The Last Letter from Your Lover is a passionate romantic drama based on a novel by the same
name by Jojo Moyes.
It is the story of Jennifer and Anthony who have their love put to test countless times
by societally imposed tribulations and ill-fated time.
The story is told in two different timelines and goes back and forth from the 1960s to
present-day London.
First, in 1965, we see Jennifer Sterling and her husband, Larry Sterling, arriving home
to their big mansion in London.
Upon their arrival, the staff greets them and welcomes Jennifer back from the hospital
where she had been admitted after her accident.
As the housekeeper guides the lady in, Lawrence steps inside his private study and takes out
a letter from his pocket which he then hides inside his drawer.
After the accident, of which Jennifer remembers very little, she lost her memories and was
left with a nasty scar on her face.
She remains timid and quiet around her husband, who is now practically a stranger to her.
In the present day, we meet Ellie who wakes up with her one-night stand and immediately
rushes to leave.
Ellie is a commitment-phobe and will not even go as far as exchanging numbers with the guys
she sleeps around with.
She tells him that she is coming out of a rather serious relationship and isn’t interested
in anything more right now.
Then, Ellie leaves for her office, The London Chronicles, where she works as a Feature journalist.
There, she is handed a task for which she needs to access the paper’s archives.
Ellie gets to the archives department, where she meets Rory, the person in-charge, who
refuses to let her enter without a prior online appointment.
Annoyed by him, she leaves there to return with an appointment.
Back in 1965, Jennifer struggles to settle back into her married life after the accident
and can’t help but feel distant from her husband.
She meets with a friend of hers to get some answers about her life because she can’t
figure out how to feel about anything.
Her friend tells her that Jennifer was out running errands when she met with the accident.
She was smart, jovial and had a perfect life with a rich husband who adored her.
They never had any children because Larry’s business kept him away but she is assured
that she was happy.
But then why doesn’t Jennifer feel like it?
Later that night at a dinner party, Larry keeps a keen eye on Jennifer who feels completely
out of place in the midst of her own friends.
She recalls snippets of her old memories but nothing concrete to put her mind to ease.
Ellie returns to the archives department and Rory finally lets her inside after a series
of annoying demands.
As Ellie gets to work, she finds a letter in between the pages of a book.
This letter appears to be similar to the one Larry had hidden in his drawers all those
years ago.
Wonder how it ended up in the archives of The London Chronicles.
As she reads the letter, Ellie finds out that it was written by someone named Boot and addressed
to someone named J.S.
In the letter, the writer expresses his earnest love for his lover and asks her to take a
leap of faith with him.
He mentions that he will be waiting for her at the Marylebone station on Friday, 7:15
pm, and wishes that she will run away with him to New York, sparing her husband a half-lived
life, a marriage of convenience, and herself, a life without love.
He requests her to seize their true and infinite love for each other and leave behind the lie
of life that she has been living.
His words move Ellie and she shows the letter to Rory who seems scandalized by the contents
of it.
He plans to keep it catalogued in the archives when Ellie suggests that they should try and
track down the person who sent it.
Back at her house, Jennifer is going through her library when an old letter falls out from
one of the books.
As she reads it, Jennifer sees that the letter is addressed to her and is written by a man
who signed off as “B”.
In the letter, the man had asked her to meet him after they had fought and parted the time
before that.
Jennifer has no memory of this person or the instance he spoke of, but finding the letter
makes her feel a rush of excitement and she goes in search of more such letters.
She finds another letter in a box, under her bed.
The letter was sent by someone named “Boot” and he had written to her about the time they
had spent together one summer on the French Riviera.
He also mentioned a man named Felipe to whom he drunkenly bared his heart whenever he missed
Jennifer.
While Jennifer searches in her diaries for any link to this man, the movie takes us back
6 months before Jennifer lost her memories.
Jennifer arrives at a hotel with her husband to spend a few weeks of summer on the French
Riviera.
As she makes plans with her husband for lunch, he informs her that he has a meeting with
a journalist then and that she would have to settle for dinner with him instead.
Jennifer feels disappointed and hurt by his casual disregard for their vacation together,
and the fact that he’d rather spend it working.
It is clear that their marriage may already be in peril since Jennifer appears discontent.
Back to her present, Jennifer reads the name of a bar ‘Alberto’s’ in Boot’s letter,
and her search for him leads her there.
She thinks if she can get in touch with Felipe, then maybe he will lead her to the mysterious
Boot.
Upon her arrival, Jennifer asks the lady of the establishment about Felipe and is informed
that the man had lost his life in an accident several months ago.
Back in France, Jennifer meets Anthony O’Hare, a rather arrogant journalist, who has come
there to interview her rich and famous husband.
While she tries to sing praises of her husband, the journalist does not seem too impressed
by either of them.
Later that night, they all gather for dinner and drinks.
Any time that she tries to contribute to the conversation, Larry starts talking over her
and this doesn’t go unnoticed by Anthony.
Jennifer tries to appear calm and collected but her discomfort is evident.
After the dinner, Jennifer overhears Anthony talking to a woman about how terrible of a
time he had with the entitled men and their women.
Jennifer interrupts him indignantly, and tells him that the next time he finds himself in
the presence of such bores, he can simply leave.
This embarrasses Anthony and he tries to blame his behaviour on the alcohol and exhaustion,
but Jennifer pays no mind to his explanations and leaves.
The next morning, while she is leaving, Jennifer runs into Anthony who is still at their hotel.
He offers her an apology letter which she makes him read out loud in front of her friend.
Anthony shamefacedly reads the letter and apologizes to Jennifer, asking her and her
husband out for lunch to make up for his behavior.
She finds this amusing and tells him that she will think about it.
Jennifer and Larry meet Anthony for lunch and as they get to talking, Jennifer finds
out that Anthony is divorced and has one son from his marriage.
Just then, Larry gets called away for work, leaving Jennifer and Anthony alone.
Jennifer makes polite conversation with him and finds out that Anthony does not drink.
He must have really found last night unbearable to have gotten drunk.
Anthony comments that he finds armed conflict a less daunting prospect than that dinner.
Jennifer laughs and tells him that he reminds her of a character named William Boot, from
the book Scoop.
The waiter informs Jennifer that Larry won’t be returning for lunch, and she feels disappointed.
She acts like it’s no news to her that her husband would suddenly become unavailable,
though.
She invites Anthony to her boat and the two spend the afternoon talking and getting to
know each other.
Anthony finds out that Jennifer met Larry in New York where they dated and then married.
She then travelled to London with him.
Jennifer learns that Anthony had been unfaithful to his wife once, and while this does take
her by surprise, Jennifer holds her judgment.
She wonders if the man has ever loved anyone and he answers that he loves his son.
He poses the same question to her and this takes Jennifer aback.
She reminds him that she is married and makes it known that she and Larry are perfectly
content with each other.
Anthony does not seem to believe it but says nothing in return.
While at work, Ellie gets a call from Rory, who informs her that he has found another
letter in the archives.
This excites her and she rushes to read it.
In this letter, the mysterious Boot, who we now know as Anthony, expresses his misery
as he misses Jennifer while she is with her husband and not him.
The passionate words move Ellie to her core and she decides that she has to know the full
story of how this love affair ended.
Rory offers to help her fill up whatever forms she needs to access the old archives where
they might find some more letters, and Ellie feels appreciative of his help.
In the next scene, we see how Jennifer and Anthony slowly start spending time together.
When Larry is called away for business and leaves Jennifer alone, she seeks companionship
in Anthony’s company.
She writes him a letter, calling him ‘Boot’ for the very first time, and asks him if he
would like to keep her company while they’re both stranded in Riviera.
Anthony writes back, accepting her invitation, and this marks the beginning of their story.
As the days go by, Anthony and Jennifer start exchanging more and more letters and spending
time in each other’s company.
They soon form a relationship that goes beyond just friendship.
It gives way to feelings, which had first sparked inside Jennifer the very first day
that she dropped Anthony off at his hotel, after their afternoon at the sea.
Ellie receives a text from Rory, informing her that he got them permission to dig into
the old archives.
