The Reel Review
A flower shop owner with a traumatic childhood finds herself in a moral dilemma when the man she deeply loves reveals a violent streak reminiscent of her own father’s volatile relationship with her mother during her youth. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni star in this romantic drama about the cycle of domestic violence directed by Baldoni and based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling 2016 romance novel.
Set to a gorgeous, montage-heavy, cinematic backdrop of Boston and Maine and some exceptionally stylish costuming, Lively, in one of her most serious roles to date, channels the complex emotions and complex circumstances around domestic violence. Initially Lily ignores the red flags with the physical abuse seeming more like a confusing fever dream. The strong supporting cast includes Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar (1923, Mapplethorpe) as Lily’s now grown-up teenage first love and in particular, Jenny Slate (Marcel the Shell with the Shoes On, I Want You Back) as Lily’s best friend and eventual sister-in-law. Slate’s big family reveal in the third act is a powerful lump-in-your-throat moment.
The story is a bit too long and some of the plot points are a bit romance novel corny as Baldoni, staying true to the novel, initially seems to pull the punches on the violence in his PG-13 rated drama. But it all comes together in the final act when Lily briefly relives all of those chilling moments through a clearer perspective, sensitively illustrating why some women stay, as others eventually leave abusive relationships.
REEL FACTS
• Since starring as Rafael Solano in the romantic dramedy series Jane the Virgin, Justin Baldoni has directed 2019’s Five Feet Apart and 2020’s Clouds.
• Jenny Slate edged out Daisy Edgar-Jones, Florence Pugh, Lili Reinhart, Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan for the role of Allysa.
• The film includes the Taylor Swift song “My Tears Ricochet.” Swift and Lively are best friends.
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