Two childhood friends, who were seemingly destined for each other, march to the beat of different drummers as they set out on a life of one’s own. They try to patch things up, seeking to find their way back to each other before it is too late.

 

Directed by Christian Ditter, “Love, Rosie” paints a rich and textured canvas of a complicated yet lifelong bond between Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Claflin), beginning in their childhood, spanning a trans-Atlantic separation, and enduring ups and downs of romantic liaisons with just about everyone except each other, resulting in bittersweet consequences.

 

The film is based on Irish author Cecelia Ahern’s best-selling novel, “Where Rainbows End,” written when she was only 22. This is a follow-up to her novel, “P.S. I Love You,” which was also turned into a film.

 

The book was written in an epistolary structure in the form of letters, e-mails, instant messages and newspaper articles.

 

“The story is about two people who really have a deep love for each other but are constantly being pulled apart,” said Ahern. “I suppose there’s a huge part of me in all of my characters. But when I was writing this novel I was still just 22 years old, wondering where my life was going. Who was I? What was I doing? What direction should I take?”

 

To adapt Ahern’s novel for the screen, the producers turned to the British screenwriter Juliette Towhidi, who cowrote the 2003 film “Calendar Girls,” starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

 

“It was clear to everyone that how Cecilia had written ‘Where Rainbows End’ wouldn’t translate verbatim to the screen,” said Towhidi, who reset the story in England. “What the filmmakers wanted me to do was to keep the spirit of what Cecilia had written.”

 

Ahern approved of Towhidi’s film adaptation of the book.

 

“She brought out the humor—it was both funny and edgy—and it also had a lot of heart,” Ahern said. “What was important to me was that the essence of the novel was brought out in the film, and I was really proud of the script Juliette had delivered.”

 

Among the cast members are Jaime Winstone, playing Rosie’s friend and confidante, Ruby; London fashion model Suki Waterhouse as Rosie’s rival, Bethany; Tamsin Egerton as Sally; and Christian Cooke as Greg, a local who takes more than a casual interest in Rosie.

 

From Pioneer films, “Love, Rosie” is running in theaters nationwide.