Lily Bloom is chasing her dream of opening a flower shop when she lays eyes upon too-good-to-be-true neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid - and life takes a fairytale turn...until it doesn't. Her first love Atlas re-enters her life just as a new romance is changing it. Adapted from the popular Colleen Hoover novel, It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching look at love and loss.

 

Yes, I read the book. And I remember the mass of online critique when the beloved characters were cast. Lily and Ryle were aged up, and there was a mass of commentary over how Blake Lively just didn't meet the brief for Lily Bloom. I beg to differ. Lively is magnetic. And the young Lily was cast immaculately! But the audience favourite was clearly Jenny Slate as Allysa - Ryle's sister and Lily's best friend.

 

The film follows the sweeping romance of Lily, the serious-relationship kind of girl, and Ryle, the lust-over-love kinda guy. Just as love blooms, we're thrown back to the past where Lily discovers true love with Altas. As we watch the teenagers save each other, we see Atlas step right into Lily's present life all over again.

 

It has been a long time between drinks when it comes to this type of film. When I was in my late teens and early twenties drama/romances ruled the screens. I could have seen a different title every week. Then it simply felt like the genre fell off the face of the the earth, reserved only for straight-to-streaming or a shelf at the bookshop. But here enters It Ends With Us, in a way that I hope marks a mighty revival!

 

The film has many traumatic scenes and flashbacks and delves into some very serious subject matter. It's a delicate story to tell. I hope the next part of Lily's story isn't far away.