The Last Letter from Your Lover

The Last Letter from Your Lover follows two women across different eras as they navigate the difficult waters of love: Jennifer (Shailene Woodley), a socialite in the 1960s, who discovers her own whirlwind affair through a series of secret letters after an accident leaves her with amnesia, and Ellie (Felicity Jones), a journalist in the present day who stumbles upon the letters and tries to piece together the story of this affair for a feature. Their lives now inextricably linked through their connections to these letters, the two women meet to try and bring some closure to Jennifer’s story, starting a new chapter in Ellie’s love life in the process. 

The cross-generational narrative is a very interesting concept, and while more could have been done to really explore the premise, it nevertheless makes for a fairly engaging experience.  A lot of fun was clearly had with the different time periods in much of the film’s production – including script, cinematography, set design and costuming – with the 60s contrasting effectively against the present in a way that helps compensate for the relatively simple story. 

The acting also helps to breathe life into what could otherwise have been a somewhat uninspiring flick. While there is a lot of thematic overlap between the narrative arcs of the protagonists, the different romantic chemistries that Jennifer and Ellie experience with their beaus help make the parallel love stories feel more distinct from one another other. 

The poetic and classically romantic trysts Jennifer and her lover Anthony (Callum Turner) share in the French Riviera are juxtaposed against the awkward and clumsy advances that Ellie and her colleague Rory (Nabhaan Rizwan) stumble into making on each other, and these contrasting dynamics go a long way to inject levity and charm. This contrast, bolstered by the great acting, also enhances both plots when they converge in the back end of the film.

The Last Letter from Your Lover is a pretty fun romantic romp, not necessarily breaking any new cinematic ground but telling a straightforward romantic story with a lot of polish and style. It’s unlikely to blow any minds, but it’s definitely an uncomplicated and sincere good time for anyone in the mood.

Umar Ali

The Last Letter from Your Lover is released nationwide on 6^th August 2021.

Watch the trailer for The Last Letter from Your Lover here: