it ends with us the new film based on the Tik Tock viral book of the same name by Colleen Hoover has rocketed at the top of the box office since its release but most of the movie's press hasn't actually been about the movie itself instead alleged behind the scenes drama has dominated the headlines and overshadowed the real message of the film so what's really going on here let's take a moment to separate the Productions problems from the movie's problems and analyze how they've intersected and sparked their own issues plus we'll actually dive into the real
important message that's getting lost in all of the drama I love you I know I love you too what's the problem it ends with us became a huge viral hit on book talk so no one was surprised when it was eventually optioned to be turned into a film it ends with us by Colleen Hoover has sold 8 million copies and is currently number one on the New York Times paperback bestsellers list as with every adaptation there were initial worries from fans that the movie would make huge changes to the characters or just not live up
to the story they had imagined in their minds while reading you know a lot of times adaptations get a lot of flak for not sticking to the book and I really feel like this one has been very faithful on the flip side people who did not think the book handled its themes well were worried that the film would come across as totally glamorizing an abusive relationship in the vein of some other big hits but the actual drama that's ended up happen happening around the film isn't really quite what anyone had anticipated Whispers of a rift
between star and producer Blake Lively and director and producer Justin baldon began as soon as the promotional tour started as people began to realize that the pair were never together during interviews or other promo all of the casts seemed to be separated from baldoni and he was left to do interviews by himself he even hired a crisis PR firm that has worked with some pretty shady characters in the past which isn't a great look and Blake has been hit with an avalanche of criticism for her behavior as well but it seems that all of the
issues began much earlier during the film's production apparently much of the rift stems from disagreements on how the story should play out leading to two separate cuts of the film being made with Lively winning out in the end but it seems she also had her husband Ryan Reynolds come in and rewrite parts of the script too unbeknown to the actual screenwriter we work together so much that though the iconic rooftop scene in this movie my husband actually wrote it nobody knows that but you now initially there were reports that the fight was over Blake's desired
change to the ending which we'll explain in a moment but actually baldoni agreed that the change was good so it seems that the real Rift came from elsewhere the focus of the press tour has been Odd as well to say the least while baldoni has been more direct about the content and message of the film that is it being a harrowing story of a woman getting pulled into and trying to escape from an abusive relationship the question that's always asked is why did she stay and that's the wrong question what we need to be asking
ourselves is why do men harm Blake on the other hand has seemed to be avoiding the topic nearly completely to the point that many feel she's been dismissive of the larger message of the film instead preferring to focus on getting to use best friend Taylor Swift's music in the film and her Red Carpet fashion your floral fashion continues flourishing this whole press tour how much fun are you having with these best it's so pretty look at it you guys are not getting it in the shot as more and more people began to point out just
how in congruent the Press tour has been with the darker content of the film he's making a list and checking it twice grab your red coats and come see my new movie Schindler's List starring a hunk with a very particular set of skills Liam niss Lively did eventually post some information about domestic violence to her Instagram stories some have pointed out that much of the promo on lively and Reynolds Parts seem to be some kind of attempt to recreate the barbon Heimer phenomenon from last summer as the release coincides with the new Deadpool movie but
no one's really taking the bait while all of the drama surrounding and overshadowing the real story of the film has bothered book fans it's also led to other audience members having no idea what to expect when going into the film because so much of the promo has framed it as more of a straightup romance some are going into the film unaware of the much darker themes they'll be encountering so let's take a deeper look at the actual story and how the roll out of the film has done it a disservice is the film like the
book follows lily bloom who owns a flower shop as she becomes trapped in an abusive relationship with neurosurgeon riy there were some changes to the characterizations for the film for example both were aged up especially Lily who was only 23 in the book and while book Lily was more financially beholden to riy movie Lily seems much more well off judging by her incredibly expensive wardrobe this all does change the dynamic between the two shifting it away from the more obvious power dynamics of the age and finance gaps but it doesn't actually make the relationship any
less realistic independent strong and capable people are just as able to get pulled into abusive relationships as anyone else there is often a thought that one can be too smart or too tough to allow oneself to get into that kind of situation but that's faulty thinking because that's just not how real life Works predators are able to find holes in even the strongest of armor and use that to their advantage and that's the thing with abusers they have tactics to get to your heartstrings and make you stay and the seed for this story apparently came
from Hoover watching this play out in her own life watching her mother grapple with and eventually escape the abuse of her father my first memory of being alive and I remember my sister and I hiding in our bedroom and I peaked out right as my dad threw a TV at my mom she wondered how and why someone as strong as her mother could get stuck in such a relationship and attempted to use fiction as a way to better understand the situation this has been a big point of contention with the book and now the film
is it glamorizing the abuser or just attempting to really unpack how these kinds of people are able to for a Time present themselves as glamorous and alluring to pull in their victims and it's so hard when it's sprinkled in at first and then it builds and it builds and then you start to believe that it's you and you go through all these emotions and all this mental struggle it's not as black and white is going you commit DV screw you I'm leaving many believed that even if it was attempting to show how abusers hide their
true colors and play as Charming the book went too far in romanticizing riy especially with the ending being that Lily allows him to stay in their child's life so that they can co-parent thankfully that ending was changed for the film the film does seem to showcase the parts of riyle that Drew Lily in while unpacking the reality of how such a relationship can make you question if things are really that bad even when they clearly are without romanticizing it or him too much I personally believe that they romanticized the the abuse in the beginning of
the movie for a reason to confuse you to make you constantly have to remind yourself that he was an abuser he is an abuser yes he is wooing her yes he is really good-looking yes he's doing all of these amazing things and he is an abuser but that just makes the trailers dreaming it as a regular romance story The Promo tour and the general refusal to engage with the grittier sides of the story all the more odd to some degree one could argue that the promo might just be a poorly done attempt to mirror the
abuse scenario that plays out in the film drawing in viewers with romance and steamy times only to confront them with something much darker but if so that is a pretty messed up way to promote a film for the obvious reasons and because people should absolutely be able to to have prior knowledge of that kind of content taking place within a film before they go in so that they can prepare themselves for it there needed to be disclaimers before the movie and before the book I felt like I was hit by a train I was so
caught off guard because I went into it thinking that I was going to read a girly pop love story and they shouldn't have to hunt down a spoiler synopsis to find out about it it's unfortunate that given that those involved with the film did seem to see where the book went off course and worked to fix it to some degree that everything has so completely Fallen apart in the promotion of the film it ends with us was a great opportunity to elevate awareness about domestic violence and really open up a larger conversation around the reality
of how one can become ens snared in such a situation and why it can be so difficult to leave domestic abuse affects so many women across the country every day according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year and one in four women have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime and because it isn't talked about enough women often feel ashamed or like they have no way out so the promo around this film would have been a great time
for everyone involved especially the biggest star on the project to really open up the conversation and uplift affected voices there is nothing weak or embarrassing about finding oneself in an abusive relationship and it takes a lot of strength to realize it and a lot of resilience to pull oneself out domestic AB isn't just a plotline in a summer blockbuster it's a real issue and you aren't alone that's the take click here to watch the video we think you'll love or here to check out a whole playlist of awesome content don't forget to subscribe and turn
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