14 Sneaky Differences Between The Movie “It Ends With Us” And The Original Novel
I and many others waited excitedly for the release of It Ends With Us — the movie adaption of the widely successful book of the same name by author Colleen Hoover. Even if you haven't read the book, you're probably familiar with it thanks to #BookTok.
Movie adaptations of books don't always meet readers' expectations, leading to mixed reviews. This is exactly what happened with It Ends With Us after it hit theaters last weekend. This is mostly because die-hard fans (including myself) noticed several differences between the book and the movie. Here are 14 differences between the It Ends With Us movie and the original novel:
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
1.The movie's opening scene differed from the book's beginning pages.
The book's first few pages begin with Lily sitting on the rooftop of a building she doesn't live in. She just previously buried her late father, and it was in the first few pages when she met Ryle. The opening scene of the movie shows Lily back in her childhood home getting ready for her father's funeral.
2.Lily's eulogy to her father was changed in the movie.
In the book, Lily stands in front of the crowd at her father's funeral and begins to say there isn't anything good to say about him before a family member removes her. In the movie, Lily stands up there with a crumbled blank napkin that was supposed to have five things she loved about her father written on it. After looking down at the blank napkin, not saying anything, Lily rushes out of the funeral.
3.The characters appear older in the movie compared to how they were described in the book.
In the book, Lily is 23, Atlas is two-and-a-half years older, making him in his mid-twenties, and Ryle is 30. The characters are older in the movie because Colleen admitted that she aged them wrongly in the book.
In an interview with Today, Colleen said, "Back when I wrote 'It Ends With Us,' the new adult (genre) was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That's what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn't know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years. There's not a 20-something neurosurgeon."
4.How and when Lily told Ryle about her father abusing her mother differs from the book and the movie.
On the first night they met on the rooftop in the book, Lily's first "naked truth" to Ryle was telling him about her parents' abusive relationship. In the movie, she told him a while after they were already dating.
5.Lily doesn't have a roommate in the movie like she does in the book.
In the novel, Lily has a roommate named Lucy, and in the movie, there isn't any mention of Lucy, and the audience sees Lily by herself in her apartment.
6.The name of Atlas' restaurant in the movie was changed.
When Lily and Atlas were teens, Atlas gave Lily a souvenir magnet (which is not portrayed at all in the movie) that said "Better in Boston," which Atlas eventually named his restaurant Bib's. In the movie, his restaurant's name is Roots, which still references his and Lily's relationship as teens, but for a different reason. The movie shows a flashback scene when a younger Lily was teaching Atlas about the importance of plant roots.
Colleen told E! News that the name change was due to not "having as much time onscreen to develop early conversations."
7.Ryle's proposal in the movie differs from the proposal in the book.
In the movie version, on the day his sister and Marshall gave birth to their daughter, Ryle realizes in the hospital room that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Lily and gets down on one knee — without a ring.
How Ryle and Lily got married in the book is described as them eloping in Vegas on a completely different day from when Allysa and Marshall had their baby girl.
8.In the book, Ryle is the one who explains to Lily how his brother died which is portrayed differently in the movie.
In the movie, Ryle's sister, Allysa, is the one who explains to Lily what happened to her and Ryle's brother Emerson, which is that Ryle accidentally shot and killed his brother when they were young children. Allysa tells Lily after learning that Ryle has abused Lily, but by this point, the couple is separated.
In the book, Ryle is the one who opens up about the family's secret, which he blames as his reason for abusing Lily. After learning this, Lily forgives Ryle, and they work to figure out how Ryle can control his anger.
9.Some domestic violence scenes were portrayed differently in the movie compared to the book.
The domestic violence scenes are some of the toughest parts to read in the popular book. Audiences were curious how these scenes would be portrayed in the movie, and there were definitely fewer in the movie, plus they were portrayed a bit differently.
Justin Baldoni explained the thought process behind this decision in a Deadline interview, saying, "My fear was that if we were to follow the exact skeleton of the book, that early on, seeing Ryle do what he did would make it very hard for us to accept that she stays with him, because there just wasn’t enough time to establish love or establish the romance."
In the novel, when Ryle burns his hand, he pushes Lily down to try to cool off the burn under the sink. In the movie, he shoves Lily seconds after he touches the hot surface.
In another difficult scene in the book, when Ryle pushes Lily down the stairs, Lily kicks Ryle out of the apartment, leaving him to sleep in the hallway all night. In the movie, after Lily falls down the stairs, she wakes up groggy in bed, with Ryle taking care of her and asking her questions to ensure she's coherent.
10.Lily's journal entries to Ellen DeGeneres aren't in the movie at all.
In the book, Lily loves Ellen DeGeneres and often dedicates her journal entries to her. Once Lily and Atlas became friends as teens, the two watched The Ellen DeGeneres Show after school and loved the famous quote, "Just keep swimming," by DeGeneres' character in the movie Finding Nemo.
Not only are Lily's journal entries lightly touched upon, but in the movie, it's barely mentioned how much she truly loved the TV host and how that quote comforted Lily and Atlas when times would get tough.
11.How Lily calls Atlas for help differs from the book and the movie.
In the book, Lily calls Atlas for help after being attacked by Ryle and he comes to pick her up. In the movie, after the traumatic scene where Ryle questions Lily more about Atlas and he pins her to the couch, Lily shows up in the kitchen at Atlas' restaurant and he takes her to the hospital.
12.In the book, Lily and Ryle didn't know they were having a girl until she was born.
In the book, Lily waited until she gave birth to find out her baby's gender. When she found out she had birthed a girl, she decided then and there that she was going to end the cycle of domestic violence by asking for a divorce from Ryle. In the movie, while she still asked for a divorce after giving birth, Lily knew early that she was having a baby girl.
13.Lily's baby's name is the same in both the book and movie but the mention of the baby girl's middle name was omitted in the movie.
In the movie, Lily names her and Ryle's baby girl Emerson in honor of Ryle's late brother. While the name Emerson was accurate in the original storyline, in the movie, Lily doesn't mention Emerson's middle name, which was "Dory" in the book (in honor of Ellen DeGeneres' character in Finding Nemo).
14.The movie ended with what felt like a cliffhanger compared to how the book ended.
In the book, Lily runs into Atlas while on her way to meet Ryle. After dropping off her daughter with Ryle, Lily rushes to find Atlas and tells him her daughter's middle name is "Dory" and the story behind it. She then tells Atlas she is ready to be loved by him again. The book ends (in probably the most romantic way) with Atlas kissing Lily's heart tattoo on her collarbone and telling her, "You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore."
The movie ends with Lily and Atlas casually running into one another, establishing that neither sees anyone romantically. Audiences don't even see the two kiss or hug before the screen goes black.
Did you notice any other differences between the book and the movie? If I missed anything, share it with me in the comments below!
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
