The Last Letter from Your Lover release date: cast, plot and trailer
Everything you need to know about the new Jojo Moyes adaptation – starring Felicity Jones and Shailene Woodley.
Jojo Moyes' novels have sold a combined total of almost 40 million copies worldwide – and so it's no surprise that her books have inspired big-screen adaptations in recent years.
Back in 2016, Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin starred in Me Before You, the first of her books to be made into a film, and now another of her novels has been given the movie treatment with some more big-name stars playing leading roles.
Shailene Woodley and Felicity Jones lead the cast for The Last Letter From Your Lover, a romantic drama focusing on two love affairs in two different timelines – linked by a curious and recently heartbroken journalist.
The film is directed by Augustine Frizzell, with Moyes acting as an executive producer – read on for everything you need to know.
The Last Letter from Your Lover release date
The film arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 6th August 2021.
It has already debuted in several other territories – including the US, where it was released on Netflix on Friday 23rd July.
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The Last Letter from Your Lover cast
The cast is led by Rogue One and The Theory of Everything star Felicity Jones, who plays journalist Ellie in the modern-day timeline.
Meanwhile, Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and Callum Turner (The Capture) star as Jennifer and Anthony, star-crossed lovers in the 1960s whose story Ellie is looking into.
The Favourite's Joe Alwyn also stars in the '60s timeline as Jennifer's husband Lawrence, while other actors to appear in the present-day story include Industry's Nabhaan Rizwan as archivist and Ellie's love interest Rory and Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa in a small role as her colleague Nick.
The older versions of Jennifer and Anthony are played by Diana Kent (Belgravia) and Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) respectively.
The Last Letter from your Lover plot: is it different from the book?
The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Jojo Moyes and is described by Studio Canal as "a passionate, dual-narrative love story set in the French Riviera and London, during the 1960s and the present day."
Just like the book, the film revolves around Ellie, a journalist who begins to look into an illicit love affair from the 1960s after finding a trove of love letters that had been sent between two star-crossed lovers.
Those lovers are Jennifer Stirling, a wealthy socialite, and Anthony O'Hare, a financial journalist who is writing an article about her industrialist husband, Laurence.
In the film, Ellie slowly pieces together Jennifer and Anthony's love story while beginning a romance of her own – but the nature of that romance is different from the one featured in the novel.
In the book, she is having an affair with a married man named John, but he is replaced in the film by a new character called Rory – a sweet-natured colleague who helps Ellie with her investigation.
The film's full synopsis reads, "It tells the tale of elegant Jennifer Stirling and how her life becomes inextricably interwoven with that of Ellie Haworth, in life-changing events that connect them across almost half a century.
"Jennifer lives a luxurious life with her wealthy and powerful husband, Laurence. When an unfortunate event wipes her memory, she struggles to find her identity until she stumbles upon wistful love letters hidden in her home.
"The passionate notes unravel a star-crossed love affair she had with foreign correspondent Anthony O’Hare (Callum Turner) and ultimately lead her to discover her true self.
"Jennifer’s story becomes intertwined with that of Ellie, a whip-smart journalist in contemporary London, who discovers and becomes enthralled by these love letters from a bygone era.
"As she begins to piece them together with the help of archivist Rory (Nabhaan Rizwan), she sets off on a journey that will entangle the two women’s lives forever."
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The Last Letter from Your Lover trailer
If you fancy getting a taste for the film before planning a trip to the pictures, then you can check out the trailer below – which teases both the modern-day romance between Ellie and Rory and the '60s affair between Jennifer and Anthony:
The Last Letter from Your Lover will arrive in UK cinemas on Friday 6th August 2021. If you need something to watch tonight, have a look at our TV Guide or check out our Movies hub for all the latest news.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
