Blake Lively is one cool cat. There's a reason she's become a cherished celebrity for many years now. Between her influence on fashion and beauty, her side passion for cooking, and a successful acting career to boot, Lively is well deserving of her devoted fanbase. If it wasn't for a charming lass such as Lively, I wouldn't be able to recommend a film along the lines of the romantic drama "It Ends With Us". In other words, Lively single handedly saves her own film from being stuck within its own vines.
Lively plays Lily Bloom, a Boston florist who's about to open up her own shop. As she's making preparations, Lily meets persistent neurosurgeon Ryle (Justin Baldoni) who takes an immediate attraction to Lily. From here, their relationship seems to be on the up and up. That is until her former boyfriend Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) returns from the Marines and is running his own restaurant in Boston. Jealousy from Ryle is unveiled. Lily's relationship with Ryle's sister, Alyssa (Jenny Slate) sees her caught in the middle. And Atlas still expresses interest in Lily.
At its center, "It Ends With Us" is a typical love triangle with all the melodrama you'd expect and want from such a narrative. However, said love story incorporates issues regarding domestic violence into the mix. The film also incorporates flashbacks to Lily's teenage years between her relationship with Atlas and the issues with her abusive father towards Atlas and her mother. These flashbacks are connected to Lily's growing issues with Ryle's sporadic and violent behavior in present day.
You'd be forgiven for perhaps not picking up on this as the biggest issue with this film is its uneven direction. The most notable plot points involving Ryle are either too abrupt or don't have enough of a buildup to earn the dramatic tension. When the film is poking fun at melodramatic tropes and corny little details (Ex: joking about each other's names, etc.), "It Ends With Us" is at its most enjoyable. When it comes to the plot's most important developments, the payoffs don’t feel earned. If anything, they're difficult to take seriously.
The flashbacks with Lily and Atlas as teenagers are handled just fine, even though Lily isn't played by Lively in these sections. The issues with domestic violence from both their parents are more clearly defined and established. You witness their kindness and trust in each other after understanding each other's problems. This results in their chemistry becoming more meaningful throughout the present day events.
Going back to the film's direction by Justin Baldoni, the same actor playing Ryle, the buildup or lack thereof isn't the only thing setting this film back. The character of Ryle in general is underdeveloped. It's established that he has a history with women, but we don't really witness it for ourselves. As written, edited and executed, it feels like there were many deleted scenes in the cutting room. They might better explain Ryle's progression as a character without it feeling as fragmented as it currently is.
The key to making "It Ends With Us" just barely worthy of a recommendation is Lively herself. She's warm, funny, relatable and expressive in her role. You're on her side even when members of her immediate family are not. Jenny Slate also enjoys a bubbly personality to her character, even with the heavy dramatic developments on her end. "It Ends With Us" is an ideal film for rental giving you enough to satisfy your time with it, even though it falls short in some key areas.
Final Verdict: 6.5/10
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