Books vs. Movies
In this podcast we set out to answer the age old question: is the book really always better than the movie?
Books vs. Movies
Ep. 52 The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes vs. The Last Letter From Your Lover (2021)
Ever wonder if passionate love can withstand decades of separation? "The Last Letter from Your Lover" takes us on a journey through time where handwritten correspondence becomes the bridge between star-crossed lovers.
In 1960s London, Jennifer Stirling wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of her life or wealthy husband. When she discovers hidden love letters signed only with the letter "B," she unravels a past filled with forbidden passion and missed opportunities. These letters reveal plans to leave her husband—plans derailed by a tragic accident. Fast forward to present day, where journalist Ellie Haworth stumbles upon these same letters while researching in newspaper archives. As she becomes captivated by this mysterious romance, Ellie's own complicated love life begins to mirror Jennifer's in unexpected ways.
The novel and film adaptation take surprisingly different approaches to this dual-timeline romance. While Jojo Moyes' book unfolds chronologically with rich detail about Jennifer's recovery and detective work, the 2021 film starring Shailene Woodley and Felicity Jones interweaves the timelines from the beginning. The book delves deeper into the societal constraints of being a woman in the 1960s, illustrating why Jennifer remained trapped in her marriage, while adding fascinating subplots completely absent from the film—including corporate scandal and deliberate deception that kept the lovers apart.
Both versions culminate in the poignant possibility of reunion after forty years apart, proving that true connection transcends time. But which telling resonates more deeply? Listen as I break down the significant changes between page and screen, examine how each medium portrays these parallel love stories, and determine whether this is a rare case where the adaptation stands alongside its source material or another example of how books capture emotional complexity that films simply cannot match.
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Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set out to answer the age-old question is the book really always better than the movie? I'm Yuvia, an actress and book lover based out of New York City, and today I will be discussing the Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes and its 2021 adaptation the Last Letter from your Lover, starring Shailene Woodley, callum Turner, joe Alwyn and Felicity Jones. Hi everyone, I am so exhausted because I just got off set from working on a short film and it was great, but it's a very emotionally taxing role and I really felt it. So I'm exhausted, but I'm excited to be here and I really want to make sure that I have this episode out and ready to go by the day it comes out. So that is what I'm doing I'm here, I'm excited, I'm ready and, yeah, let's get started. So the Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes was first published in 2011.
Speaker 1:The book starts off in 1960. Jennifer Sterling wakes up from the hospital and she's not really sure what she's doing there. She can't remember anything. Little by little, she's told small details, like she was in a car accident. She doesn't remember anyone, not even her husband, and, to be honest, she doesn't really know much about herself. She starts trying to go back to her normal life, but she's having a difficult time about it. That's until she finds a letter. This letter is extremely passionate and is asking her to leave her husband, but she has no idea who sent it, other than it's signed by the letter B.
Speaker 1:We skip forward to 2003 where our protagonist of 2003, journalist Ellie Hayworth, discovers a mysterious love letter amongst the newspaper archives. She reads it and she becomes obsessed with finding out who wrote this letter and she hopes she can find. She can write a compelling story that'll save her journalistic career as it's slowly unraveling. She's also drawn by the letters and the way they're written and the passion clearly behind them as she's trying to figure out what's going on in her own love life. As Ellie digs deeper into the romance of these letters, she starts discovering things about herself and her own romance.
Speaker 1:The 2021 adaptation the Last Letter from your Lover follows two stories one set in the past, one set in the present. One storyline follows a journalist determined to discover the secret of a forbidden love affair detailed in some letters written in the 1960s. So it sounds like it's a pretty faithful adaptation, but it's actually quite different. There's quite a few differences and, yeah, this is not as faithful as it may seem, so let's get into it. And I do want to say, because this is very different, there will be spoilers on both, but most of the spoilers will be for the book. So, if you're interested in reading this book, read it first and then come back and listen to this episode, and I look forward to welcoming you back whenever you're ready to listen to this. But, yes, most of the spoilers will be coming for the book. I mean, there are spoilers for both, but the main spoilers are coming from the book, because there are just some things that I have to bring up that don't happen in the film, but they happen in the book.
Speaker 1:So the first big thing that's majorly different about the two is that the book is told in chronological order. We start off in the 1960s. We're told the story of Jennifer Sterling, and she starts off waking up in the hospital and then it jumps. Well, it's chronological and then it takes place all in the 60s. We do jump back and forth between Jennifer waking up in the hospital and getting snatches of what led her into being in this car accident and then back to her trying to figure out the details of her past. And yes, but it's told in chronological order in the sense that, like part one of the book is all takes place in the 1960s and then part two of the book, all except for one chapter when a bombshell is revealed. We travel quickly back to 1960 to find out the details of this bombshell and then we continue in chronological order. So that's what I mean by chronological order, because the film jumps back and forth consistently between, like, we get a glimpse of the 1960s before we jump back to the present day and then we jump back to the 60s.
