IT ENDS WITH US

Note: This Movie recap was submitted by Shorif

The movie begins with Lily Bloom (played by Blake Lively) returning to her hometown of Plethora, Maine, following the death of her father, Andrew (played by Kevin McKidd). Lily returns to comfort her mother, Jenny (played by Amy Morton). At Andrew’s funeral, Lily is supposed to give a speech about her father, but she can’t think of anything to say, so she just walks away.

Lily later moves to Boston. One day, she goes up to the roof of her building and sees a man named Ryle Kincaid (played by Justin Baldoni) who is frustrated and throws a chair off the roof. When he notices Lily sitting by the edge, he gets nervous and goes over to her. They start talking, and Ryle tells her he’s a brain surgeon, while Lily shares that she’s opening a flower shop, joking about how funny it is that a woman named Lily Blossom Bloom is becoming a florist. As they open up more, Ryle bluntly tells Lily that he wants to sleep with her. Lily then shares that she lost her virginity to a homeless boy in high school, but clarifies that he was actually just “displaced.” She also says she’s not into casual flings because she’s “the girl you bring home to meet your mom.” Ryle almost kisses her, but then he gets a work call. They part ways, thinking they probably won’t see each other again.

In a flashback to the mid-2000s, a young Lily (played by Isabela Ferrer) is getting ready for school. She looks out her window and sees Atlas Corrigan (played by Alex Neustaedter), a homeless boy, searching through the trash for food. Later that day, Lily buys some food for Atlas and leaves it outside the building where he’s staying. The next day, Atlas thanks her, and Lily invites him to her house while her parents are away so he can take a shower, wash his clothes, and wear some of her father’s clothes. As they spend time together watching TV, Lily and Atlas start to feel a mutual attraction.

Months later, in the present, Lily prepares to start renovating the flower shop after receiving the keys. A woman named Allysa (played by Jenny Slate) walks in after noticing the “help wanted” sign. Lily and Allysa quickly become friends, and Lily hires her right away. Together, they fix up the shop and eventually open it for business.

As the flower shop opens, Allysa invites her husband, Marshall (played by Hasan Minhaj), and her brother, who turns out to be Ryle. When Ryle and Lily see each other, it’s a bit awkward, but Ryle starts trying to win her over. He sends her flowers and messages, and when they hang out with Allysa and Marshall, Ryle offers to walk Lily home. She seems a bit annoyed, but he tells her he’ll leave her alone if she gives him just one kiss. They end up sharing a long, passionate kiss before Lily decides to walk home on her own.

In another flashback, Lily is working in her garden with Atlas. He mentions that he overheard Lily’s father, Andrew, abusing her mother, Jenny, the night before. Lily admits that it happens often. Feeling concerned, Atlas gently holds her in his arms for comfort.

Allysa and Marshall host a party that both Lily and Ryle attend. Afterward, Lily and Ryle go back to his apartment and start making out, but Lily reminds him that she won’t have sex with him because they’re not in a relationship. Ryle respects her decision, changes into his sleep clothes, and gives Lily something to wear for the night. The next morning, Allysa sees them together at the apartment, and they explain that they didn’t have sex. Ryle then officially asks Lily to start dating him. Lily agrees, and after a few more dates, she begins to genuinely fall for Ryle.

In another flashback, young Lily and Atlas are on the school bus when they hear some mean girls making rude comments about Atlas being homeless and smelly, and joking that Lily might catch a disease from him. To shut them up, Lily has Atlas stand up, and she kisses him in front of everyone. The other kids on the bus cheer, and Lily flips off the mean girl. Later that afternoon at her house, Atlas asks Lily if she kissed him because she wanted to or just to spite the girls. Lily tells him she kissed him because she wanted to, and they start kissing passionately. But when Lily hears her father, Andrew, coming home, she quickly tells Atlas to leave.

Lily later brings Ryle to a restaurant called Roof to meet her mother, Jenny. To her surprise, the waiter and owner of the restaurant is Atlas (played by Brandon Sklenar). Atlas takes a moment to chat privately with Lily so they can catch up. When Lily mentions she’s with Ryle, Atlas pretends he’s dating a woman named Cassie. Despite the pretense, Lily is just glad to see her old friend again.

Lily and Ryle go out with Allysa and Marshall, who announce they’re expecting a baby. During the celebration, Allysa mentions that she and Ryle had an older brother named Emerson who passed away when they were children.

