Suffering from post traumatic stress after World War 1, A.A. Milne retreats to the country with his wife, son and nanny in tow. Whilst there he creates one of the most loved children’s stories of all time, Winnie the Pooh.

A beautifully crafted film that I wholeheartedly recommend with two warnings. Firstly, despite being about the creation of Winnie the Pooh and a PG rated film, this is not going to engage younger children. Secondly, if you loved the stories as a child it might leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth to find out how they came to be.

Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) is haunted by the war and the loud noises of London bring back too many vivid and haunting memories for him. Whilst struggling to write an anti-war book, he is abandoned by both his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie) and their nanny Olive (Kelly MacDonald) for reasons polar opposite of each other. Daphne is painted as an incredibly selfish figure, frustrated by rural life and her husband not writing, she simply abandons her child (whom she had “to cheer him up and it nearly killed her”) and heads back to her social life in London. Olive on the other hand, is Christopher Robin’s (Will Tilston) real mother in all but name and only leaves because her own mother is gravely ill. This abandonment forces father and son together and a bond forms playing in the woods with the boys stuffed toys.

The story that unfolds is as touching and joyful as it is sad and painful. There are moments of happiness in those woods, just as there are moments of pain and sadness in the events that bring Milne to them and that unfold after the book’s success.

The acting is all round exceptional. Gleeson, who has been in a string of good films over the last few years is perfectly restrained in showing his characters emotional distress and quiet love for his son. Margot Robbie plays the emotionally repressed mother well, whilst MacDonald displays warmth as Christopher Robin’s nanny. But perhaps the real find is Will Tilston, a 9-year-old, first time actor who manages to be so natural as Milne’s muse. A child actor who you never see acting.

A beautifully told story that will bring a tear to the eye.