Speaker 1:And obviously the main reason the film does that is because you can get away with I've said this before you can get away with introducing a character late in the game. And I will say, based on a lot of reviews I've seen on this book, even with this book it might be introduced a little bit too late, because a lot of people are just not very interested in Ellie's story and they don't really like Ellie, but they really, really into Jennifer's story and they want to know all of Jennifer's story. So it's possible to do it in books, but the payoff might still not be the same, but in film you definitely, definitely, definitely have to introduce us, since it's a visual medium. You have to introduce us to all the characters that you want us to root for from the get-go. So, yes, you can start off in 1960 and then fast forward, time forward, jump forward in time why can I not speak? Jump forward in time to introduce, like the new characters. But you still have to do that relatively early on, like you can't spend the first half of the film just introducing us to Jennifer and her story and then switch midway to Ellie's story, the way it does in the book, because we've spent this whole entire journey in the film getting to know Jennifer and her circumstances and it would just be way too jarring to introduce us to a whole new storyline film storyline. So, yeah, it's important to introduce the people you want us to root for right from the beginning. And I'm sure we've all seen those films in which, like a character is introduced out of nowhere and you're like, why do I care what you have to say? I have no idea who you are and I'm not talking about like someone who's there for like a one line gag, you know, like a character who delivers major piece of news, but anyway. So that is why I believe that happens in the film and that's I mean, I'm pretty sure that's why the film is told that way. But yes, the film is told strictly through time jumps, while the book is relatively in chronological order.
Speaker 1:So Ellie Hayworth, played by Felicity Jones in the film, we find out that she has recently broken up with her boyfriend and this was like a very major breakup. So now she's scared of intimacy and she's scared of being in a committed relationship. So we find out that she is. She has one night stands and even then, like if whoever she has a one night stand with wakes up the next day in her room, she's very awkward about the whole situation. She's kind of like oh, you're still here, great, can you leave now? Like, just leave now. So she's, she's doing that, she's having a lot of one-night stands and she's very, very scared of being in a committed relationship once again.
Speaker 1:But in the book she's not. She is in a long-term relationship with a married man. So not ideal by any means, but she's, you know, she's under the illusion that he's going to leave his wife for her and that they're going to love a very happy life together as soon as he does that, but he just needs to do it first. But she's ready and she's ready to move in with him tomorrow if he asked her to. So she is in a I don't want to say a committed relationship, because you can't really be committed if you're the only person committed to it. But she has been in a long-term relationship with this one man, like to the point where she's not seeing other people and her friends encourage her to see other people. You know her friends are like this man's never going to leave you. So if you insist on continuing to see him, I don't approve of the fact that you're continuing to see him. But if you insist on continuing to see this man, like, at least continue seeing other people and have fun, because this man is sleeping with you and his wife and he's getting double the joy and you're kind of just moping over him when he's not with you. So at least see other people. So yeah, so she's definitely not afraid of commitment. In the book, in the film she is.
Speaker 1:Jennifer Sterling in the book is from the UK, jennifer Sterling in the film is from the US and I'm not sure if they just made that choice because they cast Shailene Woodley because I feel like she might I'm sure she might be able to do a British dialect. So they could have made the character from the UK and just. But I don't know, maybe they really liked Shailene and wanted to keep her as being from the US, just in honor of Shailene. I don't know, I don't have the reason for that. But yeah, jennifer Sterling in the book is from the UK, just like all the characters are from the UK, because Jojo Moyes is a British writer. So all the characters are British and in the book and in the film only Jennifer Sterling played by Shailene Woodley is not. She's originally from New York City.
Speaker 1:So Jennifer Sterling we end up discovering is she ends up having an affair, which is what led her to be in this accident that causes this amnesia. So she is running away to be with him and on her way there it's raining and they're rushing. Her friend is rushing to get her there on time and it's raining heavily, and so there's a car accident and he dies. But she survives and ends up in the hospital with amnesia. But in the film she kind of just decides I'm going to leave him, this is what I want, and she packs up and her husband is at a dinner party and or he's either, I don't remember. In the book he's for sure like gonna come pick her up to take her to the dinner party. I think in the film he might already be there and she's gonna go meet him over there. I don't really remember the details of that. That's not really that important. But in the film, like she just she decides to leave and she leaves him before she ends up in the accident and she kind of comes to this realization on her own, like what am I doing? I'm not in, I'm not in love with my husband, I'm in love with this other man and I want to be with him. So I'm going to go be with him. And in the book so Jennifer and her husband are very I don't remember the husband's name, larry, is it Larry Lawrence? I don't know. So I'm just going to call him Mr Sterling, but his name is not important. Like this man is. He's important in the book. He's not really important in the film. He's still not important, other than the fact that Jennifer needs to be married, but like he's really not important in the film but anyway in the book like he does play a much larger role than he does in the film. But anyway, that's not the point.
