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First, I am a huge Colleen Hoover fan. I have read five of her novels, starting with the book that originated in this movie. She has never disappointed me as a writer. She is witty and funny, and her love stories, however unreal they may be at times, do manage to drag me to this make-believe world and make me think everything is possible.
The book and the movie talk about a girl, Lilly Bloom, played by Blake Lively, who meets this too-good-to-be-true man, Ryle Kincaid, played by my fave feminist actor, Justin Baldoni (please watch his TED Talk: Why I am Done Being Man Enough). Lilly is still working towards a career shift; Ryle is a neurosurgeon in training, hot as hell, very experienced and emotionally shut down. Slowly but surely, they start a relationship only to realize that he isn't as perfect as she thought. At the same time, we are catapulted back to when Lilly was a teenage girl and met this homeless kid, Atlas Corrigan, played by underwhelming Brandon Sklenar. Lilly and Atlas have both experience with domestic violence. Lilly's father is physically and emotionally abusive to her mother, and Atlas' mom and stepfather are horrible to him to the point that they kicked him out of the house. As Lilly begins to date Ryle and falls more and more in love with him, Atlas returns to her life.
The movie tried to be as faithful to the book as possible; I can see it. Lilly's tattoo made the cut, which is a huge focus point in the novel; the flower shop and the best friend are accurate. I think it still missed the spirit of the movie because it centred more on Ryle and Lilly as opposed to Lilly and Atlas, possibly because Baldoni is a way better actor and good-looking than Sklenar (my humble opinion). I wish I had seen more of that relationship; I don't think the audience was able to understand how Lilly and Atla's contribution to each other's lives changed the course of their lives, how connected they always were, and that even though they weren't together, they still long for each other.
Lilly's wardrobe is distracting, too. Honestly, the wardrobe is more of Blake Lively's than Lilly's. Lilly's fashion choices are never mentioned in the book, at least nothing memorable I can recall, and in this movie, they are almost like a whole new character by themselves. Also, Lilly is not rich. She is an entrepreneur, putting her entire career and inheritance on the line for her shop. She can't afford those clothes. Be real, people!
At the end of the day, they manage to relay the last message, to break the cycle of violence, to choose better for your kids, to rewrite the story in the way you wish your parents would have done for you. You will always have people in your corner willing to lend a hand. There is no valid excuse to condone domestic violence. After all, the last 15 minutes saved the movie. You can also catch author Colleen Hoover as an extra at Allysa's birthday party. I give it a "theatre-worthy" rating.
PS. I am also super annoyed at the PR nightmare behind the movie for creative differences between Blake Lively (actress) and Justin Baldoni (actor and director), which takes the focus away from an important issue to tackle in today's society.
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