By: Ica Hontiveros-Cheng
‘It Ends With Us’ follows Lily Bloom played by Blake Lively who, after a personal tragedy, meets Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni). The attraction and connection between them is passionate and instant, yet Lily finds their relationship echoing some of her past trauma. To make things more complicated, Lily reconnects with her childhood sweetheart Atlas (Brandon Sklenar).
Blake Lively was beautiful in every scene and every frame, the actress (Isabela Ferrer) who also played the younger Lily Bloom was equally impressive, she not only looked like Blake Lively but she also had the same gestures and nuances.
Trigger warning though as there are scenes of abuse and a degree of violence. It got a bit uncomfortable, to the point that it reminded me of another abuse scene from David Fincher’s ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’. Still, you could feel that the director-Justin Baldoni, who also played Ryle Kincaid took care with handling the sensitive and triggering scenes, without taking away its gravity and relevance in the history.
People might think that ‘It Ends With Us’ is a romantic film, but it’s actually more than that, while there are elements of kilig and romance (there’s even a whole Team Atlas versus Team Ryle thing) the film also touches on difficult themes such as trauma and abuse. But it also highlights strength, the kind of strength that you can’t help but admire and is inspiring. You never wish to find yourself in that situation, you ask yourself: What would you do if it was me? Will I have the strength to walk away?
The inclusion of Taylor Swift’s ‘My Tears Ricochet’ is just perfect for the film. It also probably doesn’t hurt that Blake and Taylor are besties. Trust me after watching ‘It Ends With Us’ you’d just want to listen to Taylor Swift, and bury yourself in pillows and a comforter.
As I was watching the film the phrase ‘modern tragedy’ came to mind, it’s bad enough to be abused but to experience it from someone who supposedly loves you and who is supposed to protect you and keep you safe is a whole new painful and confusing situation to be in.
We all want a happy ending but there are some things that are bigger than that ideal happy ending we all want. And I admire Lily for being strong enough to pursue that, to end a cycle of violence.
Like a flower whose beauty is ever fleeting ‘It Ends With Us’ is planted in your mind with its take on love and abuse. It matures into a beautiful flower, which is much like life, there may be thorns, and other elements which hinder its growth but still, it perseveres and blooms.
It Ends With Us hits cinemas August 7. If you’re a fan of the book, you definitely should not miss this.