Speaker 1:Jennifer and Mrs Sterling are rich. They are very, very wealthy, and so they have a housekeeper by the name of Mrs Cordoza. And in the book Mrs Cordoza is the one that convinces Jennifer to leave. She notices that, jennifer. She notices the signs because Mrs Cordoza, back when she was a young woman, was also in love with the married man and she regrets not leaving with him when the opportunity presented itself, and so she doesn't want Jennifer to do the same. So she recognizes the signs, so she tells Jennifer this story of regret and convinces Jennifer like listen, you only have one life, and if you're not happy with the person you're with, like, go be with the one that's actually making you happy, I will help you leave. And so Mrs Cordoza actually helps Jennifer pack and stalls when Mr Sterling shows up Again, this is in the book, so he's for sure coming to the house to pick her up. So she helps Jennifer pack and Jennifer leaves. And she has a plan to stall Mr Sterling to hopefully give Jennifer enough time to get on the train station, get to the train station, so by the time he is like you're lying to me and he goes looking for Jennifer. She's on the train and on her way to a new life with Boot the lover. His name is Anthony, anthony O'Hare, but she calls him Boot. I'm just going to call him Boot because Anthony O'Hare is. Let's just go with Boot. So if you hear me refer to Boot, boot is Jennifer's. Boot is just so much more fun to say too, boot is Jennifer's lover. So, yes, so in the book, mrs Cardoza, as I said, helps Jennifer escape.
Speaker 1:In the film, jennifer kind of just comes to that realization on her own that she wants to be with Boot and she heads off to find him. So in the book, as I said, in the film as well, but it's not as like the book is, it takes its time showing us Jennifer recovering her memories and discovering these letters and trying to figure out who this lover is. And, as I said, as she wakes up from the hospital, she feels like a stranger in her own life because she doesn't remember really who she is, what she liked, what she was into. She doesn't know her husband, she feels nothing towards her husband and she kind of just hopes that it's the amnesia that's preventing her from feeling in connection with her husband. And then she discovers the first letter from Boop. She has these hidden all over her house. So she tries looking for all the letters from Boop and little by little she finds them and she realizes like my husband doesn't love me, like Boop is the one that really loves me, like look at the way he's talking to me in these letters. And so once she realizes like I'm not happy in my marriage I wasn't happy in my marriage Like I was looking to leave with this man she still doesn't know all the details, they're kind of foggy, but I mean, based on the letters and how they're written, she's like I was planning on leaving my husband. So she goes looking for him and she just straight up starts being mean to her husband, like Mr Sterling is, I wouldn't say, does he love her? I mean I guess he does. I mean I don't know if he genuinely loves her, but he does have like some you know what? No, I think at least in the book he does genuinely love her. He doesn't love her in the film, but in the book. I would say he does genuinely love her at first. And then once he realizes like this woman is never, like she doesn't even know who this lover is, and she'd still rather be with him, like a man she doesn't remember, than with me. So, like F it, that's fine, I'm just going to start screwing the help. So not Mrs Cordoza, his secretaries, so, anyway. So, yes, the book takes a lot more time.
Speaker 1:Looking into this, like in the film, jennifer comes to this realization and then, but she's not like she's trying, she's putting the pieces together, but she, like Jennifer in the in the book, is definitely trying to be like who is my lover? Is it this guy? Is it this guy? Is it this guy? And then, like this one guy that's like a work colleague or something like that for her husband. He seems to show a lot of interest in her. So she's like, oh, this has to be my lover. And then when he tries to like have sex with her, she like actually no, like I feel nothing, nothing, I'm as I'm as dry as a dried out. Well, like, this is not my lover. And so he like gets pissed off. And mr sterling finds them in this compromising position and that's when he reveals like your lover died, jennifer. Your lover died the night that you tried to leave me. So like the best thing you can do is just move, like, forget about him and just focus on our marriage. And Jennifer's like oh wow, I didn't realize that he died the night I tried to leave you. Okay, I will do that, I will focus on my marriage to you. And in the film this doesn't happen Like.
