When a best-selling book is adapted for screen, it's often met with a mixed response. Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us is no different and the film adaptation starring Blake Lively comes out in cinemas on 9 August.
The romantic novel is based on the relationship between the author's mother and father, and Colleen described it as 'the hardest book' she's ever written. It explores the complex nature of generational trauma as one woman attempts to break a cycle of abuse and find a healthy, romantic relationship. With estimates of total sales as high as 30 million, it's a novel that many fans feel close to and hope the film gets right.
It's expected to dethrone Deadpool & Wolverine (starring Blake Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds) in the box office based on pre-sales and will undoubtedly bring both new and existing audiences to the story. While some people are counting down the minutes until they can watch it in cinema, others seem more apprehensive. Have they done the book justice? If so, is it going to be one of the biggest films of the year?
Here's everything you need to know about the critical reception of It Ends With Us, how it compares with the book and what people have been saying about the casting.
What are viewers saying about It Ends With Us?
There's certainly a lot of hype around the film, whether it be Blake Lively's bold, floral outfits during promo and press junkets, the fact that Hoover is considered a controversial author, accused by some of 'romantisizing abuse', or the fact one US advert has billed it as 'the female movie event of the year', which has understandably ruffled a lot of feathers.
One X user wrote, 'Just saw a commercial for It Ends With Us that said "the female movie event of the year" and that sh*t pissed me off cause when has a movie ever been advertised as "the male movie event of the year".' While another posted, 'An ad for “it ends with us” calling it the female movie event of the year… oh we’re so gone.' And a third wrote, 'calling it ends with us the “female movie event of the year” is an insult to women.'
Perhaps that tagline wasn't the smartest choice, but there are still plenty of loyal fans who hope the film reaches people and that its themes are taken seriously. One X fan posted, 'I’m so sick of people slandering it ends with us, like I know the writer is controversial, but the book is legit good and it talks about ACTUAL struggles of abusive households and how it’s not so easy to leave and that not everything is rainbows and sunshine.'
How does it compare with the novel?
The casting of the film has proven to be somewhat controversial. Since announcing that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were cast as the two protagonists Lily and Ryle in the film, Colleen has faced backlash because of the significant age discrepancies between the actors and their It Ends With Us characters.
Blake, 35, is more than a decade older than the 23-year-old protagonist who is a college graduate in the novel. Similarly, Justin, who is also directing the book-to-screen adaptation, is nine years older than his 30-year-old book counterpart.
A fan on X said, 'I was actually going to watch it ends with us in theatre but wtf, they have aged the characters so much from the book. Sensualised the scenes so much that the innocence of teenage romance got lost.'
However, the author has since explained that ageing the characters was a deliberate creative choice. Back in June she said, 'Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult [genre] was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That's what I was contracted to do. I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon.'
Colleen added, 'As I started making this movie, I'm like, "We need to age them out because I messed up." So that's my fault.' The author also said she was 'extremely happy' when Blake came on board and that she's pleased with how the film has turned out.
'I got to see the footage they filmed thus far,' she said, according to Today. 'I'm not a crier. I know that I write emotional books but I'm not an emotional person. And I cried so much on set. You guys are going to be so happy. I'm extremely happy and now my expectations are up and I'm going to keep them there.' So, unsurprisingly, it's certainly got the author's stamp of approval.
Who is in the It Ends With Us cast?
As previously mentioned, Blake Lively plays Lily Bloom and Justin Baldoni plays Ryle Kincaid in the film. It Ends With Us also stars Brandon Sklenar (Midway, Mapplethorpe, Vice), Isabela Ferrer, who is largely new on the scene, and Alex Neustaedter (Colony).
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, covering TV, celebrity interviews, news and features.