The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

Once you get over the awkward beginning and settle into the story, this is truly a remarkable film, if a bit predictable and trite.
Lily James is a revelation as Juliet Ashton, a successful author writing under a fake name, but its 1946 London so she has war wounds and parents whose death is not fully explained. Currently, she has writer's block but her romantic life is grand, with the handsome American soldier, Markham Reynolds (Glen Powell).
Her life changes when she receives a letter by chance, from Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman). He's discovered one of her books that she had to sell and has decided to write to her to thank her for her sale and how much it enriched his life.
Then, finally, the film starts to get truly interesting, with as the lives of those on the island of Guernsey (between England and France) intertwined with Juliet's as she learns about them. Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during World War II which reeked havoc on their lives, causing the island to be bombed and lives lost. The book club started because the Germans nearly caught them after eating a pig, which was forbidden.
The group is an eclectic mix. Dawsey, the laborer who is profoundly deep, the moonshiner and spirit seer Isola (Katherine Parkinson), the rebellious Elizabeth McKenna (Jessica Brown Findlay), the postmaster Eben (Tom Courtnay) and the heartbroken Amelia Maughey (Penelope Wilton).
While the film comes across as romance and it is, it is also a mystery of what happened to Elizabeth during the war, as she was arrested. We eventually learn that she fell in love with a German, Christian (Nicolo Pasetti), who died, had a child and then tried to help a German POW and was arrested. She was eventually shot at a concentration camp by trying to help someone else, so she died a hero. Dawsey is now raising the child as his own. Mark helps Juliet find out about Elizabeth's tragic death but he doesn't understand what has drawn her to this island. Needless to say, that relationship is doomed.
In the end, it is mostly predictable except that Juliet proposes to Dawsey just before he's able to get the words out. So, everyone gets their happy ending (except Mark, but he doesn't deserve it). While it was largely predictable and it has been done countless times before (namely in Hallmark movies), it is done with such style and grace and tells an important message that the tried and true plot feels fresh. The great acting doesn't hurt either. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Unfortunately, the names Markham and Dawsey are deal breakers for me.
-While I like Isola's attitude, waiting for her Heathcliffe to come along, I would have picked another hero because Heathcliffe is a total ass.
-Matthew Goode is also solid as Juliet's publisher, but what does that man need to do to get a leading role.
-The snowball's importance needed to be explained.
-At least this film had an epilogue, weak though it was, but at least there was one.