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Here’s How the It Ends With Us Movie Adaptation Differs From the Book

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Here’s How the It Ends With Us Movie Adaptation Differs From the Book

As a devoted fan of Colleen Hoover’s novels, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of “It Ends With Us” movie adaptation for quite some time now. Having read the book multiple times and even discussed its intricacies with fellow enthusiasts on various platforms, I was initially concerned when I heard about certain changes being made in the film version.

It’s well-known that Colleen Hoover’s novel “It Ends With Us,” published in 2016 and gaining immense popularity during the pandemic through BookTok in 2021, has been deeply cherished by its worldwide fanbase. Inspired by Hoover’s personal experience of her mother leaving an abusive relationship, this emotionally intense book has sold a staggering 6.9 million copies (across print and ebooks). The story revolves around Lily Bloom, a florist struggling with her past traumas, who embarks on a romance that takes a sinister turn towards darkness and danger. As the romance eerily mirrors the abusive patterns in her life, Lily encounters an old friend from her past, whose presence helps her comprehend what she desires for her future.

As a movie buff, I’m thrilled to share that Lily’s captivating tale is about to unfold on the silver screen! Titled after her name, this upcoming film will feature Blake Lively portraying Lily and Justin Baldoni as both director and the enigmatic antagonist, Ryle. In a passionate relationship filled with beauty and turmoil, Ryle is Lily’s attractive yet volatile partner whose simmering rage issues escalate into abusive behavior as their whirlwind romance progresses into marriage and parenthood.

Read more: Why We Can’t Stop Reading Colleen Hoover’s Trauma-Filled Novels

“Baldoni has been dedicated to preserving the book’s story about Lily and her emotional journey, and he doesn’t want to make many alterations,” he stated. “I made a promise to Colleen that I would safeguard this book.” (This version maintains the original meaning but uses simpler language for easier understanding.)

In the film, Lily relocates to Boston seeking a new beginning, aiming to establish her own flower shop and leave behind the haunting memories of her tumultuous childhood. A chance meeting with Ryle (Baldoni), an attractive neurosurgeon, evolves into a fervent romance when they cross paths again following Ryle’s sister Allysa (Jenny Slate) taking up employment at Lily’s florist shop. Despite Lily’s initial joy in her new relationship, Ryle’s unpredictable outbursts of anger remind her of her father’s violent behavior towards her mother and resurface forgotten memories of her childhood sweetheart Atlas.

Read more: Breaking Down All the It Ends With Us Drama

As a passionate fan, I’ve noticed that the movie largely maintains the essence of the book, but there are distinct alterations that screenwriter Christy Hall skillfully incorporated to fit the narrative for the silver screen. In an interview with E! News, Hoover conceded the necessity of these changes, acknowledging their importance in bringing the story vividly to life on screen.

“As adjustments are made, it’s inevitable that things need to be altered,” Hoover explained. “Since we’re compressing this entire plotline into a movie, certain modifications were necessary to improve the overall coherence.”

In this post, we’ve compiled a summary of significant alterations between the movie version of “It Ends With Us” and its original book counterpart. Here’s a glance at the differences you can expect.

There’s way less Ellen DeGeneres in the movie

In the story, Ellen DeGeneres plays a significant role in Lily’s life, from childhood through adulthood. As a child, Lily is captivated by DeGeneres’ talk show and watches it daily after school, even writing her journal entries as if they were letters to the host. Later on, when Lily spends time with Atlas, they bond over watching DeGeneres’ show and share a fondness for the movie “Finding Nemo,” as DeGeneres voices the character of Dory. This shared connection with DeGeneres remains important in their relationship; as an adult, Lily continues to write journal entries as if they were letters to DeGeneres, and she names her daughter Dory as her middle name.

In the movie, there’s hardly any appearance of DeGeneres. Thoughout the film, we see Lily frequently writing in her journal, but it remains unclear whether these writings are in letter or diary format. The only allusion to DeGeneres within the movie is in a flashback scene where young Lily and Atlas are momentarily watching her show together.

Ryle and Lily are older in the movie

As a devoted movie enthusiast, I must say that one aspect of the film adaptation that sparked quite a buzz among fans was the age adjustments, particularly for the characters Ryle and Lily. In the original novel, sweet Lily is just 23, while gallant Ryle is 30. However, when it was revealed that Lively, who’s in her 30s, would embody Lily on screen, fans were quick to notice the altered age dynamic (since Baldoni is 40).

As a passionate admirer, I’d like to share my thoughts on Hoover’s approach to character age adjustments for the movie adaptation. He believes that the on-screen ages of Ryle and Lily align more closely with the maturity and life stages of these characters, making it a more authentic portrayal.

In an interview with Today, I acknowledged that as an author, I am not immune to errors. Just like there’s no 28-year-old neurosurgeons without extensive training, a similar process is required for writing. To rectify any mistakes I made in my book, I slightly advanced the age of the characters to reflect the realistic passage of time and learning that comes with it.

Additionally, Hoover argued that portraying the characters as mature individuals would lend a deeper resonance to their struggles with the weighty themes they confronted.

Eight years ago, as I penned the book, the trend of new adult literature was booming, with readers eagerly seeking stories about characters in their early twenties, she explained to E! News. However, given the challenging subject matter, we felt it was inappropriate to portray such young characters on screen. Therefore, increasing their age turned out to be a brilliant decision, and it translated exceptionally well on film.

Atlas’ restaurant gets a name change

In the book, Atlas confides in Lily that his ambition is to relocate to Boston, as he believes everything there is superior. At a later encounter, they bump into each other coincidentally, and it’s at his eatery, BiB, which symbolizes their discussion about Boston being better. However, for the movie version, the restaurant is renamed Root, inspired by a conversation between them about the resilience of an oak tree and its deep-rooted strength.

Hoover explained that they had to alter the restaurant’s name due to a lack of time to ensure that the “Boston-superior” scene would have a stronger impact.

In an interview with E! News, Hoover explained that the symbolism from the book was represented by something called “Root” in the movie. This change was necessary because there wasn’t enough time to include all the details from the book that would make a crucial moment impactful on screen. The choice to call it “Root” was a nod to a past conversation between the characters in the film, aiming to evoke the same emotional response as seen in the original story.

Some characters don’t make the jump from the book to the screen

In making a film adaptation of “It Ends With Us”, it’s unavoidable that some minor characters or events will be left out due to the inherent differences between novels and movies. For instance, Lily’s friend Devin, who plays a role in her first romantic encounter, and her roommate Lucy, who later becomes an employee, were not included in the movie. Similarly, while Lily meets Ryle’s parents in the book, they do not appear at all in the film adaptation.

And though these changes were made, fans are still eager to see the film (which, if they’re worried, stays fairly true to Hoover’s story). For some, seeing the story play out in a new medium—and then getting to debate the merits of each—is only adding to their excitement. On X (formerly Twitter), user @estelleokunlola wrote: “I want to go and watch It Ends With Us with someone that’s as interested in the movie as I am. Bonus points if they’ve read the book so we can agree to disagree on how bad or good the adaptation is.”

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2024-08-09 22:07

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