Lily’s inner monologue is missing in It Ends With Us, but the “important” way the film handles Blake Lively’s character is even more rewarding
Small spoilers follow for It ends with us. You can see the film in cinemas now.
When it comes to Book adaptations When I read a novel told in the first person, I am always curious to see how a character’s inner monologue is brought to the screen. So when It ends with us was publishedI was wondering how Lily’s thoughts would translate to the film since they play such an important role in the novel. So I decided to ask Blake Lively about it and she told me how “important” the film is about her character and her inner monologue.
Before It ends with us’ Premiere at the Cinema program 2024I interviewed Blake Lively about their adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestseller. I asked how they translated Lily’s inner monologue to the screen, since they can’t use first person in the same way they can in a book. In response, the actress told me:
Colleen wrote a book that offers such a clear emotional journey that I completely understood why Lily made the choices she made. I understood why she loved the people she loved, why she was hurt by the people (who hurt her), and all the choices she made. And it felt very, very, very personal. And you know, I was lucky to have a lot of authorship of the narrative.
Her understanding of the character was clear on screen and made the film all the more rewarding and well-rounded. Even though we aren’t constantly in Lily’s head and hearing every single one of her inner thoughts, Lively shows her emotions and reacts in a way that makes them clear. And when you add in her fashion, set design and music, this film feels like a first-person perspective in many ways, as the gossip Girl Alum said:
I think this film feels like a first-person perspective. I don’t think you feel like you’re an objective person watching Lily. I feel like you’re very close to Lily on this journey and you feel what she’s feeling as she’s feeling it. You feel why she justifies certain things, why she makes good decisions, why she makes bad decisions, why she makes gray decisions. And her victories feel like your victories when she has those moments. And her pain feels like your pain. And that was really, really important to us in making the film and telling the story.
When I was watching this film, I wondered how we would understand Lily’s thoughts, especially when it came to the moments of domestic violence in the film. An important part of the story is reading about her thoughts that she has about what Ryle did to her and why she doesn’t leave immediately. It adds to a better understanding of what Lily is going through and the toxic situation that she has tragically put herself in.
It also makes her strength more than clear, because we fully understand how much courage it took for her to break out of her pattern.
However, as Lively said, all of this can be seen in other ways on screen, and we are totally with Lily on this journey, as she said:
I think you can sense that every choice we made, whether it was the music, the color, or the narrative, was about letting the reader share in Lily’s emotions and her journey.
It’s so satisfying to see all of this culminate in a great film that tells Lily’s story in a way that gives the audience a clear and intimate understanding of her. Critics praise Lively’s performance – although they Cast as Lily, who gets backlash – and I know that I was deeply moved by the way Lily’s story is told in the film.
In total, It ends with us The film is a faithful adaptation of the novel and does 100% justice to Lily’s inner monologue, covering the protagonist’s story in such a worthwhile and important way. If you want to see this project for yourself, you can see it in theaters now.
