It Ends With Us is an emotional and cathartic experience thanks to a tour de force performance from Blake Lively and an honest and intricate screenplay from Christy Hall adapting Colleen Hoover’s best selling novel that captures the complexities of domestic abuse, resulting in one powerful and moving summer romance.

I’m the first to admit that I am not the intended audience for this adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best selling novel, but with Blake Lively in the lead role of Lily Bloom, it was a film I had to check out. The novel, originally published back in 2016, was met with positive reviews due to its depiction of domestic abuse and the relationships explored in it, but really took off in popularity back in 2021 when it caught the attention of the book community on TikTok. And after seeing the film, it is evident why this story resonated with readers and will no doubt do with movie goers this summer. With an impressive screenplay from Christy Hall, guiding the story and the audience through its complex themes and relationships, It Ends With Us finds an honesty that is certain to strike an emotional note with all viewers, while championing an excellent lead performance from Lively.

Domestic abuse is not an easy subject matter for many to talk about, let alone watch in a film. There are such complexities to the power dynamics and decisions faced by and made by those experiencing abuse from loved ones, but all of this is delicately handled in Hall’s screenplay. Hall, who made her feature film debut as a writer and director earlier this summer with the Dakota Johnson starring Daddio, flexes her expert writing abilities, and it ends up being the film’s secret weapon. While there are moments that are without question line for line out of Hoover’s novel (you can spot them easily as it feels like a different writer wrote them), Hall’s framing of the abuse allows the audience to experience everything as Lily is as the story unfolds. We get a sense of the confusion as she experiences acts of abuse (both physical and emotional) from her husband Ryle, the stories that she tells herself as she is not fully ready to accept what she is living with and break the cycle of abuse, and the impact of her father’s abuse on her mother that she witnessed growing up. Never for a second are the intricacies lost, while moments of romance and comedy are woven in, fully investing the audience in Lily’s journey. So when it comes to the film’s third act, Hall is able to deliver an emotional gut punch as Lily comes to terms with her situation, highlighting not only the strength of those who have survived abuse, but their resilience to take control of their life and forge a new path forward. It’s all handled with an honesty by Hall, never pushing the story into soap opera drama levels, instead allowing the emotions to develop naturally and with a raw intensity that will ensure the tears will be flowing and allowing audiences to leave the theatre feeling empowered and transformed by this story.

While there is no doubt going to be buzz around this film given the novel’s popularity, there is no question that everyone is going to be raving about Lively’s spectacular performance as Lily. As Lily, Lively delivers a powerful performance that captures Lily’s independence and strength in every scene, creating a character that you can’t help but fall in love with due to her spirited nature. There are moments where Lively will have you laughing and feeling the romance as her character falls head over heels for Ryle, but it’s when the film touches upon the domestic abuse that she truly shines. In these moments, Lively brings a steadfast resoluteness to Lily as she processes the traumatic events her character is facing, intermingling the childhood trauma caused by her father’s abuse of her mother, resulting in moments of true vulnerability that bonds the audience with Lily. You will cry for her as her character goes through the unspeakable inflicted upon her by the man who should love and protect her, but as the story progresses, but it’s the strength and perseverance that Lively finds in her performance that takes the audience on a journey with Lily, freeing both of them in the process. It’s not a stretch by any means to say that this is one of Lively’s best performances of her entire career, as she delivers one unforgettable and resonant performance that brings to life Hall’s wonderful screenplay and Hoover’s story.