels like a loss rather than a frustrating story met with chants of “dump him” between mouthfuls of popcorn. Similarly, viewers need to feel the depth of what Atlas means to Lily, and why his reappearing in her life shifts her axis. So while some of these scenes feel excessive, they function to mirror the source material’s relationships without the benefit of book Lily’s internal dialogue.

Despite the longer runtime and slow-burn nature of the plot, the adaptation feels incredibly faithful. A few of the more disliked elements of the novel have been abandoned to the film’s benefit. Minor easter eggs exist to wink at readers but don’t distract from the character relationships or the plot’s progression. As much as it may lead to off-screen drama, having a leading cast that is deeply involved in the development, direction, and production of a book-to-movie adaptation pays off here.

Fans of the book will surely be thrilled to see this adaptation come to life. Casual readers will be hopeful that the adaptations of their favorite novels might be adapted with a similar reverence for the source material and caliber of stars attached. Potentially, and most importantly, those who have never heard of Colleen Hoover will be drawn into It Ends With Us by the faces on screen and find themselves captivated by a layered story about breaking patterns of generational hurt (and Brandon Sklenar’s smile).

Review Courtesy of Sasha Raquel

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Ent. via IMDb