It Ends With Us
This article contains discussions of domestic violence, abuse, and rape.
MAJOR SPOILERS for It Ends With Us are ahead!
When a movie adaptation ofColleen Hoovers controversial 2016 bookwas announced, there were two main reactions excitement and skepticism.
Additionally, Ryle Kincaid is 30 years old, and Atlas Corrigan is 26 years old.
However, the movie drastically shifts the ages of the characters inIt Ends With Us.
It also decreases the likelihood that the abuse will be romanticized since thats a rampant issue in YA.
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon
Theres plenty of sexual intimacy, but she doesnt offer many instances of emotional intimacy.
This narrative change earlier in the movie improves the story in two ways.
Firstly, the contrast between the affectionate moments and abuse gives the latter a stronger emotional impact.
Image via Sony Pictures
He does things like picking her up against her will or showing up at her apartment uninvited.
However, the red flags are much fewer in the book than they are in the movie.
He also questions her when she says she wants to stop having sex instead of listening to her.
Even the timing of him proposing to Lily feels extremely controlling.
Unfortunately, her statements about leaving risk undermining the story by making leaving seem easier than it is.
Leaving an abusive relationship is dangerous and hard.
Image via Sony Pictures
Luckily, the movie adaptation ditches this aspect of the book.
She isnt painted as this superwoman who recognizes the abuse immediately and takes action.
By giving her a more conventional storyline, its easier to relate to Lilys story.
Luckily,Ellen DeGeneres is only referenced twice in the entire movie.
The second time, Atlas comes over, and Lily is watching the Ellen Show.
Again, this only appears on screen for a moment.
Regardless of the reason, this choice is for the best.
The subtext comes across like he planned that the entire time, which makes the statutory rape even ickier.
However,the movie makes it seem like Lily and Atlas are the same age.
Visually, Neustaedter and Ferrer look the same age.
This makes the two having sex less uncomfortable to watch.
Atlas physically picks her up and takes her back to the bedroom.
While its easy to understand Lilys urge, the action doesnt fit with the rest of her character.
The change makes the parallels between these rape scenes all the more impactful and difficult to watch.
As such,it was a relief to see that they dropped the concept of him blacking out entirely.
This simply isnt realistic.
Hes shown calling her and sending her multiple texts in a row over a short period of time.
This change feels much more realistic.
These scenes feel extremely realistic, raw, and terrifying.
However, the detail with which she describes the incidents of abuse posed a problem for the movie.
It could be too difficult to watch everything that happens in the book.
