It Ends with Us

It's a major letdown. While the story had the potential to be emotionally gripping, the movie feels rushed and shallow, failing to convey the depth and rawness of the book's themes. What makes it worse is Blake Lively's portrayal of Lily - she feels miscast here, her performance lacks the vulnerability and emotional nuance needed to make Lily's journey believable. At times, her delivery feels flat and detached, which makes it hard to connect with her character. The chemistry with the other cast members also feels forced, which only adds to the film's overall lack of impact. This adaptation could have been so much more, but instead, it falls short on almost every level.

Another actress should have been casted as Lily. A costume director was required to style Lily. Ryle was great. Lily's mother needed more space in the movie, as well as the story between young Lily and Atlas. Should have inserted more content from the book and presented the characters as the book. Lastly, should have been marketed properly. The story is about domestic violence, and viewers should have been informed as such. Some viewers were surprised during the movie and not in a good way. I want to see the director's version of the movie, since we were shown the producer's version. I hope they release it.

The film itself is great. Most actors did their part well. There are some twists in the way story is told, though it isn't difficult to guess where it was going.

The only thing that really bothered me was the character of Lily Bloom. Oh my god, Blake Lively has seriously ruined some scenes. Her acting was too cringe and annoying boring rather than bad... she made me feel like some part of the Gossip Girls were put in there randomly. Not sure why they picked her for the female lead as there are so many other talented actresses out there, who could made much much more impact portraying Bloom, like Margaret Qualley?!

In a few words: great message, stunning visuals, and impressive videography. However, the plot feels one-dimensional, as does the character of Lily, who lacks the depth needed to make her truly relatable or memorable. Sure, we're shown her trauma and backstory, but it doesn't fully draw you in or create a genuine emotional connection. It feels like there's a disconnect, as if her struggles are presented more as a narrative requirement than as a lived experience, making it hard to truly immerse yourself in her journey.

The narrative structure also falls flat at times, creating a sense of frustration as it hints at greater potential that it never fully explores.

I normally don't take to reading IMDb reviews and when I do I rarely agree with them, with that being said I wholeheartedly agree with every review that is giving the film the same score as I am if not a tad bit lower. Having grown up in an abusive household, the film did hit pretty close to home. Ryle Kincaid (Jason Baldoni) gave a stellar performance which genuinely encapsulates how unpredictable an abuser can be and how manipulative an abuser can be in a dv (domestic violence) relationship. With that being said that's where the entire score for my review comes from; baldoni's performance and direction.

Blake Lively (Lily Bloom) went ahead and gave us basically nothing. There were moments during her performance I thought she had something, and then she lost it as simple as that. It felt like we as the audience were there more so for her outfits and hair than we were for her performance. Reading up on articles that state people have noticed two different films mixed into one, I couldn't help but agree with that. Baldoni's direction was centered around portraying an accurate picture of dv, and actually showing us the viewers this depiction, whereas Blake's version of the movie (as per sources) comes in through her one dimensional performance, weird placement of music in scenes that didn't require the music and if they did the music was just off and again showing us her outfits and luscious hair.

I sincerely hope that if there is a baldoni cut of this film that it gets the light of day as the film I watched just didn't quite do it for me.