Part of Annie’s (Rose Byrne) mediocre London existence involves tolerating the opinionated rants of her long-time music blogger boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) and his obsession with a now-faded American singer-songwriter named Tucker Crowe. 

Through a set of circumstances that is clearly contrived but doesn’t seem so, Annie strikes up a pen-pal sort of relationship with the musician (Ethan Hawke), who eventually finds himself in London. They have coffee. They talk. Terrific chemistry. 

Funny, literate and heartfelt with a twinge of melancholy and rich in small details, this is an affecting, honest and adult rom-com that’s both romantic and funny. The performances elevate Nick Hornby’s slightly formulaic source material to the truly engaging. The soundtrack’s pretty cool, too.

(97 min)