Speaker 1:Jennifer is trying to figure out who her lover is, but it's not like any man that shows affection to her. She's like this is the man. It's more so like if a restaurant is mentioned in the letters, she goes to the restaurant to ask around. If a person is mentioned, she tries to figure out who this person is so she can ask them about her lover. So there's never like Jennifer never has almost has another affair with another man the way she does in the book. But she is trying to piece together who her lover is. And Mr Sterling, played by Joe Alwyn, finds out that she's doing that. She's still looking for her lover. She finds like the very, very last letter he sent her, which is the one that says leave with me, like leave your husband, I'm going to meet you at the train station at this time she finds that letter in Mr Sterling's study and she confronts her husband about it and that's when he says your lover died, your lover died, and that's when she focuses on her marriage.
Speaker 1:Four years pass. So Boo this whole time has been in New York. He's a journalist. So he goes to New York to work as a journalist over there for four years and then he comes back. And when he's back so the person who actually died to clarify, no, boot did not die when he was waiting for her at the train station, like he said he would be the person that died was a mutual, was a friend of his. So this friend of his worked at a restaurant that they like to frequent. So it was a restaurant, like not a restaurant a bar at the top. And then there's like a speakeasy type thing, except it wasn't a speakeasy because this takes place in the 60s and, as far as I know, prohibition didn't exist in the UK. Prohibition was just a US thing. I could be wrong about that, but as far as I know, prohibition was just a US thing, so there was no need for a speakeasy. Now, prohibition was just a US thing, so there was no need for a speakeasy. But just to give you an idea. So it's like a bar at the top and then you go down the stairs and you're at like a club. So he worked there.
Speaker 1:And when she decides to leave Lawrence, she's like running super, super late and she wants to be sure she gets to the train station on time. So she runs to the restaurant and asks this man for help, like please give me a ride to the train station on time. So she runs to the restaurant and asks this man for help, like please give me a ride to the train station. And he's the one that dies in the accident. So it's not Boot, it's this man. And so four years pass and Boot and Jennifer bump into each other.
Speaker 1:So in the film they kind of just bump into each other on the street and all of Jennifer's memories come flooding back and like she takes one look at him and she's like, oh my gosh, you're my lover. And like everything comes flooding. But she gains her memory back Like the amnesia is gone. So I'm not trying to sound facetious, like I'm I don't know how amnesia like where. I'm sure maybe that's really how amnesia works. That's just how I'm explaining it. I realized as I was explaining it that I was like I'm like I saw a miracle, like I'm not trying to give it that vibe. That's just how it came out. But anyway, this is what happens when I'm tired, like the sass comes out, okay, anyway. So, yes, she and Booth just like bump into it.
Speaker 1:I remember this because I love Christmas and this takes place during the Christmas time and like there's Christmas trees in the background and they bump into each other and the snow is falling and they see each other and it all comes flooding back and it's just the most wonderful time of the year. So you know what a time to get your memories back during the most wonderful time of the year. So that's how that happens in the book. I think Boo is there to cover something again for his newspaper. So they meet initially because he's covering her husband's business. So I think this time he's either invited to the party that they're having or he's there as a journalist.
Speaker 1:I don't remember that exact detail, but the point is it's not just a random bump on the street, like they're having a party and he's there and they run into each other at this party and Jennifer's like, oh my gosh, that's him, that's definitely my lover. And they reunite at his hotel and in the book and have passionate sex before she leaves and he's like I'm not going to wait for you anymore, so like, if you leave, you better be sure. And then, as she's leaving, mrs Cordoza shows up with Jennifer's daughter and he's like, oh, she has a daughter and so he's trying not to be too upset, but he's still like you can come, like you can bring your daughter, that's fine. Like, I have a son and I like the son. I don't even know why the son is a thing in the film because, like this poor son, he's just like, like boot mentions, oh yeah, I have a son. And then we never hear about like and I think he's mentioned like one more time and then we never hear about this son again in the film. Like this poor child is just like, yeah, I have a son, it's fine, and I have you now, jennifer. So like, why would I need my son? And in the like in in the book, the son plays a very important well, not very important role, but he plays a role Like his wife his ex-wife, I should say wants to get remarried and she wants Boot to like sign over his parental rights so that her new husband can adopt him.
Speaker 1:And Boot's like I don't want to give up my parental rights, like I know I don't see him often, but that's my son and I don't. I don't see him often, not by choice, it's because you don't really let me see him that often. And she's like okay, I guess, like fine, you can keep your parental rights, so, and and she ends up dying later of cancer, like a very, very aggressive cancer that comes on very, very suddenly and then she dies within a few months. So once she dies, like Booth's son comes to live with his father and it's this whole thing where Booth has a relationship with his son from that moment on, and in the film it's like, like I said, he's mentioned twice and then we never hear about this person again. So I think he's supposed to be like a deadbeat father in the film. So it's like, like I said, he's mentioned twice and then we never hear about this person again. So I think he's supposed to be like a deadbeat father in the film. So it's like why would jennifer trust you to like with her daughter? Like that? I don't know. I mean, although that I have unfortunately heard stories of that where they're not they're like deadbeats to their biological children, but they're like amazing parents to their step-step children. But whatever, that's not the point of this story. I'm going to just keep going on.