Excited, she goes ahead and emails her boss about the letters she found and that she’s
thinking about writing a story on a 1965 illicit love affair.
Back in the past, Jennifer arrives at the hotel where Anthony is staying.
She appears a little upset and uneasy as she visits him in his room and informs him that
Larry will soon be returning, and she will be leaving for London the next day.
Something unspoken passes between them and Anthony asks her what she would rather do.
In an electric moment of passion, Jennifer reaches to kiss the man but he suddenly backs
away.
Embarrassed by this, she rushes out of there without giving Anthony a chance to explain.
Jennifer returns to London with her husband but her days are no longer the same.
She thinks about Anthony every waking moment until one day a letter arrives for her.
Jennifer reads the letter from Anthony which speaks of his desire to want her as well.
He only backed away the last time because he didn’t want to make her a dishonest woman
but since then, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her.
He suggests that if they are to embark on this journey, they should do it together and
as one, and asks her to meet him at Postman’s Park on Friday.
Jennifer doesn’t waste a single second, conflicted about what step to take and goes
to meet him.
They see each other, and with a kiss, begin their love affair.
Anthony takes Jennifer to his favorite bar where he introduces her to his friend Felipe.
The two drink and dance and spend romantic time in each other’s company.
Back in the present, Ellie and Rory arrive at the old archive room to look for more letters
for Ellie’s story.
As Rory helps Ellie gather the stuff, a moment passes between them.
But they brush it away and get to work.
As the days go by, Jennifer and Anthony start exchanging more and more letters.
Jennifer opens up a box, of which Larry remains unaware, where she receives all of Anthony’s
correspondence.
Their love grows and they spend every stolen moment in each other’s company.
After one such rendezvous, as Jennifer leaves for home, Anthony complains that he can’t
bear to see her go.
He stops her and tells her that he’s been offered a job in New York which he’s planning
to take and wants her to run away with him.
The prospect scares Jennifer and she refuses to leave her whole life to run away with him.
What if one day he grows tired of her?
What will she do then?
Anthony assures her that he will never get bored of her and that they can be happy with
each other, but nothing helps the doubts in Jennifer’s mind.
Anthony professes his love to her and pleads with her to leave with him, because in his
opinion, she’s wasting her life away with the man she’s married to.
Jennifer feels overwhelmed by his demand and simply leaves from there.
In the days they remain apart, Jennifer writes to Anthony, trying to make him understand
her reason to not give up her life to run away with him.
She fears that if it does not work out between them then it won’t just be her family and
friends that she will lose, but also her peace of mind.
Anthony responds to her, saying that he has not known love like this before, and he is
certain he will never again.
And with that, he has decided to take up the job in New York, and informs her that he will
be waiting for her at the station at a specified time.
He leaves the choice to her.
Jennifer remains plagued with doubts and confusion until the very last moment.
One day, as she waits for Larry for dinner, the maid informs her that he will, as usual,
be running late.
It is at this moment that Jennifer realizes that Anthony was right and that she will never
be happy in this life with Larry.
She leaves her wedding ring on the table and packs her bags at once.
In a race against time, while Anthony waits for Jennifer at the station, she rushes to
make it to him.
Unable to get a taxi in the harsh rain, she seeks help from Felipe who agrees to drive
her to the station.
But as fate would have it, while driving, an unfortunate accident stops Jennifer from
making it to Anthony, who, despite waiting for her till the very last minute, has to
leave there heartbroken and alone.
While Ellie and Rory busy themselves with research, someone keeps on calling Rory.
He lets it ring without answering, even though Ellie asks him to take the call if he has
to.
He finally finds a letter, and reads out loud yet another profession of love from Boot to
his dearest J . Ellie strongly feels that they should find out which box these letters
were sent to and check if there are more.
Rory agrees with her.
His phone rings again and this time, Ellie reaches for it and answers it.
It is then that she finds out that his friends have been calling him incessantly because
it’s Rory’s birthday.
Surprised, Ellie asks him why he never said anything about it, but Rory admits that he
would rather celebrate by doing research with her.
Ellie feels flattered by his words but they both leave for the party.
