The film “It Ends with Us” released in theaters August 9. The film has faced a divided audience on the portrayal of domestic violence and healthy relationships.
Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name is currently popular on social media, often on the top of book recommendation lists for New Adult Romances. The novel and author have been called problematic for many reasons, including the romanticization of domestic violence/abusive relationships, poor writing, factual errors and weak female characters.
The novel tells the story of Lily Bloom, an aptly named florist, who falls in love with a well-off neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. Their relationship starts similar to any traditional romance novel. However, shortly into their relationship, Ryle becomes verbally and physically abusive towards Lily, mirroring Lily’s parents’ relationship.
The trailer of the film alludes to the abuse in the film, with the tagline on the movie poster reading “we love, we break, we pick up the pieces.” Without context the line can be misinterpreted as a couple experiencing relationship difficulties and figuring out how to overcome them. Those who read the book know this is not the case. The line refers to Lily deciding to leave Ryle and pick up the pieces of her life. The line does not do a great job sharing that domestic violence is one of the most prominent plot lines.
The fact that the novel and film are both labeled as romances is the root of most of the controversy. If the story was simply labeled as fiction, the plot lines would not be a glaring red flag. Furthermore, Hoover upholds many of the conventions of the romance genre in her writing, which could easily lead a reader to think that Lily and Ryle’s relationship is what the author considers a typical relationship. The novel’s other male main character, Atlas, is a healthier romantic partner for Lily, but not by much.
Also problematic is the intended age range for the film. While the novel is labeled as New Adult (or for college-aged readers), the film is only listed as PG-13. The sexually explicit content of the novel was replaced with a non-graphic sex scene, but the domestic violence is still explicit. Young fans of the movie may be inclined to read the novel which is far from appropriate for an early teen. This is what is most concerning about the film’s rating.
Hoover had the opportunity to write an emotional story depicting Lily having an empowering moment and leaving Ryle and breaking the cycle of abuse the women in her family have been trapped by, but she missed it. Many critics consider Hoover’s portrayal of domestic violence insulting to women and overall tasteless. The novel would not be as problematic as it is if it was not for the fact that most of Hoover’s books contain equally concerning relationships and characters. In her novels such as “November 9,” “Ugly Love” and “Verity,” Hoover also writes her female characters as weak and existing to primarily support their male counterpart. These are not the strong role models that young/new adults need, instead they are given characters like the ones in “It Ends with Us.”