Speaker 1:Tangents, guys, you're getting really, really, really unfiltered Yuvia today, and I don't know what it is about my being tired, but this is what happens, anyway, moving on, so, yeah, he's trying not to be upset because it's like, well, now it's even more. Like it was difficult for her to leave because of it being the 60s and societal expectations. Like it was already hard for her to leave when she didn't have a child. Now that she has a child, like it's even harder. So he's trying not to be too upset, but he kind of is, because he really wants to spend his life with this woman.
Speaker 1:So in the film, jennifer Sterling, once she finds out that Boot has been alive and that Mr Sterling lied to her, she basically goes up to him and is like I'm staying with you because we have a daughter, and that's literally the only reason. If you mistreat me in any shape, way or form, I'm out of here. I'm taking my daughter with me and we're leaving you behind. So don't even think about mistreating me. And he's like all right, bet, you're a woman in the 1960s, you're the one that cheated on me, so no matter what you're going to be seen as an adulteress. The court is going to always favor the man who is also not the adulterer in this situation and full custody will be granted to me. So, just, I will treat you however the hell I want. And Jennifer's like not this. What am I going to do? You know like yeah, that's a good point, there's nothing I can do. I'm a rich woman in the 1960s and divorce is very much looked down upon, so I'm just going to get up and leave and take my daughter with me.
Speaker 1:And so she takes her daughter, goes straight to Boots Hotel. The person at the hotel is like he already checked out. And then so she goes to the newspaper office where he works at and is like can you tell me where he? Can you let him know that I'm here? And the newspaper office is like yo, he's already gone, he's already left to his other, to his next assignment, he's out of the country. And she's like she leaves all her letters at the newspaper office and is like when you have a chance, please give, give these to him and let him know that I'm looking for him. He'll know what that means and he'll come looking for me. I mean, she doesn't say that exactly, but that's, I mean, it's implied. And so the newspaper office is like, okay, sure, and then they end up just getting lost in the archives somewhere. They're never given to Boot when he returns. So Boot has no idea that Jennifer tried to leave Lawrence. I'm pretty sure it's Lawrence Lawrence once again to be with him.
Speaker 1:In the book, as I said, I'm pretty sure Mr Sterling has genuine love and affection towards Jennifer. And then once he realizes like it's a lost cause, she doesn't love me, he starts having an affair with his secretary. And this secretary is in love with him, like she fantasizes about being with this man in any shape way that she can be with him. And so the first time, like he's just going through the motions of just like, like screwing, and she's like, oh yeah, he, he loves me. And so, like the next few times, like for him it's just sex he needs, he has like desires that he needs to get them out of his system. She's a willing participant, and so he has sex with her, but there's like not, like it is nothing, it means nothing. She is just I'm not gonna be vulgar she is just there for him to have sex with.
Speaker 1:And so he, a new woman, is hired and this person he actually has a connection to like, not only a physical connection but like an emotional connection. So she gets promoted to the secretary position as opposed to just the office worker. Like she takes the place as the new secretary and the old secretary, who was just a booty call, is like well, I can't believe, I was just a booty call this whole time. And so she goes. She knows all his secrets and so she, she just quits Like she just walks. Like after she gets demoted to just plain old office worker, she grabs all his this, the secretary. The secretary knows who Jennifer is, obviously because she's like that's, that's the woman that's not keeping my man happy and he's with her when he should be with me and I'm going to make him happy. So she gives Jennifer like this thing that that is exposing.
Speaker 1:So Jennifer's husband has a lot of mines in Africa and it has recently come out that asbestos is all over these mines. So a lot of these men that work in the mines are falling sick. Now this is the 1960s, so at this point in time asbestos being a bad thing was not common knowledge. Now it is starting to become like investigations are starting to happen into these mines after like, just men, like all these men are getting sick of being in these mines. And it's starting like this research is starting to reveal like yo, asbestos is bad for you, so, and your mines are like filled with asbestos, so that's bad, and we think the asbestos is causing all these men to be sick, was causing all these men to be sick. And so Lawrence is like basically starting to pay these men under the table to like not reveal that asbestos is what's killing them, so that he can keep the mines open and hire new people to take over the ones that are getting sick. And then, once, like you know, it's just a vicious cycle, it's just this vicious capitalistic cycle, the worst of capitalism is occurring in these minds.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so Lawrence is like paying all these men under the table, and the secretary knows this, she has all the correspondence. So she gives this information to Jennifer and she's like do this information with you? Will I wash my hands of this man? And she leaves with her head held high, I guess. And then Jennifer's like well, I can use this to leave Lawrence.
