FILM REVIEW
IT ENDS WITH US
Rated PG-13
130 Minutes
Released August 9th
These are my first impressions of this movie before learning about any actor/producer/director conflicts that have been publicized since. The romance novel of the same name, on which the film is based, was written by Colleen Hoover during the pandemic and spent two years at the top of the New York Times Best Seller List. Christy Hall, who directed Daddio (which I loved) wrote the screenplay. This movie is directed by Jason Baldoni, who also produces and stars in the film. Blake Lively also produces and stars as “Lily Bloom,” an up-and-coming florist.
The opening minutes are promising: a drone’ s-eye view of a pretty and peaceful New England town paints a sense of place for the audience. This was my favorite sequence in the movie. Later in the film, there are too many close-ups, some a bit awkward. A lot more could have been done cinematically to give a vivid life to Lily’s flower shop, with Lily creating gorgeous arrangements. The shop is at the center of the story, and it seems to just exist as a backdrop.
Overall, this is not a fun movie to watch. The story is moved along relentlessly at the expense of the natural messiness of reality and of giving the characters rich personalities. The characters are projected from the beginning, leaving no layers to peel back. The film (and I’m sure the book which I haven’t read) has all the classic attributes of a romance novel – the sweet protagonist opens a lovely little shop and the sister of a handsome man she has just met by chance, walks into the shop, again, by chance, and asks for a job. I wanted to think, “Oh, those two are conniving to kidnap our damsel in distress and demand ransom.” Alas, that sort of excitement never materializes here.
Nothing is really left to guess in this story. There are so many coincidences in the service of moving the story along, so many people just happening to be in the same place at the same time it becomes hard to identify it as reality. There are holes in the narrative that leave you asking, “But wouldn’t they have thought to do this now?” I found the attributes and choices, or lack of choices of the characters, to be too black and white. Real relationships are more nuanced, even when people cause one another anguish. Jason Baldoni’s character, “Ryle Kincaid,” is the only one who is more complex because he is two-faced.
Lively’s Lily is one-note, as is the “good guy, “Atlas,” played by Brandon Sklenar. She is the classic victim, and he is the kid who comes from nothing and is all goodness. I didn’t feel the chemistry there should have been between Lively and Baldoni’s bad boy, “Ryle.” Lily’s relationship with her mom, which contains deep pain, is a key to the story and is barely touched on. In the end, there should have been a lot more grief, anger, and distress. It appears the road leading to the final scene is a painless detour, not the real route full of potholes and bumps. This could have been a deep behavioral study.
I’ll stick to the facts regarding the real-life drama and publicity buzz surrounding a perceived rift between Baldoni and the rest of his cast and crew. It has been reported that there are two different cuts of the film, one from Baldoni and one from the Lively/Reynolds camp. Baldoni, Reynolds and Lively were all producers on the project. One crucial scene on a rooftop was reportedly re-written by Reynolds.
Baldoni has now hired PR Crisis Manager, Melissa Nathan, who is known for her work with Johnny Depp in the wake of his damaging publicity in recent years. The press tour drama is perhaps outperforming the movie, but all that drama may drive people to see the film, following a classic example of the Hollywood maxim: There is no such thing as bad publicity.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
