This is sacrilege coming off the keyboard of a movie critic, but “It Ends With Us” is a film that would be best experienced from the couch. Wait a few weeks for the Blake Lively flick to land on a streaming service. Rainy Sunday, pajamas, a scented candle, Ben & Jerry’s and, most vitally, no one around to judge you.
Because the romantic drama, directed by and co-starring Justin Baldoni, is not very good by most known metrics of quality. Although it concerns an ugly topic — domestic abuse — “Ends” tends to favor glam close-ups of its stunning actors to the real grit of its circumstances. The film is an adaptation of author Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, beloved by women, and much of the often stilted dialogue is cribbed verbatim from the book.
The main character is named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively) and, oh yes, she opens a flower shop. That name and decision are, thankfully, mocked by the movie. Does any of this read like a recipe for greatness? No.
Did I tear up multiple times? Absolutely. “It Ends With Us” is, despite its failings and indulgences, a highly emotional and absorbing couple of hours. Lively, doing some of her deepest work, plays a lost soul whose father has just died.
Because she witnessed dad regularly hit her mother (Amy Morton, a far better actress than this material allows), her relationship to him was complex. She can’t stomach delivering his eulogy. Lily, who dons outfits that Krusty the Clown might wear for a Vogue shoot, settl.