Esther Zuckerman’s take on It Ends with Us is that it is a familiar, capable tearjerker: satisfying in the moment, but uneven where its romantic-comedy rhythms meet a story about domestic abuse. Blake Lively’s warmth gives the film much of its pull, while its tonal shifts keep it from feeling fully persuasive.
What is It Ends with Us about?
Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel, the 2024 film stars Lively as Lily Bloom, a florist whose relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin Baldoni, unfolds alongside her renewed connection with Atlas Corrigan, played by Brandon Sklenar. Memories of abuse in Lily’s family shape the story’s central question: whether she will repeat a pattern of harm or break its cycle.
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It Ends with Us - Blu-ray + Digital | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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It Ends With Us [Blu-ray] | $18.80 | Buy on Amazon |
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It Ends With Us | Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni | $21.32 | Buy on Amazon |
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Safe Haven (Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy) | $7.92 | Buy on Amazon |
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THE FINEST HOURS (BLU-RAY) - V [2016] [Region A & B & C] | $88.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Domestic abuse is the film’s serious subject, not simply a source of romantic conflict. Its portrayal is a dramatic treatment of that subject, not guidance for people experiencing abuse.
Why does Zuckerman call it the “Starbucks latte of movies”?
In her August 7, 2024 review syndicated by Yahoo Entertainment, Zuckerman describes the film as an old-fashioned, middle-of-the-road tearjerker: familiar and competently made, with the capacity to hit an emotional spot, but not especially surprising. She writes, “That recipe almost makes you nostalgic for what it’s selling: The old-school, middle-of-the-road tearjerker, the Starbucks latte of movies.” The comparison is her critical judgment, not a claim that the film is objectively comforting or successful for every viewer.
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#1 Best Overall
- IT ENDS WITH US tells the empowering story of Lily Bloom. Grappling with a painful past, Lily embarks on a new life in Boston and opens her own flower shop. After falling in love with Ryle, Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her dangerous father. With the support of her friends and allies, Lily must find her own strength to break the pattern or the pattern will break her.
That familiarity is both part of the appeal and a limitation. The film uses recognizable romantic melodrama to draw viewers in, but its subject demands a different emotional weight. Zuckerman finds that the shift can make the abuse narrative feel frothy or emotionally manipulative rather than fully integrated with the romance.
What works in the performances and romance?
Blake Lively anchors the film
Zuckerman sees Lively’s warmth and screen presence as a key strength. Lily remains the story’s emotional center, and Lively helps sustain its pull even when the film’s tone wavers.
Rank #2
- dvd, blu ray, film, movie
Jenny Slate adds levity
Slate’s comic performance brings lighter moments to the film. That levity can be welcome, though it also contributes to the tonal contrast Zuckerman questions.
The romantic chemistry has appeal
The relationships provide some of the film’s more successful connective tissue. Zuckerman’s reservation is not that the romance lacks appeal, but that its familiar, lighter rhythms sit uneasily beside the story’s account of abuse and generational trauma.
Rank #3
- Blake Lively, Blu-ray Movies, Blu-ray TV Shows
Where does the film’s handling of abuse feel uneven?
Zuckerman’s main criticism concerns the portrayal of Ryle. In her view, the film risks making him too sympathetic at one point and turning him into a villain too quickly at another. That can make the story’s treatment of abuse feel imbalanced: viewers are asked to move between romantic attraction and recognition of harm without a fully convincing tonal bridge.
Critics do not all assess that balance the same way. Responses surfaced in an IMDb aggregation include praise for a sensitive depiction of abuse as well as criticism that the film mishandles difficult material or leans on emotional manipulation. Those reactions offer contrasting critical perspectives, not a definitive consensus or a current numerical score.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who might respond to this review?
Viewers drawn to a conventional, emotionally direct romance may find that the film’s performances and melodramatic pull work for them. Viewers looking for a consistently measured treatment of domestic abuse may share Zuckerman’s concern that the romance and trauma do not always fit together. The distinction is less a matter of ranking the film against other adaptations than of deciding how well its tonal balance works for you.
For readers curious about the source material, Hoover’s It Ends with Us is the novel the film adapts. Comparing the two offers a way to consider the film’s adaptation choices, without assuming that either version resolves the questions raised by its subject matter.
Quick Recap
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