Blake Lively Says It Ends With Us Is Both Tragic and Inspiring

For many young women, there have been very few film adaptations as eagerly awaited as Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us.

The 2016 book became an internet sensation a few years ago: It took TikTok’s #booktok by storm with over a billion tags and was selling 20 million copies a week as a number one New York Times bestseller.

Although at first glance the film looks like a classic romantic comedy, it has a dark twist.

Starring Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, it tells the story of Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic violence and finds herself in the same situation years later.

Lily, a Boston florist, navigates a complicated love triangle between her charming but abusive boyfriend Ryle Kincaid – played by Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni – and her compassionate first love, Atlas Corrigan, played by Brandon Sklenar.

Speaking to the BBC at the premiere, Lively said she felt a “responsibility to serve the people who care so much about the source material.”

“I really feel like we delivered a story that’s emotional and funny, but also funny and painful and scary and tragic and inspiring, and that’s what life is, it’s all colors,” says the 36-year-old actress, who is married to actor Ryan Reynolds.

But the film has been criticized for romanticizing domestic violence.

A two-star review from the Telegraph He called it a “nauseating drama” that “turns domestic violence into a sophisticated romance.”

Tim Robey added that the film “mixes big-city abuse and glossy seductions with deeply questionable effects.”

Hoover explained that his inspiration for the novel was the domestic violence his mother suffered.

Rebecca Goshawk, who works for Solace, a charity that supports victims of gender-based violence, said she was concerned about the film’s portrayal of domestic violence.

“Cinema can be a very effective way for young people to see examples of domestic violence and educate them about healthy relationships,” she says.

“But when it’s done badly, it’s really worrying because it can romanticize unhealthy relationships and young people don’t have the knowledge to see what the dangerous behaviors are.”

Lively, who is also credited as a producer, told the BBC she was confident the film had been made with sensitivity and “a lot of empathy”.

“Lily is a survivor and a victim and while those are huge labels, they don’t represent her identity. She defines herself and I think that’s deeply empowering to know that no one else can define you.”

Fans at the premiere also say they don’t think the book or film romanticizes unhealthy relationships.

Taylor Lopez, 19, says showing the story from the perspective of a victim struggling with the difficult decision of loving someone but also having to leave them is really well done.

Her friends Phoebe and Celina agree, adding that the film “flows perfectly” and that “the feelings and experiences of the characters are very relatable.”

They all also think that Lively, who rose to fame in the 2000s playing Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl, is the perfect casting.

“In the book, Lily is 23 and people complained about her casting, but actually she’s the perfect choice,” Celina explains.

However, critics were not as favorable, giving the film a mixed two and three stars.

The Independent said The film was “heartfelt but completely ridiculous” in a two-star review and added that Lively’s character “doesn’t register as a real person, so it’s strange, and a little uncomfortable, to see her burdened with such raw trauma.”

The Guardian He acknowledged that there were “expected clichés, but there are also many that are fortunately avoided as well, the story not always conforming to type.”

A four-star review from The Times was one of the most favorable, describing the film as “Pretty Woman meets 50 Shades of Grey” and a “guilty, giddy pleasure.”

“Lively is perfectly cast and has that combination of self-awareness, determination and doubt that is perfectly suited to a character who longs to break free from the coercive clutches of those around her,” wrote Kevin Maher.

Adaptations of popular books, especially those read by younger women, such as Twilight and The Hunger Games, have become blockbuster hits.

Hoover and Lively’s loyal and impressive fanbase might help It Ends With Us land on this list, despite the lukewarm response from critics.