Every change made between the book and movie in It Ends With Us.

Warning: This post deals with domestic violence and could be triggering for some readers.

The highly anticipated film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends with Us has finally made its cinematic debut. 

Starring Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, the movie brings to life the bestselling novel that resonated with readers worldwide. In the new movie, Lively's Lily is joined by Justin Baldoni as the neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan, Lily's first love who has become a renowned chef.

Watch the trailer for the movie. Post continues after video.

Despite initial concerns from devoted fans about the book-to-screen transition, Lively has been vocal about the film's commitment to honouring Hoover's original vision. The actress and producer is confident the movie delivers the emotional impact that readers demand from the high-stakes adaption.

"If you read the book first, I really genuinely believe — and I don't normally promise this — but I believe that you'll love this movie," Lively said at the romance book festival, Book Bonanza. 

"And then if you see the movie first and then you read the book, you'll love the book. And I think that's the goal of it, and I hope that we can accomplish that."

So how do the book and movie compare? They're pretty similar but we've rounded up the biggest changes to expect. And if you're wondering how the movie holds up, read our review here.

How does the film address all the Ellen DeGeneres quirks in the book? 

Fans of Colleen Hoover's novel might be surprised by how the movie tackles the Ellen-phant in the room: the fact that controversial daytime host Ellen DeGeneres plays a significant role in the protagonist's life in the book. 

I can not explain how often letters and references to Ellen feature in the book.

Same as in the novel, in the film Young Lily and Atlas develop a romantic connection while watching Ellen's show and the movie Finding Nemo after school. DeGeneres even becomes such an important figure to Lily that she addresses her diary entries 'Dear Ellen' as a tribute to the comedian.

Ellen Degeneres hosts The Ellen Degeneres Show in 2015. Image: Getty. 

In the novel, Lily often repeats Ellen's famous line "just keep swimming" from Finding Nemo during challenging moments. Lily even gives her daughter the middle name 'Dory' after Ellen's character, which is omitted in the film adaption. 

Many of these quirks are played down in the film adaption. The movie does feature a Finding Nemo poster on the wall of Lily's teenage bedroom. A subtle nod to The Ellen DeGeneres Show is given in one flashback scene, as the show plays in the background just after a young Lily is seen penning a 'Dear Ellen' letter in a quick shot. 

Their ages are older in the film.

The adaptation of It Ends with Us to the big screen sparked early controversy among devoted fans of the novel for the apparent aging of the main characters, particularly Lily Bloom.

In Hoover's original book, Lily is portrayed as a 23-year-old recent college graduate. For the film adaptation, the characters' exact ages are not explicitly stated, but it's clear that the story has been adjusted to feature slightly older protagonists. 

Hoover told Today that she had regretted writing the characters so young originally, which was a decision driven by the new adult genre booming at the time. 

"As an author, we make mistakes," she said. “There’s no 28-year-old neurosurgeons, you know? You go to school for 15 years. And so to make corrections to what I messed up in the book, we aged the characters up somewhat." 

Blake Lively attends the London premiere of It Ends With Us. Image: Getty. 

Lily's eulogy to her father was different.

In the film, Lily attempts to deliver her abusive father's eulogy to summarise what she loved about him but ends up leaving the funeral. In the book, Lily stands at the podium in deliberate silence for several minutes before a family member forcibly removes her from the stage.

In the movie adaptation, Lily's napkin eulogy for her father serves as a recurring motif, with the 'five things' Lily loves about her father scrawled on a napkin with blank spaces. The film culminates in a scene where she places the napkin on her father's grave.

However, the napkin is not featured in the novel.

One of the most disturbing scenes plays out differently in the book. 

One of the biggest changes between the book and the movie, is how Ryle's violent moments play out.

For instance, in the movie Ryle pushes Lily after he burns his hand, but the book offers a different series of events. 

In the novel, Lily laughing at Ryle's accident leads to her being pushed, as he shouts "Goddammit, Lily. It’s not funny. This hand is my f**king career." There remains little doubt over whether this was an 'accident' in the book, which is how it is excused by Ryle in the film. 

Lily is also more aware of what's going on with Ryle in the book. After he pushes her down the stairs, she kicks Ryle out of their apartment, forcing him to sleep in the hallway. But the movie hangs on Lily's warning early on that she's "an unreliable narrator."

From chaotic camera shots to editing, some of Ryle's more violent moments are played off as purposefully ambiguous. It's not until Ryle attempts to rape Lily that all of her memories start to crystalise and she pieces together Ryle's pattern of abuse. 

In the book, both the reader and Lily are aware of the full extent of Ryle's actions from the first instance of violence. 

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom. Image: Sony. 

A bunch of characters have their scenes cut or they're cut out altogether. 

In the film adaptation, several characters from It Ends With Us are either minimised or entirely omitted. Lily's mother is a significant presence in the book as she follows her daughter to Boston, but is reduced to just a few scenes in the movie, which is disappointing given how much her experience with Lily's abusive father still shapes the family. 

The film also excludes Ryle's mother, who appears briefly in the novel, as well as other minor characters in Lily's world: her roommate Lucy, who later works at Lily's flower shop, and her colleague Devin, who accompanies Lily to Allysa's birthday party. 

Atlas' restaurant coworkers Brad, Darin, and Jimmy, who share a memorable poker scene with Lily in the book, are absent from the screen adaptation.

The name of Atlas' restaurant was changed.

In the film adaptation of the novel, superfans would have clocked that Atlas' restaurant has changed. While the book calls it 'Bib's' (meaning 'Better in Boston'), the movie opts for the name 'Root'.

Hoover later explained that the change was necessary due to time constraints in the film, which couldn't include all the book's details, such as Atlas gifting Lily a 'Better in Boston' magnet. Whereas, the new name 'Root' stems from a childhood conversation between the characters in the movie. 

Overall, the film features a lot less Atlas than the book — instead focusing on Lily's perspective. 

The ending is less open-ended in the book. 

The film adaptation of It Ends With Us ends on more of a cliffhanger around Lily and Atlas' relationship compared to the book. While the novel provides a definitive conclusion in its epilogue, the movie opts for a more open-ended finale. 

In the book, Lily encounters Atlas years later, revealing her daughter's middle name is 'Dory' in honour of their shared love of Finding Nemo. She tells him she's "ready" to be loved by him again and the final scene ends with Atlas kissing Lily's heart-shaped tattoo and telling her, "You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore."

Cute? Yes. Extremely corny? Also yes. 

In contrast, the film concludes with Lily and Atlas reuniting and discovering they're both single, leaving their future hopeful... but rather ambiguous. As they draw closer like they might kiss, the screen fades to black. 

I guess we'll just have to hope and pray for an It Starts With Us sequel so we can find out what happens next. Or, you can just read the book. Whatever floats your boat! 

Atlas and Blake's story is left more ambiguous. Image: Sony.

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

Feature image: Sony