At the birthday party, the two get talking some more, and Ellie tells him about her complicated
relationship and break-up with her boyfriend of 8 years.
She was in a long on-and-off relationship with him which eventually ended because Ellie
didn’t want kids with him.
And since then, she has strictly been a one-night stand kind of gal.
As the night goes on, the two get drunk and dance together.
They both feel the undeniable chemistry and attraction between them.
In the end, Ellie and Rory drunkenly stumble into his apartment and spend a night together.
In the morning, Ellie quietly sneaks out of there because she has confusing feelings about
this.
She heads straight to the post office to inquire about the box where the letters were delivered,
while ignoring texts from Rory, asking her where she went.
But when she is unable to find the address of the box owner, Ellie decides to send a
letter to that box.
She pens down a message, addressing it to Jenny, and tells her about the letters she
has found, in hopes that she would get a response.
And just as she wished, Ellie gets a response from Jennifer, who writes that she does not
wish to talk about those letters and would like the matter resolved.
Though the response is cold and not what Ellie was expecting, she is still relieved to have
finally found Jennifer’s address.
Ellie rushes to the mentioned address in the letter and finds Jennifer’s home.
She rings the bell and talks to her through the intercom.
Jennifer, who recognizes Ellie as the journalist, refuses to talk more about her private matters
with Mr. O’Hare.
Ellie quickly notes down the name of the man Jennifer mentions.
Though she fails to return the letters to Jennifer, she is happy to have found out the
man’s name.
Back in 1965, after finding the letters from a man named Boot, Jennifer, post her memory
loss, arrives at the post office to inquire about her box.
The woman at the counter recognizes her and this gives Jennifer some hope of getting her
answers.
She asks the lady for a spare key, but the lady informs her that box 13 is no longer
in service and was discontinued at her husband’s request.
This information makes Jennifer mad and she asks the lady to reopen the box immediately.
She then returns home and orders her housemaid to give her the keys to Larry’s study.
Jennifer searches Larry’s study and finds the letter he had been hiding from her this
whole time.
The letter in which Anthony had asked her to run away with him to New York.
Furious and feeling betrayed, Jennifer confronts Larry when he gets home.
He tells her that the police found this letter on her the day she met with the accident.
It dawns on Jennifer that Larry had been aware of her affair this whole time and demands
the truth from him about the man who wrote her those letters.
Larry tells her that her lover, Anthony, whom she was trying to elope with that day, was
in the car with her and passed away in the accident.
He claims that the only reason why he never told her about it was that he was trying to
protect her from bearing the guilt of her lover’s death.
This revelation stuns Jennifer to her very core.
In the present day, Ellie finds out that Mr. O’Hare was a journalist at The London Chronicles
back in 1965.
She also finds out that he was the one who wrote the article on Jennifer’s husband.
In the meantime, she keeps receiving texts from Rory, whom she has been avoiding ever
since that night.
Rory is disappointed to know that Ellie is no better than the other girls who have ghosted
him.
Ellie fails to explain to him her reasons for distancing herself.
She emails one of her contacts to link her to Anthony O’Hare and excitedly waits for
the response.
One morning, Ellie receives a call from Anthony O’Hare.
She meets him at his house and tells him about how she stumbled upon his story and how his
words and his love for Jennifer moved her.
She wonders if they ever made it to New York that night and Anthony sadly informs her that
Jennifer never arrived at the station.
But that was not the end of their story because they did meet again.
The movie then takes us back to 1969, London.
It is Christmas time in the city and we see Anthony exiting a building.
As he starts walking, he comes across Jennifer and is left stunned.
Jennifer, on the other hand, keeps walking as if he is nothing but a stranger, but the
very next second, she is compelled to turn around.
The memories hit her right there on the pavement and Jennifer recalls her love affair with
Anthony.
She faints and wakes up in Anthony's arms.
The two reunite and Jennifer accompanies him to his hotel.
As they get talking, Anthony finds out that Jennifer had, in fact, come after him that
night but had met with an accident on the way, which erased her memories of them.
She tells him that Larry convinced her that she had lost him, but Anthony assures her
that she did not.
