He grabs her attention by angrily kicking over a chair. It’s an urban apartment building rooftop long after sundown. He thinks he’s alone. Only after indulging his tantrum for a bit does he realize she’s there. It’s not exactly a “meet cute” inspiring the romance of the year. But this is how these two are introduced.
Lily Bloom (Blake Lively older, Isabela Ferrer younger) seems like an independent spirit. She lives by herself in Boston, having just returned from her father’s funeral in Maine. She had a speaking role at the event and chose not to use it. She couldn’t come up with “5 good things about her father.” Ouch. She also could have been there in time for his death. She chose otherwise. Fair to say they weren’t close. And this evening finds her sitting on the ledge of a rooftop several stories above the pavement.
Ryle Kincaid (star and director Justin Baldoni) is a neurosurgeon. No, really. And he’s handsome, young, actively dating, and … single. Why there’s a red flag on its own, huh? Show me the sexy, young, single doctor and I’ll show you a rolodex of would-bes who cannot wait to put a ring on that. So what’s wrong with him? Has he got something against chairs? Is it because he sucks a shaving? The dialogue reveals that Lily Bloom is, unforgivably, a florist-to-be. (Who wrote this?!) And Ryle wants her. The questio
n now is: “How long will she keep him waiting before dating starts?”
And it will start. Of that we can be sure. It Ends with Us is actually about two of Lily’s romances: the present day one with Ryle and a high school fling where she started seeing a homeless kid back in Maine. Atlas Corrigan (Alex Neustaedter) is the cleanest and most neatly groomed homeless kid of all time, but why bother a romance with pesky deets? Meanwhile, Ryle can’t get a decent shave to save his life. That’s probably beyond the income of a [checks notes] neurosurgeon.
Yes, these are romantic choices the film has made. And I’m choosing to mock them for it.
Why exactly is It Ends with Us about the lives and loves of Lily Bloom? Well, rats, I can’t really tell you more than that without giving some big stuff away. And I don’t want to give big stuff away. But it seems wrong for a viewer to invest in a romance when the film is about more than romance, no? So I have to hint a little. My biggest hint is that It Ends with Us is a film that is more important than it is good. I will not say the performances were bad or uneven or overly dramatic. In fact, in each case, I’d say the opposite. Some of the directorial choices and quasi-fantastical elements would not have been ones I prefer, but I understand why they were made. I will say this: if you are interested in a Hallmark Channel romance, go turn on the Hallmark Channel. If you’re interested in the way mature romance can evolve in the world we occupy, this might be a good movie for you.
There once was a woman named Lily
Who was gorgeous-yet-single, no really
Then along came a doc
Who gave her a shock
And then “happily ever after?” No, silly
Rated PG-13, 130 Minutes
Director: Justin Baldoni
Writer: Christy Hall, Colleen Hoover
Genre: Am I enjoying this?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Commitment women
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Alpha males
