Review of IT ENDS WITH US: Trust after Trauma

August 21, 2024

When her father passed away, Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) came back her hometown to be with her mother, Jenny (Amy Morton). After she blanked out at her eulogy, Jenny sat out on the rooftop of her apartment building to think. A guy suddenly came in throwing a temper tantrum -- Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), a neurosurgeon. The two felt an instant connection between them, but they were interrupted by a call from the hospital.

Lily went on to open her dream flower shop. A cheerful lady named Allysa (Jenny Slate) applied for a job as her shop assistant, and was accepted right away. Circumstances fell into place that reunited Lily with Ryle, and they soon fell in love. One day, Lily introduced Ryle to her mother in a restaurant called Root. Lily was very surprised when this same meal would also bring her face to face with her ex-boyfriend Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar). 

The screenplay of this film was adapted by Christy Hill from the best-selling 2016 romance novel of the same title by Colleen Hoover. I have not read the book, so I am reviewing this as a film on its own, and not on how well it interpreted the original novel. The director is Justin Baldoni, who was also playing the role of Ryle Kincaid. This is only Baldoni's second feature film as director after young adult, terminal illness, drama-romance "Five Feet Apart" (2019). 

I do not know how the story was presented in the novel, but in the film, the development of Lily's relationship with Ryle was shown alternately in parallel with the development of her past relationship with Atlas. Baldoni's storytelling technique was not too clear at first, so some viewers can get confused with who this Atlas guy was. What was the point of showing these flashback scenes when we want to see how Lily was getting along with this new guy Ryle?

Blake Lively is undoubtedly a great beauty throughout this film. All attention is drawn to her whenever she is onscreen, Lily awkward wardrobe choices notwithstanding. Brandon Sklenar made the most of his shorter but important role as Atlas. Jenny Slate was a real joy to watch as Alyssa. Justin Baldoni was very intense as Ryle, but it would have been good to see more of Ryle's younger days as flashback scenes instead of only being told in dialog. 6/10.