"What would you say to your daughter if she tells you that the person she loves is hurting her?" - It ends with us

Spoilers

I went to see the movie It Ends With Us with zero expectations. Since it deals with a difficult subject and was surrounded by a lot of controversy, I honestly didn’t have much faith in it. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
The movie begins with Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) attending her father's funeral, and in that scene, it shows that she is unable to express affection for him, as she cannot bring herself to say the five things she loved most about her father.

After this, we see her returning to Boston to retreat into her comfort zone, and she decides to go to the rooftop of a building to get some fresh air. At that moment, Ryle (Justin Baldoni), the other protagonist of the movie, enters the scene. Right from the start, we get a hint of the character's aggression as he storms onto the terrace, tossing chairs around — a clear sign of micro-violence.
They talk to the point of flirting, but it leads nowhere, and they don’t even exchange contact information to establish any kind of relationship.
In the following scenes, we see Lily fulfilling her dream of opening her own flower shop in Boston and meeting the person who will become her best friend, employee, and, coincidentally, Ryle's sister (more than a cliché).
From this moment on, a group of friends forms, consisting of Lily, Allysa, Marshall, and Ryle. Lily and Ryle quickly become close and start dating. However, there was a prior warning that Ryle is not used to being in a relationship, but everything suggests that Lily managed to break down that barrier.
As time goes on, their relationship grows stronger, to the point where Ryle confesses that he loves her. At this point, they plan a dinner with Lily's mom, who chooses a new top-rated restaurant that had just opened in Boston. At the restaurant, Lily recognizes the person serving them—it turns out to be Atlas, her first love, who was a homeless boy to whom Lily had given a second chance. Up to that moment in the movie, although they constantly show images from the past, it's unclear why her relationship with Atlas didn't work out.
Atlas and Lily have a conversation in the back of the restaurant without Ryle seeing them. They talk about how happy they are and how each of them managed to fulfill their dreams—a very casual conversation.
Up until this point, there has been no scene depicting gender-based violence, and it feels like the story is somewhat romanticized. I think this is partly to show how Lily perceives her relationship as perfect, leaving no room for flaws, but it may feel a bit lengthy. What's interesting is that it reaches a point where it makes you question whether the abusive relationship will be between her and Ryle or her and Atlas. Since both relationships are narrated in parallel and Lily appears happy in both, one might be led to believe that she broke up with Atlas because he was violent. However, this is clearly not the case.
We reach a crucial point in the movie. Ryle cooks for Lily, and a very confusing incident occurs. The food burns, and in his rush to take it out of the oven, Ryle grabs the tray with his bare hands. This causes him to burn himself, and he ends up hitting Lily. Up until that moment, it’s unclear whether it was accidental or not, but since he immediately shows concern for her, you are inclined to trust that it was unintentional.
As these episodes unfold, the movie allows you to learn a bit more about the history between Atlas and Lily. Atlas leaves his home because his mother’s boyfriend was violent, and Atlas gets hurt after a confrontation while trying to save his mother. It also shows that Lily had to endure her father's physical abuse towards her mother on more than one occasion. This means both of them had to constantly live in violent situations at home.
Returning to Ryle and Lily, we see them going to dinner again at Atlas's restaurant, but this time we see Lily with a black eye and Ryle with a bandaged hand. Obviously, seeing this situation, anyone would be suspicious, especially someone who has experienced violence up close, like Atlas. Ryle sees Lily and Atlas arguing and quickly realizes they know each other and that the waiter is not just a waiter but Lily's first love. This triggers a fight between the two men. Desperate, Lily pulls Ryle away and gives him the reassurance he needed — that Atlas is part of her past, not her present. Her boyfriend makes her promise not to see him again, and she agrees without hesitation.

After some time, Atlas approaches the flower shop to apologize, leaving his phone in case of any emergencies that might arise. Remember, up until this point, you still haven’t fully categorized Ryle as abusive; there’s still some doubt.
The relationship between them is perfect again. With marriage involved, they continue to be happy together until Ryle accidentally discovers Atlas’s phone number. Once again, a violent incident occurs, where the doubt is finally resolved, but Lily continues to believe that it was an accident or wants to believe it… Even with a cut on her head from a fall down the stairs, Lily turns a blind eye and tries to be happy with Ryle.
Meanwhile, Lily spends her time at the flower shop, which is a very successful business in Boston, just like Atlas's restaurant. Both make it into a ranking of the best businesses in a magazine. Lily receives praise and congratulations until Ryle arrives home. At this moment, we see a completely unhinged person who starts putting the pieces together and realizes the deep love that Atlas and Lily shared. Instead of acting coherently and understanding that, no matter how strong their love was, it belongs to the past, he reacts violently and physically assaults Lily. This is possibly one of the strongest scenes in the movie. Lily, as best as she can, manages to escape and seeks help from Atlas. They both go to the hospital, where Lily finds out she is pregnant.

After taking refuge at Atlas's place for a while, Lily decides to continue with the pregnancy. Gradually, we start to see Lily as brave, strong, and very capable. She meets with her best friend, who will be her daughter's aunt, and confesses everything she has experienced. We see a conversation that, as a woman, fills you with pride because her friend expresses that, as Ryle’s sister, she would love for them to be together again, but if that happens, as her best friend, she would never speak to Lily again. I think this is a very important scene for raising awareness because, even if the abuser is your son, brother, or friend, it is crucial to protect the woman who is suffering and never downplay the situation.
As the pregnancy progresses, Lily's relationship with her mother also starts to heal. Both of them suffered from violence, but Lily managed to break the cycle and leave a place where she didn’t belong.
In the next scene, we see Lily, who is now heavily pregnant, meeting with Ryle. However, she remains firm; while she allows him to touch her belly, she does not agree to reconcile with him.
The time for childbirth arrives, and he accompanies her, fulfilling his role as a father. After the birth, there is a photo of a happy family. It’s just a photo, because at that very moment, Lily asks for a divorce. He says it’s not the right time but reacts when she says: 'What would you say to your daughter if she tells you that the person she loves is hurting her?' This phrase makes him reflect and understand the gravity of the situation. Now that he is a father, he cannot imagine his daughter suffering at the hands of a man. At that moment, Lily breaks the cycle and escapes the role that awaited her.
I really appreciate how the movie shows a significant growth and evolution in her character.
Of course, for all of us who love romance, they leave us with an open ending featuring a reunion between Atlas and Lily. In my opinion, I felt that the initial part where Lily and Ryle's relationship develops is a bit lengthy, and I expected the scenes of violence to be stronger. However, I think it’s a great approach to the topic and a good way to address it, leaving the message that violence is not always overt. Micro-violence exists, and we cannot turn a blind eye or look the other way.

Light Points

Spotlights help boost visibility — be the first!

Comments 7
Hot
New
comments

Share your thoughts!

Be the first to start the conversation.

56
7
0
2