It Ends With A Miss: How Lily Bloom바카라�s Story Loses Impact On Screen

Its much-awaited film adaptation released this summer, featuring big names such as Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Justin Baldoni (Jane the Virgin), and Hassan Minaj (though it바카라�s unclear why he was cast, especially since neither his humour nor his socio-political wit enhanced his character or brought sensitivity to the plot). 

It seems the filmmakers are still hung up on the book바카라�s popularity on social media, trying too hard to ensure it remains there forever. In January 2023, Hoover shelved바카라�The Official It Ends with Us Colouring Book바카라�after facing criticism on social media for the insensitive nature of turning a story centred on domestic violence into a recreational activity. However, the colouring book has now come to screens near you because that바카라�s what the film adaptation essentially is. 

The movie revolves around Lily Bloom (Lively), who grew up seeing her father, Andrew (Kevin McKidd), physically abuse her mother, Jenny (Amy Morton). She has a chance encounter with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a neurosurgeon only interested in casual relationships but who eventually commits to her. The film is 2 hours and 11 minutes long, but it only spends around 15 minutes tackling the main theme바카라�domestic violence. This mainly includes scenes depicting the violence but with almost no focus on Lily바카라�s mental state or her feelings. There is a quick shower scene where memories of Ryle flash through Lily's mind, juxtaposing good moments with him slapping her, throwing her down the stairs, and attempting to rape her. It then cuts to Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), her childhood love trying to support her when she runs away from Ryle. They discuss what song they바카라�d like to be played at their funeral, even though Lily has just escaped a harrowing situation. 

Director Baldoni effectively depicts the abuse from the survivor바카라�s point of view, where she is unable to process what just happened to her. But it바카라�s baffling that, despite a ready-made plot the script omits important scenes dealing with the central theme. In the book, after Ryle first hits Lily, she gives him an ultimatum and says what he did to her was wrong. But in the movie, Lily buys into Ryle바카라�s suggestion that they made 바카라�a lovely mess,바카라� as he had also cut himself with the broken pieces of the casserole he dropped before hitting her. After the first incident, Ryle doesn바카라�t attack Lily until they are married. But when he discovers the card with Atlas's number hidden behind Lily's phone cover, he pushes her down the stairs. In the film, Lily wakes up to Ryle stitching her wound, gaslighting her into thinking she accidentally fell and reassuring her that she바카라�s okay. Lily believes him and decides to stay, contradicting the novel, where she threw him out of the apartment when he insisted that she fell down the stairs.  

It can be argued that Lily바카라�s reaction to Ryle바카라�s abuse differs from the book (where they바카라�re in their 20s as opposed to mid-thirties) because different people react to things differently, finding their own reasons to justify abusive relationships. But unlike the book, the movie doesn바카라�t contain Lily바카라�s conversation with her mother about the abuse, diluting the plot. In the novel, they talk about not losing sight of one바카라�s limitations and understanding of abuse바카라�why someone might stay in a toxic relationship: 바카라�Every incident chips away at your limit. Every time you choose to stay, it makes the next time that much harder to leave. Eventually, you lose sight of your limit altogether, because you start to think, 바카라�I've lasted five years now. What바카라�s five more?바카라�바카라� This important exchange doesn바카라�t just shape Lily바카라�s decision of divorcing Ryle but also gives insight into her mom바카라�s psyche, who herself endured an abusive relationship. 

In the movie, Lily does not tell Jenny about Ryle바카라�s abuse바카라�it바카라�s assumed that she knows. In a hurried scene, Jenny mumbles, 바카라�It would have been harder to leave, and I loved him.바카라� There is no time given for the two to even make eye contact during the scene. Their conversation in the book solidified Lily바카라�s decision to divorce Ryle and break the cycle of abuse, not just for herself but also for her daughter, whom she was pregnant with at the time. 

Social media is buzzing with discussions about the apparent tension between Baldoni and Lively, who has also produced the film, over its direction. Clips of her encouraging fans to 바카라�bring your friends, your girlfriends, and wear your florals바카라� have circulated widely, while Baldoni바카라�s response to fans바카라� disappointments바카라� 바카라�we are in an attention economy and a clickbait world, and everyone is figuring out how to gather attention. If anyone has that real-life experience, I can imagine how hard it would be to see it portrayed in a romance novel바카라�바카라�is also making the rounds. 

What could have been a powerful portrayal of a woman breaking the shackles of abuse feels like a missed opportunity instead, more concerned with appeasing social media hype than staying true to the story's core message. While the film may draw audiences due to the novel바카라�s popularity, its star-studded cast, or the controversies, it ultimately falls short of delivering the impactful message many fans hoped to see.