Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones) works for the London Chronicle and is tasked with writing an article about the longest serving editor of the paper. Whilst searching through the archives with Rory McCallan (Nabhaan Rizwan) they discover love letters from 1965. Captivated by the depth of feeling contained therein she searches for the couple who shared them. Interwoven with this story is the tale of those lovers. Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley) is holidaying abroad with her cold and aloof husband where she meets journalist Anthony O’Hare (Callum Turner) whom she develops an affection for. 

Although the two plot lines from the present day and the 1960’s are woven together it is the period setting that is given more time to breathe and has the most impact. The film belongs to Shailene Woodley who perfectly plays a trophy wife trapped in a loveless marriage that she is too scared to leave. The period setting itself is beautifully captured on film and the costumes are fabulous. Woodley’s hats should be given special mention on this front. Callum Turner plays his part as well as the man who writes such devoted letters to the love of his life. 

In the present day Felicity Jones has to work a little harder to get the main plot point across to us. As someone burned by a relationship that has fallen apart she is no longer interested in love. That is until she learns from the past that love is the most powerful emotion and worth fighting for. A nice touch throughout Ellie’s story is the juxtaposition of the written letters of the 1960’s and text messages of the present day. 

As an unabashed romantic I have to admit to absolutely loving this film. Knowing virtually nothing about it prior to walking into the cinema I found myself wrapped up in the plot, the period setting and the feeling that love is timeless.