Jaydon Mangiaracina
Staff Writer
The recent adaptation of “It Ends With Us” has sparked a wide range of reactions regarding its faithfulness to the book’s message. Many are concerned that the movie fails to effectively convey the book’s important themes, as it omits key details while focusing on the aspects of domestic violence. Additionally, some feel that leading actress Blake Lively may not fully grasp the significance of the movie’s intended message when she discusses it.
The film has received significant criticism, but it also stays true to the general idea of the book. There are concerns that the movie romanticizes domestic violence, rather than shedding light on it. Sophmore Nicole Martine addressed this issue by stating, “I think the movie did a pretty good job of representing the book, it was just as powerful as reading the book, although they left out the “‘just keep swimming”’ line and the magnet scene that were key details in the book.
I enjoyed the movie and I think Lively did a great job playing her role on screen. Although I believe that she did not do a good job behind the scenes, more so because she was romanticizing the movie rather than focusing on the serious topic the movie focuses on.”
Even though the movie did end with Lively’s character Lily Bloom leaving her abuser, there have been a lot of social media platforms, like TikTok, where people have been trying to support the abuse. A trend by asking if they are a Ryle (the abuser) or an Atlas (the past man) where they would joke that Ryle is just an overprotective boyfriend that they would want. With such trends, it cancels out the true cause that the movie is trying to make more known to people and show awareness to.
An individual who has faced domestic violence and who would prefer to stay anonymous, they advocate for others who have faced this tragic situation.
“This movie does capture some true sense of domestic violence in the fact it shows the struggle of being able to leave the abusive partner. But in the movie, it also only shows the one case scenario where one is being abused by another guy to run to. Not showing the cases where the person getting abused has no other system of support to fallback on.”
“Blake Lively played the movie very well, she is a very good actress. But having her advertise the movie the way she is promoting the movie by telling people to go watch the movie by saying ‘Wear your florals and bring your friends’ isn’t advocating for the awareness the movie is trying to convey and having her advertise that way can come off not showing the importance of the movie.”
After analyzing various interviews with Lively, going deeper into the one in which she was interviewed by Jake Takes specifically, Takes asks Lively if people who understand what this movie is about on a deeper level and have been through it and want to talk to her about this movie, what would be the best way to do so. Lively goes into the response with a joking matter of saying:
“Like asking for my address, or my phone number, or like my location share. Oh, I could just location share you and we could uh (laugh).”
The approach she took might make it seem like she doesn’t fully grasp the depth of the movie’s message, which could potentially damage its credibility. It’s worth noting that the actor Justin Baldoni, who portrays Ryle, has been actively supporting abuse victims and raising awareness for the cause..
If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence in a relationship, please reach out for help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. Local resources include Peace River Center Victim Services.
