It Ends With Us Marketing Isn’t Telling You The Truth Of The Movie

During the press tours, unless it was specifically brought up by interviewers, Blake Lively rarely brings up the domestic violence in the film, a prominent theme in It Ends With Us. Additionally, she promotes this as a cute and funny movie perfect for a girl’s night out.

The final complaint is that she spends more of her time promoting herself and her brands rather than the film or talking about the serious themes of the film. 

When questioned about why, Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) says that she promotes It Ends With Us this way because she doesn’t want her character to be defined solely by domestic violence. This is somewhat understandable, however, it still poses a huge problem.

Trying to promote the movie as a rom-com could lead to many triggering moments for those who have been victims of domestic violence in the past and don’t realize what they are getting into when watching it. 

Her husband’s involvement in the film is also a tad awkward. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Blake Lively are always an adorable couple, but their flirting and jokes come across as a touch out of place considering It Ends With Us’ main plot line. 

This issue isn’t something people should necessarily blame solely on Blake Lively. While the way she handled the promotion of It Ends With Us wasn’t the best, it also goes to show how domestic violence is seen and how the media still doesn’t know how to handle it all of the time.

The same issue happened with the original book It Ends With Us as well. It is often portrayed as a romance novel, and there was even almost a coloring book promoting the floral and more romantic elements of the story, overlooking the harsh themes of the story. 

That’s not to say the film is bad. While critics aren’t huge fans of It Ends With Us, with an average score of 57 percent, fans are enjoying the movie immensely with a 93 percent average score. If it continues to grow in popularity, it may end up being just as popular as the book it is based on. 

The cheery angle of the It Ends With Us marketing isn’t the only problem surrounding the film. Those watching the cast have noted that the director and actor playing Ryle Kincaid, Justin Baldoni (Jane the Virgin), and the rest of the crew seem exceptionally separated.

They don’t take pictures together, promote the movie in vastly different ways, and hardly mention each other during interviews. 

Interestingly, Baldoni is also the only cast member in It Ends With Us who seems willing to promote the story as being about domestic violence.

During an interview with CBS News, Baldoni said, “I want men to go to the theater and in some ways see a version of themselves… if they see bits of themselves in Ryle, have a chance to step back and say, ‘You know what, I don’t want to blow up my life. I don’t want to hurt the person I love the most.’”

It Ends With Us itself does a fantastic job of discussing some of the more and less obvious signs of domestic abuse.

It does have the potential to help people who may not realize that they’re the victims of abuse as the behaviors are often seen as a sign of love and affection, or help those who feel like there is no way to leave. However, while the film handles domestic abuse well, the marketing has managed to fall flat for many. 

Blake Lively’s promotion is doing a good job of getting people into the theater to watch It Ends With Us, as people are much more likely to see a romantic comedy than a film about domestic violence.

But doing it this way, bringing people in to watch under false assumptions is in poor taste, as it cheapens the point of the story to bring in more money.

Source: CBS News