The Last Letter From Your Lover Review: A Stylish Time-Bending Love Story

Release date: July 23, 2021
Running Time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Augustine Frizzell
Written by: Nick Payne and Esta Spalding
Based on the novel by: Jojo Moyes
Cast: Felicity Jones, Callum Turner, Joe Alwyn, Nabhaan Rizwan and Shailene Woodley

A pair of interwoven stories set in the present and past, The Last Letter From Your Lover follows Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones), an ambitious journalist who discovers a trove of secret love letters from 1965 and becomes determined to solve the mystery of the forbidden affair at their center. As she uncovers the story behind Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley), the wife of a wealthy industrialist, and Anthony O’Hare (Callum Turner) the financial journalist assigned to cover him, a love story of Ellie’s own begins to unfold with the assistance of an earnest and endearing archivist (Nabhaan Rizwan) who helps her track down more letters. 

The Last Letter From Your Lover has an interwoven timeline that is confusing at first, but quickly becomes easier to follow as you get to know these characters.  And you will want to get to know them thanks to this fantastic cast.  The film is headlined by some all stars in each story, and they all add to a wonderful love story experience.  Felicity Jones is fun if a bit guarded as Ellie, who is researching this story while trying to keep her emotions in check.  And the strangely rule following but likeable archivist (played by Nabhaan Rizwan) was also a lot of fun.  Seeing these two work together to solve this mystery provided much of the heart and a lot of humor of the film.  But what provided the fire was Shailene Woodley and Callum Turner, as two unhappy people that find each other for a summer romance.  Turner is great as his standard bad boy-ish character with a heart of gold, and Woodley is enjoyable as an unhappy wife to an industrialist.  And although Alwyn's character isn't likeable, he does a good job playing this unlikeable husband.

But what helps them fall in love is the amazing location.  This romance takes place in the French Riviera, with beautiful scenery to help propel this romance forward.  There are some striking sunsets and water scenes as the two become closer.  But I also loved Woodley's outfits; the crew must have had a lot of fun dressing her because each outfit was out of a magazine.  It had a distinct Jackie O feeling to it with fashionable attire and a perfect accompanying hat.  And throughout this all is some fantastic, time appropriate music that plays to set the stage.  It helps to make these romance scenes feel older and yet gives them an upbeat feel.

However, the story of this film is a little slow.  The film itself has plenty going on but the romance goes through some starts and stops as the story progresses.  Don't worry though, you'll still enjoy your time with these individuals despite the measured pace.  And additionally, Felicity Jones's character is enjoyable at the start, but has a strange character change partway through.  It seemed to come abruptly and just didn't quite fit.  It does then feed into the ending, but I could have gone without it.  And although the love story itself is an enjoyable one, it also feels like the problems explored in it are not that extreme.  The pair had a privileged life and despite the challenges faced in their lives, they still seemed to be capable of finding each other.  The story is a messy life story, but one where the characters seem like they could have ended up in a happier state much earlier. 

The Last Letter From Your Love has two intriguing storylines, some amazing fashion and style, and some wonderful views of the French Riviera to fall in love with. 

Watch it.

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The Last Letter From Your Lover is available on Netflix on July 23, 2021.