While working on a not-so-very-exciting assignment to gather information on the recently-deceased longest-serving female editor at the paper, Ellie Haworth, a journalist working for The London Chronicle, accidentally finds the scoop of her career when she stumbles upon an old love letter. But what initially seemed like nothing more than an interesting story soon becomes an engrossing mystery that takes almost all of Ellie's attention.
The letter, from former Chronicle journalist Anthony O'Hare to pampered socialite Jennifer Stirling, leads Ellie down a rabbit hole into the pair's torrid affair in 1965. The problem with the relationship was the fact that Jennifer was married. And, in fact, her husband was the person who'd introduced her to Anthony in the first place. Meanwhile, Ellie, who'd been aggressively avoiding getting involved in a relationship herself, discovers that she's developed feelings for Rory, the archivist who's been helping her to find more letters.
The Last Letter from Your Lover is a two-for-one. It's an old-fashioned love drama and a contemporary romantic comedy. Unfortunately, only one of the love stories is truly sympathetic. Ellie and Rory's chemistry is compelling but Jennifer's hypocritical self-righteousness makes it impossible to root for her. Anytime someone begins a sentence with, "I know I betrayed you, but..." they're about to say too much. Both Anthony and her husband, Larry, (and especially, Felipe) deserved better. "Lawrence" does seem to be a bit of a jerk but that's no excuse for Jennifer's adultery. Just divorce the guy. The movie never makes a convincing case for why Lawrence wants to salvage the marriage after discovering his wife's infidelity. Why he didn't immediately throw her stuff on the lawn and change the locks, I'll never know.
At the end of the day, The Last Letter from Your Lover does provide one entertaining contemporary romance and one striking, albeit extremely shady, period piece. Good romances are in short supply these days so if you have Netflix you could do worse than checking out Last Letter.
Available to stream on Netflix on July 23.
Ok, there is a sentence in this review I don’t hear very often, if at all - “It's an old-fashioned love drama and a contemporary romantic comedy.” I also love this statement - “Anytime someone begins a sentence with, "I know I betrayed you, but..." they're about to say too much.” Too true! And then this - “Why he didn't immediately throw her stuff on the lawn and change the locks, I'll never know.” - love it! Lol! I missed seeing this but your review definitely makes me want to see it now!
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