IT ENDS WITH US
(director: Justin Baldoni; screenwriters: Christy Hall, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover; cinematographer: Barry Peterson; editors: Oona Flaherty, Robb Sullivan; music: Rob Simonsen, Duncan Blickenstaff; cast:Blake Lively (Lily Bloom), Justin Baldoni (Ryle Kincaid), Jenny Slate (Allysa), Brandon Sklenar (Atlas Corrigan), Ann Morton (Jenny Bloom, Lily’s mom), Hasan Minhaj (Marshall), Isabela Ferrer (young version of Lily); Runtime: 130; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Christy Hall, Jamey Heath,Blake Lively, Alex Saks; Sony/Columbia Pictures; 2024)
“A glossy romantic sudser that’s well-meaning but too breezy to be convincing.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A glossy romantic sudser that’s well-meaning but too breezy to be convincing about dealing with abuse in relationships. It’s based on the best-seller, self-published, novel by Colleen Hoover. It’s intensely directed by the actor Justin Baldoni (“Clouds”/”Five Feet Apart”) and is written by Christy Hall with dialogue so lethal it seemingly can be fired out of a gun.
The focus is on Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) who overcame a traumatic childhood in rural Maine. She’s now trying to adjust to the recent death in Boston of her abusive father and dealing with her vexing mom (Ann Morton) in town for the funeral. The resilient Lily remains in Beantown after the funeral for a fresh start, and opens up a flower shop that she dreamed about for a long time.
After a chance meeting, Lily falls for the dashing but volatile neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni). By coincidence the floral worker she hired is Ryle’s sister, who warns her about her brother’s baggage.
When Lily has a surprising reunion at a restaurant with her nice guy childhood sweetheart, Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), Ryle gets jealous while she gets so upset with him she ends the relationship, finding him just as abusive as her father.
A Douglas Sirk-like soap opera story emerges that tells a story whose emotional impact is affecting. The romantic melodrama is a reminder of the women pics from the 1940s and 1950s. The lesson preached about self-worth goes down easy. Only its dark contrivances might have made the story more prescient if they were darker, more real and more foreboding.
REVIEWED ON 8/14/2024 GRADE: B
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