While making a frittata for Lily in their apartment, Ryle asks about a heart tattoo on her shoulder. Lily explains it was just a silly thing she did in high school. The frittata starts to burn, and Ryle, in a panic, tries to get it out of the oven. As Lily tries to help him with an oven mitt, Ryle accidentally touches the hot pan and reacts in pain, elbowing Lily in the eye. In her distress, Lily knocks Ryle into some broken glass, causing him to cut his hand. They both apologize profusely, but Ryle is particularly remorseful.

Lily and Ryle go to meet Allysa and Marshall at Roof, and Lily is worried because she has a black eye. She tries to cover it up with makeup, but it’s still noticeable. Although they manage to explain it away as an accident to Allysa and Marshall, Atlas notices the black eye and confronts Lily in the bathroom. Lily defends Ryle, saying it was unintentional. When they leave, they find Ryle outside, and Atlas and Ryle get into a heated argument. Atlas ends up yelling at Ryle, telling him to leave his restaurant.

In the final flashback, Lily and Atlas are seen after having sex for the first time. Suddenly, Lily’s father, Andrew, is heard banging on the door until he breaks it open. He violently attacks Atlas, leaving him badly hurt and hospitalized. This incident marks the last time Lily saw Atlas before the present day.

Atlas visits Lily’s flower shop to apologize for the fight. He mentions that he tried to come by earlier but hesitated when he saw Ryle was already there. He leaves Lily his phone number on a card, letting her know she can reach out if she needs anything.

Lily later confides in Ryle about how her father used to abuse her mother, which makes Ryle feel even more guilty about the kitchen incident. After they reaffirm their love for each other, they make love.

Allysa gives birth to a girl, and Ryle proposes to Lily in the hospital room, which she happily accepts. They have a quick wedding, but Jenny is upset when she learns she wasn’t invited. While on the phone with Jenny, Lily hears a noise and discovers that Ryle has thrown a lamp to the ground after finding the card with Atlas’s number on it. Despite Lily’s assurance that nothing is happening with Atlas, Ryle becomes enraged and storms out. When Lily tries to stop him, he grabs her arm and throws her down the stairs, leaving her unconscious. When Lily wakes up with a gash on her head, Ryle tells her she slipped, and she appears to have no memory of the incident.

Later, Allysa shows Lily that her flower shop is featured in a magazine as one of the top ten new businesses in Boston, with the shop ranked number seven and Atlas’s restaurant at number one. At home, Ryle brings the magazine to Lily and makes her read the section about Atlas. In his interview, Atlas mentions that Roof was inspired by his love for Lily, although he doesn’t name her. He also talks about a carving he made in a tree as a tribute to her, which explains the tattoo on Lily’s shoulder that Ryle had asked about.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Lily is horrified when Ryle lays her down on the couch and tries to rape her. He even bites the tattoo on her shoulder, prompting Lily to fight him off and flee the apartment.

Lily goes to Roof, and Atlas immediately notices she is upset and offers to help. He takes her to the hospital, where Lily discovers she is pregnant. Later, Atlas brings her to his apartment. Lily realizes that Atlas isn’t seeing another woman as he had previously mentioned. They share a meal together, and Atlas opens up to Lily, revealing that when she found him at the house across the street, he was actually planning to kill himself. Seeing Lily through her bedroom window made him reconsider, and he felt that she saved his life when she brought him food. After sharing this, Atlas drives Lily back home and tells her to reach out to him when she’s ready to love again.

Lily later confides in Allysa about what happened, and Allysa is deeply hurt by her brother’s actions. Lily asks Allysa about Emerson, and she explains that when they were children, Ryle and Emerson were playing with a gun they found in their father’s room. They didn’t realize it was loaded, and Ryle accidentally shot and killed Emerson when he was only six. This traumatic event has had a lasting impact on Ryle, making it hard for him to open up to others. Allysa tells Lily that, while she hopes Lily will eventually forgive Ryle, she would cut ties with Lily if she chose to stay in the relationship.

Lily moves into a new house to prepare for her daughter’s arrival, with Jenny helping her set things up and build a crib. Ryle comes by, offering to help but also pleading with Lily to come back to his apartment. Lily gives birth with Ryle present and decides to name their daughter Emmy in honor of Emerson, which deeply affects Ryle. Afterward, Lily tells Ryle she wants a divorce. Despite his pleas for her to reconsider, Lily explains that she’s doing this for Emmy, so she won’t have to witness Ryle’s anger. Ryle reluctantly agrees and leaves the room. Lily then tells Emmy that the cycle of abuse ends with them, saying, “It ends with us.” Later, Lily and Jenny take Emmy to visit Andrew’s grave.

Over the years, Lily successfully runs her flower shop and raises Emmy. During a trip into town, she unexpectedly runs into Atlas. After they confirm that they’re both single, it’s suggested that they might continue their relationship.