Speaker 1:So she goes to Lawrence and is like I'm leaving you, we're not getting a divorce, because this is the 1960s and it would look bad if I got a divorce. But I'm leaving you. I'm going to live in my own house that you're going to pay for with, and I'm going to live there with our daughter. You're allowed to see her whenever you want and we're just. I'm just going to become a recluse and we're just going to like, whenever it's just like, people in our circle ask where I am, we're just going to say that I mean, it's the 1960s. We're just going to say that I've I don't know have hysteria or something. I don't know if that was a thing, but essentially they're're going to say that she's fallen ill and she can't leave the house. So whatever happened in the 1960s that prevented women from leaving? That was apparently not. That was like, oh, that's bad, but not shocking, you don't need to check up on this woman. I mean, you probably should have, but you're not going to check up on this woman kind of situation, whatever, the equivalent whatever, like you, excuse that you could make in the 1960s or excuses, whatever. So, yeah, so she's like we're not getting a divorce, but I'm going to live on my own and you're going to pay for it and and you can see her daughter whenever you want. But she's going to live with me and you're not going to tell anyone why we're we have this arrangement, because if you do, I'm going to expose your asbestos minds to the world. And lawrence is like all right, well, you got me, I give in to all your terms and she's like great. So that's how she's able to leave lawrence, although she's not able to be reunited with boob, because again she does, she does go looking for him with the intent intention of leaving with him, but she's told that he's gone. He's's gone so in the film. So, as I said, in the film he does actually leave on his next assignment and whenever he returns from that assignment, the letters are have long been misplaced and ended up in archives. So he and everyone just forgets about them. So he never knows that Jennifer went looking for him.
Speaker 1:In the book he has, the. So Boo is eager to return to the Congo Like his first. He was like a war correspondent and he wrote all about the war in the Congo. So when he returned and he was assigned to like high society, like writing about high society, whatever, which is what led him to meeting Jennifer in the first place, like he was very upset. He's like I want to be writing about this, like I want to write like real stuff that matters. And his editor was like, well, no, you're writing about this, so he had to write about that. So in the book he's given the chance to return to the Congo and he's thinking about it. He's seriously, seriously considering it. But around the time he's seriously seriously considering leaving for the Congo, but before he can make the decision to leave, that's when his ex-wife gets sick and he becomes his son's primary guardian and so he can't leave to the Congo at that point, because now he has his son to care for and raise. So he never leaves for the Congo.
Speaker 1:But the editor is like when Jennifer again Jennifer goes to the hotel, the hotel's like he's gone. She goes to the newspaper office and the editor's like he left to the Congo already, lady, like I don't know what to tell you. And she's like, okay, well, let him know that I'm looking for him. And she calls repeatedly to the newspaper office. In the film she doesn't, she just leaves the letters and leaves and that's it. She never sees him again. Well, until later, which we will get into but in the book. She calls consistently and the editor's always like I don't know what to tell you. He's still not back, he's still not back. She keeps calling and being like is he back, is he back? And they keep telling her like no, he's not back. And it turns out that the editor this whole time has been lying because he. So after Jennifer leaves the hotel and boots, he said he has a daughter, that she has a daughter, and he's like well, she's never going to leave me. Now he gets like blackout plastered and the editor saw how like his reaction to Jennifer. So he's like no, I'm not, this woman is trouble for him, I'm not going to tell him. So he lies to Boot and he keeps lying to Jennifer to make sure that they stay apart, because he doesn't realize at this point that Jennifer's looking to leave her husband. He just sees her as trouble and he's like I'm going to protect Boot and I'm not going to let them be reunited. So that is why they never reunite in the book.
Speaker 1:So when Ellie Hayworth goes to the archives and discovers Jennifer's letters, she eventually figures out like who these letters belong to. So she goes to Jennifer and she's like I found these letters. I just want to ask you about them. I want to see if you want them back. And Jennifer's like nope, that was a different time in my life. I want to put it to rest. I'm not interested in like looking back on that time in my life. Goodbye, leave me alone.
Speaker 1:In the book Jennifer is well, she's an open book Like Ellie shows up and is like can you tell me about the letters? And Jennifer tells like the whole story from beginning to end. And then Ellie's like well, what happened to Boot? And that's when she says, oh, he went to the Congo. I went looking for him. Like I went to the little Congo to go looking for him and but at the time, like the war was really, really bad and anyone who was white was like getting killed upon sight, and so they didn't even like she got to the air killed upon sight, and so they didn't even like she got to the air not the congo airport, like she got to whatever airport and that was like her connecting flight. And they're like weren't, you can't fly to the congo, like there's too much political unrest, you're traveling alone. You're a white woman, like you're gonna be killed. So like no, we're not letting you go to the congo and she's like but I'm really looking for this journalist and and they're like well, he's probably dead, so just go back to the UK, there's no way we can let you in. So she goes back.
