, 1h51 Directed byRalph Fiennes OriginUnited-kingdom GenresDrama, Biography, Historical, Romance ThemesFilms about writers ActorsRalph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander, Jonathan Harden, Michelle Fairley Roles French Doctor Rating60% In 1857, eighteen-year-old English actress Ellen "Nelly" Ternan (Felicity Jones) is noticed by forty-five-year-old writer Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes) while she is performing at London's Haymarket Theatre. Soon after, he casts her, along with her mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) and sister Maria (Perdita Weeks), in a performance of The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins at Dickens' Free Trade Hall in Manchester. At a party following the performance, the famous author and the actress share a brief moment alone.