Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times 6:46 p.m. ET April 21, 2017

Gemma Arterton plays a WWII advertising copywriter in Their Finest.(Photo: Nicola Dove / STX Entertainment Motion Picture)

Screen chemistry is an odd thing; often you only notice it when it isnt there. But Their Finest, an utterly charming film set in World War II-era London, contains a textbook example.

Gemma Arterton plays Catrin Cole, a young advertising copywriter hired by the British Ministry of Information to write womens dialogue for wartime propaganda feature films; Sam Claflin is Tom Buckley, a wry fellow screenwriter whos not sure that her presence is necessary. Catrins married, Toms not and so first they become co-workers, then friends.

Watching them, you start noticing how he looks at her like shes a fascinating puzzle that hes trying to figure out, and how she blushes just a bit when hes around, and how effortlessly these two actors convey that they belong together.

Its one of many pleasures in Lone Scherfigs film, based on a 2009 novel by Lissa Evans and drenched in a sweet nostalgia that only very rarely tips into sentimentality. The plots mostly centered on the making of one movie, based on a true incident involving a pair of twin sisters who set out in their fathers shabby boat to help evacuate wounded soldiers at Dunkirk. Its a tale that, as the executives at the Ministry gleefully observe, has everything: Authenticity, optimism and a dog.

We watch the casting process (Bill Nighy, eyebrows perpetually raised, is a delight), the location shoot (note the 1940s version of CGI), and the way the filmmakers and cast form an impromptu family. Along the way, were reminded of the new roles women took on during that time, and how the shadow of war affected every day and every life, even as they soldiered on.

And theres one scene, where Sam sits moodily smoking one evening, and Catrin appears behind him as if caught in a moonlit dream, and ... well, thats why we watch movies, isnt it?

Their Finest

GRADE: B+

Rated R for some language and a scene of sexuality

Running time: 117 minutes.

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Review: 'Their Finest' sizzles with chemistry - The Detroit News