Let’s talk about domestic violence — because one common observation was that the movie It Ends With Us didn’t do the topic much justice.
I hadn’t read Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel “It Ends With Us,” even though TikTok’s #BookTok almost persuaded me a few times. So, if it weren’t for social media, I would’ve been expecting a romantic movie with my favorite Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, and Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni.
Here are my thoughts on how domestic violence was portrayed in the movie.
The cinematography was spectacular. It’s set during the autumn time, symbolizing death and rebirth. Lily’s childhood neighborhood is like something off a Pinterest board — but when we enter her home, we notice it’s actually very cold. The spiral staircase in particular stood out to me, appearing cold, empty, and almost never-ending.
Lily Bloom’s name is mocked when she meets Ryle for the first time, along with her ambition to open a flower shop. But the significance of her name goes beyond a cliché joke, it embodies Lily’s attempt to grow, especially following her father’s death who abused her mother.
The roots are the most important part of the plant… when I take real care of these plants they reward me and when I don’t, they die.
In a flashback scene between Lily and her childhood boyfriend, Atlas, she tells him: “The roots are the most important part of the plant… when I take real care of these plants they reward me and when I don’t, they die.”
It could be the realist in me — but I have questions for anyone who finds Ryle’s character charming. Lily meets Ryle for the first time while he’s having a tantrum and kicks a chair. He jokingly says, “It’s a strong chair” but in my mind, this would raise alarm bells.
Ryle is forceful and doesn’t take “no” for an answer. Lily’s boundaries are eroded during every encounter she has with him. I won’t even get into the scene when Ryle tells Lily he’s “not a stalker” on her roof, and then proceeds to show up at her workplace a few scenes later and she tells him to stop. This could have easily played for a horror movie.
Meanwhile, I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the present scenes and past scenes from Lily’s childhood. It helped me understand her character better and sympathize with her.
The flashbacks contrasting Lily and Ryle’s relationship with her parents’ marriage were very clever, particularly the scenes where Ryle tells Lily he loves her over and over again, juxtaposing a flashback of Lily’s father physically abusing her mother. It highlights the different layers of a violent relationship.
It Ends With Us didn’t explore what happened to Lily when she left Ryle and I found this disappointing. It’s common knowledge that this is often when victims of domestic violence face the most harassment and danger. It would have been great to know how Lily navigated that.
Other parts I didn’t quite enjoy include how Lily’s supposed best friend, Allysa, threatens to “never speak” to her if she doesn’t stop contact with Ryle. This is a dangerous message to send across to the audience because it isolates a victim of domestic violence.
By the end of the movie, Lily is able to finally break through the cycle of domestic violence, or “generational trauma,” she had to endure in her life, and it “ends” with her child.
But I wish the final focus would have been on emancipating Lily’s character alone instead of hinting that she’d ended up with another man from her past, Atlas. Given the significance of the domestic violence theme, this would’ve sent out a healthier message to the audience.
Follow Muslim Girl on all social media platforms for more movie reviews!
