the new film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and based on the Colleen Hoover book of the same name, has been courting controversy in more ways than one. to , has been dominating headlines and social media feeds. But behind the glossy floral façade of the film's promotional circuit lies a serious and important question: does this film romanticize and is it irresponsible? Hoover's book is based on the relationship between her parents, and explores themes of domestic violence.
The film follows 23-year-old florist, Lily Bloom, who meets 30-year-old Ryle Kincaid, who quickly becomes abusive. Lily eventually gathers the courage to leave for the sake of her daughter and ends up with her childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan. "It's exciting and empowering to see abuse portrayed on a movie screen with such sensitivity and depth," said Leslie Morgan Steiner in an email to .
Steiner is the author of , which is "a memoir of love and violence." Professor Jacquelyn Campbell of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, meanwhile, called the film "constructive." "It does not minimize the severity of the issue," Campbell, who is a leader in research and advocacy in the field of domestic and intimate partner violence, said in a phone call to .
Steiner told that, "Like Ryle Kincaid, many abusers are handsome, intelligent, charming men. Campbell agreed about the portrayal of Ryle, "The fact that he had experienced a great deal of trauma in childhood, which is very common for abusers, was well .