The two kiss and reconnect with each other after their long separation.
As the night comes to an end, the two are forced to part ways despite having strong
feelings of love for each other.
Jennifer tells him about her 2-year-old daughter whom she can’t leave just like that.
Anthony wants her to ask him to wait for her.
He would wait for her as long as he has to but Jennifer can’t ask something like that
of him.
She tells him she loves him, but she has to leave.
Back in the present, Anthony tells Ellie that that was the last time he ever saw or talked
to Jennifer.
She feels disheartened to know the tragic end of their story, and wants to help reunite
them.
She shows Anthony the letters she has and he asks her to have them returned to Jennifer.
Ellie returns to Jennifer’s address and bumps into her right outside the building.
When Jennifer finds out that Ellie had met with Anthony earlier, she invites her over.
While talking, Jennifer tells Ellie about what had happened after she left Anthony that
night.
She recalls that she was in shambles as her heart was broken beyond repair.
Upon reaching home, she confronted Larry about his lies because he had allowed her to believe
that she had killed the man she loved.
The betrayal forced her to reconsider everything she had believed in for the past 4 years.
In her anger, that finally made her see clearly, she made it known to her husband that he was
not to touch her ever again, and the only reason she was staying with him was for their
daughter.
This made Larry furious beyond reason, and he threatened Jennifer that the courts won’t
ever side with her because of her past infidelity.
Scared for her and her daughter’s life, Jennifer left Larry the very next day.
She took her daughter to Anthony’s hotel but found that he had checked out the night
before.
She then went to his office, but there, she was informed that Anthony had handed in his
notice and resigned that same morning.
Jennifer felt lost at sea that day.
She had come for him, to run away with him, and now she had lost her one chance at happiness
again.
She passed on her letters to the employees at the office, asking them to return them
to Anthony, and left.
That is how those letters ended up in the archives of The London Chronicles.
In the present, Jennifer tells Ellie that she eventually left her husband when she was
sure that the courts would side with her decision.
But she has never contacted Anthony since then.
Ellie wants to reunite the two and offers her help to do so, but Jennifer does not want
to poke at old wounds.
She dismisses the notion of meeting Anthony again.
Dejected, Ellie returns to work and finishes her piece, for which she receives praise from
her editor.
But something still bothers her.
Ellie leaves from there and calls up Rory.
She apologizes to him for leaving that day without saying goodbye and for ignoring his
messages for so long.
She understands if he doesn’t want to speak to her ever again, but Ellie hopes that he
does because she doesn’t want to be afraid of trying anymore.
She tells him that she would love to see him again.
It takes Rory a beat to digest her words.
When he finds out that she’s standing outside his apartment, he runs to her and kisses her
in the rain.
Ellie tells him that she found both Anthony and Jennifer and this excites Rory.
Over a cup of coffee, she fills him in on her recent discoveries, and Rory urges Ellie
to tell Anthony that Jennifer had, after all, come after him that day.
Ellie wants to do that but she wants to respect their wish of not wanting to see each other
again.
Rory reminds her that if that were true, then they wouldn't have kept the box open this
entire time.
That makes a lot of sense to Ellie and propels her to head over to Anthony’s place.
There, she tells him all about Jennifer’s side of the story.
Anthony is greatly affected by this, and he finally pens down another letter for Jennifer.
In the letter, Anthony muses about how their lives have once again crossed paths.
He talks to her about his love for her that he could never truly put to rest, despite
the passage of time, and asks to meet her at the same park they had met in all those
years ago.
When Jennifer receives the letter in her old box, it sends her back to the years she had
loved and lost Anthony.
Ellie and Rory accompany Anthony to the park where he waits for Jennifer.
For a while, it seems like Jennifer won’t come after all.
But as fate would finally have it, she arrives just in time.
Anthony is taken away by the mere sight of her.
The two lovers embrace each other at last, and Anthony asks Jennifer to close her eyes
and imagine that all those years ago, she had made it to the station where he had been
waiting for her, and that she did board the train with him, and they had gotten their
chance at happiness with each other, as they will now.