On Chesil Beach

On Chesil Beach is set in England in 1962, where Florence Ponting and Edward Mayhew have just married. She is a gifted violinist from a wealthy, conservative family; he is an aspiring writer from a humbler background. Their courtship was tender and their feelings for each other sincere, but the social conventions of the era leave them unprepared for their wedding night, which they spend at a hotel on the Dorset coast. The expectations each brings to that evening, and the gulf between them, turn it into a crisis that shapes their future together.

The film is directed by Dominic Cooke, and it is the first feature he directed, made before The Courier and a 2025 National Theatre Live production of Mrs. Warren's Profession. Ian McEwan wrote the screenplay, adapting his own novel, and Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen produced. Saoirse Ronan plays Florence and Billy Howle plays Edward, with Anne-Marie Duff, Adrian Scarborough, Emily Watson and Samuel West in supporting roles. The production involved 45 credited cast and 113 credited crew members.

The film took about 3 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a British period drama. On TMDB it holds a 6.1 rating from around 397 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 6.4 from 171 reviews, so reviewers rated it somewhat more favourably than the wider audience did.