This article containsdiscussions of domestic violence and other forms of abuse.
This article includes major SPOILERS for the book It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.
Summary
Despite the criticisms of Colleen Hoover’sIt Ends With Us, the movie 2024 adaptation starring Blake Lively can potentially fix the most significant issue due to one person attached to the project. Thanks to BookTok, Colleen Hoover has become one of the most beloved romance writers in recent years.A movie adaptation of her most controversial book,It Ends With Us, comes out on June 22, 2025. This book tells the harrowing story of a woman named Lily Bloom who gets into an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid; however, that’s not how Simon & Schuster marketed the story.
It Ends With Uswas promoted as a love triangle romance story with a flowery cover and description that seemed more like a frothy rom-com. Luckily, the movie has taken a different marketing approach, making its domestic violence storyline abundantly clear in the trailer. Still, the upcoming adaptation has to contend with a more significant issue readers had with Colleen Hoover’s book. Individuals started calling out thecontroversial elements ofIt Ends With Us– most notably, the dangerous romanticization of abuse.
Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us Received Justified Criticisms Over Its Depiction Of Relationships
Despite the popularity of theColleen Hoover book,It Ends With Usreceived justified criticism for its portrayal of abusive relationships.The story verges on romanticization, idealizing the relationship between Lily and Ryle in multiple instances.Lily’s connection with Atlas walks the line of excusing Ryle’s abuse, though Lily at least says this doesn’t make it okay in one line of dialogue. Additionally, Hoover presents Ryle’s traumatic backstory in a way that writes off his behaviors.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline atTheHotline.orgor (800)799-7233 for help.
Many of the issues come down to how the book was written rather than the content.The story is told from Lily’s point of view but lacks a strong reflective voice– the POV that interprets past events from a present perspective. Using a reflective voice benefits stories where the POV character’s thoughts and actions contradict the intended message. There are a few moments of clarity withinIt Ends With Uswhere Hoover states how harmful and wrong Ryles' actions are. However, the reflective voice isn’t used consistently and effectively, making it hard to discern the book’s intentions.
Hollywood Should Have Adapted A Different Colleen Hoover Book (Not It Ends With Us)
Although It Ends With Us has seen massive popularity, there is another book by Colleen Hoover that would have made a better film adaptation.
Additionally, the last few chapters ofIt Ends With Usreceived criticism for their representation of the way abusive relationships end.Ryle respects her boundaries and gives her space, presenting him as the “good guy” abuser.Lily finally decides to divorce Ryle, and he agrees without getting angry or controlling. She then decides to have a co-parenting relationship with him and give him unsupervised time with their daughter without him taking active steps to change. This lessens the emotional resonance of her decision to leave.
It Ends With Us' Screenwriter’s Past Projects Prove She Can Address The Book Complaints
Despite the understandable complaints about Colleen Hoover’spopular BookTok book, we don’t need to write off the upcoming movie adaptation. The choice of screenwriter for the project offers hope that the movie will fix the romanticization of domestic abuse. Christy Hall might not have many screenwriting credits, but one of them handled heavy topics beautifully.
If written well, Lily’s rose-colored glasses and trepidation don’t have to contradict the message that Ryle and Lily’s relationship is abusive, not romantic.
I Am Not Okay With Thistouches on mental illness, grief, bullying, sexuality, and suicide. All of these topics can easily and unintentionally go wrong. However, Hall and her co-creator, Jonathan Entwistle, addressed all these subjects in a compassionate and nuanced way. If Christy Hall approachesIt Ends With Uswith the same care,the screenwriter can balance Lily’s mentality as someone in an abusive relationship with the larger themes and messages.
It’s realistic that Lily ignores many red flags and dismisses the abuse for a long time inIt Ends With Usbefore realizing how dangerous the situation is. Even then, she distances herself without actually taking the step to end their relationship. If written well, Lily’s rose-colored glasses and trepidation don’t have to contradict the message that Ryle and Lily’s relationship is abusive, not romantic. Hopefully, Christy Hall’s script and the rest of the creative team will fix the more harmful parts of the book.
It Ends With Us' Movie Adaptation Should Still Keep The Book’s Perennial Themes
The Reason Why Lily Stays With Ryle For So Long
Changes are needed if the big-screen adaptation ofIt Ends With Ushopes to avoid the same criticisms as the book, but that doesn’t mean the movie needs to abandon everything from the source material. The movie must keep the perennial themes that resonate with victims of domestic violence.
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It would be foolish forIt Ends With Usto remove every romantic moment between Ryle and Lily because there’s a reason abusers are so effective. Abusers don’t display this behavior around or towards everyone. Despite all its issues,Colleen Hoover’sIt Ends With Usshows Ryle cycling through these stages of abuse towards Lily.It’s crucial that the movie displays the different stages of abuse that keep people like Lily in these relationships. According toPsych Central, the typical stages in the cycle of DV are as follows:
Additionally, the movie needs to maintain the book’s focus on breaking the cycles of abuse. The title comes from the idea that survivors have the power to break the cycle of abuse so that the next generation has a better, healthier life. Lily witnessed domestic violence perpetrated by her father, which increased her likelihood of getting into an abusive relationship in adulthood (from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine viaPubMed).
The cycle continues when Lily gets into a relationship with Ryle, who physically, mentally, and sexually abuses her. However, Lily decides to break off the relationship and stop the cycle when she gives birth to her daughter, Emerson. (Though Lily deserved to leave for herself too.) This empowering message is crucial for the success of the movie adaptation ofIt Ends With Us.
