On Aug. 9, 2024, what is perhaps the most controversial book of this age greeted its visual counterpart into existence. Sony Pictures’ “It Ends with Us” was released across the United States, a movie anticipated by many fans, particularly those in the book community. 

Based on the #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, “It Ends with Us” received many mixed reviews and analyses from those who read it. It blew up all over BookTok, and the #ColleenHoover hashtag has reached well over 5.1 billion views on TikTok. On Goodreads, the book’s success is shown with 3.6 million ratings. Ultimately, the book reached number one on the Publishers Weekly adult list and the Publishers Weekly annual list, selling more than 10 million copies in total. 

The movie adaptation was a testament to this success. Taking place in Boston, Mass., the story follows Lily Blossom Bloom (Blake Lively), the owner of Lily Bloom’s gothic flower shop. It portrays the dangers of domestic violence through acts of abuse committed by her husband, neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), that were shown as mere “accidents,” when, in fact, they were anything but. These so-called accidents portrayed in both the book and movie caused many mixed reactions from audiences, especially those who have been victims of abuse themselves.

While some believed Hoover’s descriptions of the abusive events in the book were romanticized and portrayed in an inappropriate manner, some survivors of abuse felt the author did a good job, with the movie receiving even more positive opinions regarding this.

Throughout the course of the book, Kincaid’s abuse toward Bloom was contrasted by the reappearance of her first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), chef and owner of Bib’s Restaurant. Further controversy, however, was stimulated by the fact that Kincaid and his family were the only non-white characters, and even though a negative light was cast solely on Kincaid himself and not the rest of his family, people have argued that making the “bad guy” a person of color was a racially insensitive decision.

As previously stated, many survivors resonated deeply with the movie’s adaptation of the book. The movie’s narrative focused on the cyclical nature of abuse and portrayed Lily Bloom not just as a victim, but showed her inner turmoil and the overlooked emotional scars that domestic violence can leave behind. This was tied into the movie’s title, It Ends With Us, as Lily attempts to have the cycle of abuse in her family end with her and her daughter.

This nuanced portrayal struck home with many viewers. Jane Doe, a victim of domestic violence, spoke on how seeing this portrayal helped her, “It outlines so much information that I had no idea about, and I was able to leave my partner of 13 years off and on because of these facts that I have learned.”

While the movie and book alike shine light onto an underrepresented and somewhat taboo topic, the movie has fallen under severe scrutiny. The marketing of the film has been called into question after head actress, Lively asked audiences to “grab your friends, wear your florals and go see [the movie].” This goes along with behind-the-scenes information regarding Baldoni, who directed the movie and is an outspoken activist in support of survivors of domestic violence, and the rest of the cast, who had severe creative differences on how Ryle and Lily’s relationship should be depicted and marketed.  

These factors cultivated a feeling as though the promotional content did not highlight the serious and triggering subject matter that the movie is centered around, and neither did the actors themselves, attempting to market it as a romantic comedy.

Beyond the marketing, the subject matter itself has been heavily criticized for its romanticism of domestic violence. Hoover, who typically writes purely romance novels, has been critiqued for her juvenile writing style which could create a disconnect between the subject matter and the way in which it is presented. While it is apparent that Hoover attempts to write complex and moving storylines, she regresses into the tropes that many Young Adult (YA) authors lean on. 

This, along with her lack of trigger warnings in the movie or book causes some to fear that it undermines the severity of domestic violence and trivializes the subject matter. 

While there may be issues in the marketing and in Hoover’s writing, it is undeniable that the book and movie remain crucial in sparking conversation and raising awareness about domestic violence, and will hopefully allow for more stories to be highlighted as time goes on.

If you or a loved one is a victim of domestic violence, please contact this hotline: 800-799-7233, or visit this website.