Hot take, I think Blake Lively isn’t all that great and that she’s used in too many things unnecessarily. So when I heard she was going to be in this I eye-rolled pretty aggressively. So this book has grown very popular in the last few years and it was bound to become a movie eventually and it’s one of the few movies I’ve gone to watch going in completely blind.
Let me start off by saying it is heavy and at times unpleasant to watch, domestic abuse is a big part of the story. So there were a lot of moments you did watch and felt uncomfortable, keep in mind I am not saying this as a negative thing, that was the point of the story. Besides the 2 leads, the characters had great chemistry with one another and there was a good balance of flashbacks and contemporary moments. The story and the movie flowed well to keep you interested in it the whole time.
There was no real chemistry between the leads, they seemed to just be acting their parts (This could also be an effect of the rift between Lively and Baldoni). While I did not read the book, I was informed a lot of elements were taken out, but that is the norm for a lot of adaptations of novels. Also, I felt that they could’ve had more of Allyssa and Marshall as they were a bright spot for such a heavy film.
It wasn’t a bad movie by all means, but it is uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch but that is also the point, it’s about domestic abuse. I wouldn’t call it a must-watch, but it’s worth giving it a watch.
I give this one a 6.5/10.
Good:
- Character interactions
- Realistic heavy feel of domestic abuse
- Paced well
Bad:
- No chemistry between main characters
- Unpleasant for the most part
The Nitro Bro 
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