This weekend, I went to the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (aka Serena from Gossip Girl and Rafael from Jane the Virgin) movie: It Ends With Us. There was a lot of build up to this movie and mixed reviews so I wanted to see it for myself.  Sadly, the idea of these two actors in a movie was more exciting than the movie itself!

The story follows Lily Bloom as she meets potentially the love of her life, Ryle. Lily has just moved to Boston to realize her dream of opening a flower shop.  The two meet and fall in love. At first, they seem like a perfect couple.  But when some disheartening and unpleasant stuff happens, viewers realize things are taking a turn and this isn’t one of those happy rom coms. In fact, the experience was quite disturbing with emotional and physical abuse front and center.

Despite the star filled cast and the potential to address an important topic, the movie was a total waste of time. It took half the movie just to lead up to the actual plot.  By the end, the message was lost as I felt like I had been in that movie theater for years. 

There were, however, some unique and redeeming qualities to the film.  The story was presented in pieces as we moved from present to past.  But flashbacks were not sequential so just trying to figure that out helped hold my interest a little. The setting was charming: think fall in Boston and small New England towns.  Whether they were in Ryle’s fancy condo in the city or back in Lily’s Victorian childhood home, the sets are a positive to this otherwise dark movie.  

I’m sure you have heard about the feud between Blake and Justin. If there’s truly beef then they are some great actors because I would never have known it by their scenes together.  In fact, all the acting was well done and the characters were likable. My favorite was Lilly’s best friend who is Ryle’s sister.

Sadly, despite all the actors’ efforts, the movie lacked interest.  But at least the so-called feud gave me something to think about when I got bored.  

The movie was adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel.  However, the book addressed the themes of emotional and domestic violence more effectively.  Without giving away too much, the movie seemed to lack depth.  It missed on helping viewers understand the complexity around abuse and confusion for its victims. 

While I appreciate their efforts to bring this concerning issue to the forefront, it didn’t feel powerful or realistic.  And from what I’ve seen of Blake Lively in the press, she doesn’t seem to take the topic too seriously either, so perhaps that’s the movie’s root issue. 

I give this movie a solid 5 out of 10. It wasn’t horrible but I could find a lot better things to do with my time.  That said, the movie options have been a bit light since the writer’s strike and who doesn’t love a good Sunday afternoon with Serena and Rafael!