Trigger Warning: This article includes mentions of domestic violence
Justin Baldoni who directed and starred in the film adaptation of It Ends With Us alongside Blake Lively, hopes for the film to “touch people’s hearts” more than earning numbers at the box office. The film deals with a sensitive but prevalent issue of abusive relationships which Blake Lively’s character Lily Bloom struggles to get out of. However, [spoiler alert] she manages to break free from the vicious cycle.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Baldoni said that his biggest priority through this film is to create an impact and make it resonate with anyone “who goes to see this movie with her friends and doesn’t go back home.” According to him this metric to measure a film’s success often goes unnoticed.
Baldoni explained that if the film’s a commercial success that’s well and good. But for both him and his company Wayfarer Studios, it’s about “that one person who’s in a similar situation to Lily.” If anyone in the audience who has been a victim of domestic violence is inspired by Lily’s choice, that would be their biggest win! That mission is “a double bottom line,” he added.
The Jane The Virgin actor also revealed that he thought about his daughter Maiya Grace throughout the film’s shoot. “When my daughter was born and I held her for the first time, it felt like my birth,” he said. “And then my son was born, and it feels like every day I’m presented a mirror.”
Lily also becomes a new mom at the end which becomes her source for strength and courage to leave her abusive husband and lead a better life with her daughter. The film based on the popular eponymous novel by Colleen Hoover was adapted by Christy Hall and stars Baldoni, Lively, Isabela Ferrer, Brandon Sklenar, Alex Neustaedter, Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj.
It Ends With Us is in theaters now.
Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, or NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same
