Why is Blake Lively’s movie rated PG-13?

Content Warning: This article contains discussions of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“It Ends With Us” by Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, based on the 2016 best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. It became a box office sensation When it hits theaters in August 2024. It is also He was A source of some serious drama Behind the scenes that seems to have gotten out of hand (and led to some lawsuits), but I’ll come back to that later. For starters, what is “It Ends With Us” about? Is it suitable for young audiences? (No, it’s not; I’ll also come back to that soon.)

The story centers on Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), an aptly named young woman who dreams of opening a flower shop in Boston and meets irascible neurosurgeon Rael Kincaid (Baldoni, who also directed the film) one night while hanging out at home. Random deck in the capital of Massachusetts. Although Lily is initially hesitant, she and Ryle hit it off well and begin a romantic relationship, but the whole thing goes downhill after Ryle has an unfortunate cooking accident the night before a very important surgery. From there, Lily must decide if she wants to stay with Ryle… or if she wants to reconnect with her childhood love Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), who now runs a bustling restaurant in Boston. So why wouldn’t the movie be fun for the whole family? A whole bunch of reasons, actually!

Let’s look at some of the many, a lot Reasons why “It Ends With Us” is not a good watch for younger viewers. If you’re familiar with the source material — or anything Colleen Hoover has written at all — you know that her novels deal with decidedly adult themes, and It Ends With Us certainly fits that mold.

There is basic profanity — not the “f” word but some “curses,” “holes” and “s” words sprinkled throughout the film — but its depictions of both sex and domestic violence are the things that keep the film firmly at its PG-13 rating. Ryle and Lily’s relationship was initially very steamy. Ryle basically begs Lily to sleep with him, and although she initially objects, she eventually shows up to Ryle’s sister Alyssa’s (Jenny Slate) birthday party in an incredibly provocative outfit meant to catch Ryle’s attention, and their sexual relationship more or less begins. . Immediately. We also see young Lily, played by newcomer Isabella Ferrer, sleeping with Atlas as a teenager (‘Colony’ star Alex Neustedter), and the following scene is particularly horrific… because Lily’s abusive father Andrew (Kevin McKidd) finds them sleeping together and hitting on Atlas so badly that the boy ends up in the hospital.

As an adult, Lily realizes she’s part of a cycle of abuse after Ryle loses his temper and hits her for the first time (he takes a hot pan off the stove without a glove and burns his hand; after Lily laughs impulsively and Ryle slaps her across the face), and the film’s dark turn about halfway through contributes to Definitely in his category. To be honest, the sex scenes in “It Ends With Us” are pretty tame compared to the depiction of domestic violence.

The first two times Ryle physically abuses Lily in It Ends With Us, the camera plays a trick on both the audience and, by extension, Lily herself. After Rayle hits Lily when she laughs at him burning his hand, it initially seems like a complete accident, and later, Rayle explodes again over Atlas and Lily’s past relationship. When Rayle and Lily (unwittingly) go to Atlas’s restaurant Root, Rayle realizes that Atlas and Lily know each other and physically attacks Atlas; Later, when Ryle found a piece of paper with Atlas’s phone number tucked inside Lily’s phone case, the two argued and she headed to the stairs of his apartment building to leave. Although it appears that Lily fell down the stairs alone – based on Ryle’s profuse apologies and the fact that he is quick to take care of her after she gets hurt – the truth later emerges, that Ryle… About me To hurt her either way.

Rael’s worst attack on Lily was again on Atlas. When Root appears in a magazine and the interview mentions that the restaurant honors a girl Atlas once loved, clearly meant for Lily, Ryle forces himself on Lily and nearly sexually assaults her before she runs away; When she ran straight to Atlas, he took her to the hospital. There Lily realizes she is pregnant, a fact that causes her to put serious distance between herself and Ryle. Although he pleads for her back, Lily stands firm throughout the pregnancy, and in the immediate aftermath of their daughter’s birth, tells Raelle she wants a divorce. And here comes the title: The cycle of abuse ends with Lily and her daughter, Emerson.

Even though “it ends with us” Help save the box office in 2024The truth is we probably are It won’t be getting a sequel, especially when you consider that the two stars are currently embroiled in multiple lawsuits against each other. (In brief, Blake Lively filed a civil complaint in California against Justin Baldoni, alleging that he sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment during the filming of “It Ends With Us,” at which point Baldoni sued The New York Times over its coverage of Baldoni has been sued in federal court as of this writing, and nothing has been settled.)

There is a written sequel to “It Ends with Us”; In 2022, Colleen Hoover published It Starts with Us, which splits its focus between Lily and Atlas as they attempt to move forward in the relationship despite near-constant obstacles. Despite his history of violence, Lily attempts to be a co-sponsor of Raelle, an endeavor that does not already go well and is further complicated by the presence of Atlas in Lily’s life. Meanwhile, Atlas, who has dealt with an abusive mother, discovers that his younger brother Josh has run away from home and takes the boy in. If “It Starts With Us” is made into a movie, It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Lively herself would take over as director …But based on the fact that Baldoni and Lively will likely only appear in the same spot in the courtroom, we can probably rule out an It Starts With Us movie adaptation.

“It Ends With Us” is rated PG-13 and is available to stream on Netflix now.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources and support at Their website.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network website Or call the RAINN National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).