Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the impact of Colleen Hoover’s ‘It Ends With Us’ on the romantic subgenre in Young Adult fiction; it has prompted an ordeal of literary criticism on modern romances as well as the sanctity and intellect of literature in itself. Set to hit theatres this August, the novel’s movie adaptation seems to have skipped a few generations from the book’s young adult conflict into a full-blown midlife crisis.
However, despite the controversial casting fans remain eager in hopes of a well-adapted screenplay revolving around the main characters: Lily, Ryle and Atlas.
Lily Bloom
A florist whose name leaves no stone unturned to make you aware of her profession, Lily is an aspiring career woman trying to take a leap of faith to make it big in Boston having left behind the small fictional town of Plethora. Her’s is a story of love, survival, and domestic abuse; the greatest disservice to its integrity is the latter’s obscurity due to the former romance tag. While readers may remain confused between the push and pull of the subpar attempts at commingling these themes, what remains constant is their support for the protagonist: a young girl with emotional baggage and an abusive family history trying to save herself from a fate similar to her mother’s.
Ryle Kincaid
The antagonist whose entrapping introduction coupled with his and Lily’s fast-burn romance tells one that their relationship is bound to burn up and die, sooner or later. He is a workaholic and neurosurgeon with immeasurable success granted to his name by age thirty. Painted in contrasting shades of love-bombing and indifference, the character has Lily entangled in the age-old web of dilemmas: to stay or to leave and alas, it’s his anger issues and narcissism that set the stage for the climax and Lily’s ultimate decision for a divorce.
Atlas Corrigan
He is Lily’s childhood sweetheart from her hometown who she encounters again amid a rough patch with Ryle. Having returned from the military, Atlas is no longer the weak, helpless boy she remembers, but a self-made man on a mission to protect those he loves, namely Lily. While shared trauma and baking hacks star at the centre of their love story, Hoover’s run-of-the-mill penmanship deprives this quintessential good guy of its required sincerity. Yet, by the esteemed accomplishment of not being an abuser, he is commemorated as a romantic ideal by many who settle for the promise of a happily ever after.
A similar settlement can be seen by fans who plan to go into movie theatres with hopes for the adaptation due to the likes of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni despite mixed responses following the trailer’s release.