Speaker 1:As I said in the film, she doesn't go looking for him in the Congo or anywhere and she just fully relies on the newspaper office giving the letters to boot. And again she goes looking for him because at this point that's what she was told she has. Obviously she has no idea that the editor is lying. Like why, like, why would she suspect that the editor was lying? So, yeah, so she, she goes to the conga looking for him and she's not able to even get into the country. But yeah, like she's so open, she's like happy to talk to ellie and reveal the whole story. And in the film, like she's so open, she's like happy to talk to Ellie and reveal the whole story. And in the film, like she is not having it, she's like nope, nope, nope, nope.
Speaker 1:So in the film Ellie ends up discovering who Boot is. She convinces like, this whole time Jennifer has kept so the way they wrote letters to each other so as not to other, so Lawrence would never find them is that Jennifer opened a PO box and Boot would write letters to that PO box. And so all these years later, like, jennifer has kept that PO box open. So, ellie, after she finds Boot, she convinces Boot to write one last letter to her and say like to her and and say, like I'm I if you're, if you want to pick this up. Even now, all these years later, later, as old people like, let's do it, meet me in the park. And she finds the letter and they do, they reunite in the park, happy ending.
Speaker 1:But it's kind of like ellie does research and finds out where he is in. I mean, she does research in the book too, but it is not this convenient in the film, like in the book it is, it's. It's this convenient in the film, like in the book it is, it's. It's one of those like wow, what are the odds? Kind of situation.
Speaker 1:So she finds a Philip O'Hare, she finds a contact information for Philip O'Hare and she writes to him. He works at a different newspaper than she does and she's like hey, um, philip, um, I don't know if you're the correct Philip O'Hare, but I just want to know. Like I work at this newspaper. I'm looking for information on Anthony O'Hare. Is that your dad? Can you tell me what happened to him? Blah, blah, blah. And Philip O'Hare gets in touch with her and he's like what newspaper did you say you work for? And she's like this one. And he's like, wow, you know, my dad still works at that same newspaper, right? And she's like what? No, he doesn't. Like I know all the journalists. And fellow boy is like well, he doesn't work as a journalist anymore, he works as the head librarian of archives. So again, what are the odds that again this does not happen? In the film Ellie's like wow, I've interacted with that man. I had no idea that was Boo. So that's how she finds out who Boo is. And again, same thing. She tells Boo she still has the same PO box. Write hera letter. And he does. They reunite in the park.
Speaker 1:Jennifer and Boo have a happy ending after. So, after like 40 years, they finally get their happy ending. So this whole time, as I said, ellie has been in a relationship with a married man and she's kind of like in the hopes that he's going to leave his wife for her, and obviously that doesn't happen. But she ends up getting really, really close to an archivist who works at the newspaper, at her newspaper by the name of Rory. So as she discovers letters like, she gets closer to him. They form a friendship. This also happens in the film. Um, they form a friendship and eventually they start developing feelings for each other. But in the book she's in denial because of her relationship with the married man. In the film it's because of her commitment issues that she's scared of stepping into a relationship with him.
Speaker 1:Seeing Ellie I mean seeing Jennifer and Boot, and just talking to Boot, and he's like, don't live your life with regrets. Like, if you have feelings for this guy, like do something about it. And so she does. And then Ellie and Rory also have a happy ending. It is not smooth sailing in the book for Ellie and Rory. So he discovers that she's in a relationship with a married man and he's like, nope, I don't want drama, I'm not interested in drama. I'm also very, very against cheating, because my ex-girlfriend cheated on me and then she said she was remorseful. I took her back and she ended up cheating on me again. So I have no sympathy for you being the other woman, no, no.
