A woman (Blake Lively) moves to Boston to open a flower shop and “meets cute” a sexy neurosurgeon (Justin Baldoni, who also directed). Their relationship develops sweetly until his true nature rises to the scary surface. Based on the Colleen Hoover novel, this examination of a woman’s response to abuse is nuanced and compelling. Lively beautifully captures the conflicting emotions, while Baldoni defly embodies his character’s charm and conflict. As director, he creates an exciting romance with many intimate moments with Jenny Slate providing some welcome comic relief. The movie starts as a charming romcom, but then the more intense elements begin to surface. The narrative comes to a complex conclusion that’s more edifying than moving and I actually thought a better ending would have been when she utters the title line. 
(3.5 / 5)