Speaker 1:And so once Ellie discovers who Boo is, and so before. Well, she's been having conversations with the head librarian. Again, he doesn't go by the name Anthonyony o'hare, she, just he has a different name at this point. He goes by something else. So she never puts two and two together and so she, as as rory, like once she and rory have that fight, he like obviously distances himself from her completely, and so that's when she kind of turns into the head librarian for help. But she's always asking for Rory. And so Boot, as he gets to know Ellie and he works with her, he puts two and two together and he's like I think you have feelings for this boy. So when Rory mentions Rory and Ellie end up sleeping together and then the morning after he finds out about the whole being with a married man thing, and then, like the morning after he finds out about the whole being with a married man thing. So Boot is like Rory mentions like I'm going on an assignment, I'm going to be gone for a few months, but like I'm interested in pursuing this, if you're interested in pursuing this too, and I understand like if you want to wait until I'm back, but just I'm interested. And so she's trying to get more information about, like his assignment and things like that. And Boot realizes like wow, she loved, like she has feelings for this man. After she tells him about Jennifer and like tells him, tells Boot to write to her, boot says, okay, and this is where you can find Rory, if you really have feelings for him. Like don't let this opportunity pass you by. Like take it from someone with experience in this situation. And she's like, okay. So then she goes to Rory, she apologizes, they make up and that's where the book ends. So yeah, that was the book versus the film.
Speaker 1:It's really interesting how Jojo Moyes basically tells the same story, but like two, like two sides the same coin. So, like in Jennifer's instance, like she's the one cheating on her husband and Ellie is the other woman. And it's so interesting how I don't condone cheating in any shape, way or form. I just want to make that very clear. But, that being said, like the way she writes Jennifer's story, like you can't help but rooting for her and Boot to be together. And maybe it's because, like she's in this loveless marriage and there's an actual connection between her and Boot, like you're rooting for them. And then you get to Ellie's section and it's like, oh, sweetie, honey, pie. No, like that man's never going to leave you. You're just, you're his go-to, like you're his side chick and that's all you're ever going to be. Like don't stay in that relationship. Like don't be the other woman, leave. So it's like you have like a cheating story that you root for and then you have a cheating story that you don't root for. So it's just interesting. It's just interesting how Jojo Moyes manages to get you to root for one and not the other. But I don't condone cheating. Obviously, I am always team. If you just realize you don't have feelings for that person anymore. I'm on team.
Speaker 1:Divorce or separation Don't put your partner through that. But I also understand why Jennifer didn't do that, because this is during the 60 60s. Divorce was looked down upon. She's also an upper class woman. She's gonna become a social pariah and she has. Like she becomes a social pariah. Like that means from. Like her family's gonna disown her. She's not gonna have any friends. Like there's just a lot more at stake for her.
Speaker 1:Um, like the man in the modern, in in the present day, the one that's with Ellie, like he can leave his wife at any time. Like it's obviously he's not going to. But it's like don't cheat on your wife, you asshole, like, just just leave her and be with Ellie. I know you're not going to because you, you want both, but you know. So I don't condone cheating, but it's, it's just like. But I can see Jennifer's point of view and I still feel bad that I'm kind of like, I kind of want it to work out, but yeah, so that, yeah, that is just one of those like interesting things. But I do want to make it clear I don't condemn cheating. Um, please don't. I have like weird morals or something, but anyway, yeah, so I I just found that really interesting and I do have to agree.
Speaker 1:I like in the film. I was a lot more invested, I think, in both the book and the film. I was a lot more invested in Jennifer and Boots storyline than I was with Ellie. But in the film, like because you're there with Ellie a lot sooner and she's also not with like a married man, I think it's a lot easier to like Ellie in the film than you do in the book. So, yeah, let's get into it. I mean, I want to say that the film is very well acted. Yeah, I've clearly run out of steam, so let's get to the rating.
Speaker 1:I rated the film three and a half stars and I rated the book four stars, so that means the book is the winner. Yay, the book is so much better in this instance and, mind you, I still really really like the film. It's definitely not like one of those things where I read the book and I was like what is this film? I was just so surprised at how different they were. But I think I definitely I still recommend the film If you're interested in checking it out, I do still recommend it.
Speaker 1:But I think what definitely makes the book much better than the film is just how much more detail we get in the book than we do in the film. Like we have moments in which it didn't get a little too. Like I said, what are the odds? This is so convenient towards the end of it yes, yes, it did, but it's still such a great book and I love how much more details there were.
Speaker 1:We got a lot more details of Jennifer trying to put her life back together, of Jennifer piecing this information and realizing like I don't love my husband, as opposed to I didn't love you, did I?
Speaker 1:I was gonna leave you, wasn't I? It just happens so much more faster in the film and I really like that. The book digs into the details a lot more and we dig in a lot more into the details of Ellie as well and I think yeah, I did like the change that she's more of a commitment phobe in the film. Like I think that's something I can most people can back up a lot more than just like he's going to leave me and it's like no, sweetie, he's not Do yourself a favor and leave. So I really liked that they made that change for the film. But anyway, yeah, check out the book. The book is a clear winner for me and I highly highly recommend the book. But, like I said, if you're still interested in checking out this story and maybe you're not necessarily interested in reading it the film is still really, really good. That is it for this episode of Books vs Movies and I will see you next time. Bye.