Character Relationship Map: Their Finest

Characters

• Catrin Cole (played by Gemma Arterton) — protagonist

  A talented screenwriter hired at the Ministry of Information to craft dialogue for women in propaganda films. She faces workplace discrimination, lies to cover for the Starling twins' false Dunkirk st...

• Tom Buckley (played by Sam Claflin) — protagonist

  A cynical and initially dismissive screenwriter who clashes with Catrin over artistic vision and gender representation. He gradually develops a professional respect and personal attraction toward her,...

• Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank (played by Bill Nighy) — supporting

  A fading stage actor initially reluctant to appear in the propaganda film. He is recruited after his agent's death and later suffers injuries during the production. After recovering, he visits Catrin...

• Roger Swain (played by Richard E. Grant) — supporting
• Phyl Moore (played by Rachael Stirling) — supporting

  One of the few female staff members at the film production company. She provides Catrin with emotional support and reassurance during tense production disputes. Catrin confides in her about her unconv...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Roger Swain → Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank (Power Production Authority) — Roger represents the production system that controls Ambrose's professional opportunity.

  Roger oversees the propaganda-film project for which Ambrose is eventually recruited as an actor.

• Roger Swain → Tom Buckley (Power Professional Superior) — Tom's project operates under Roger's institutional authority.

  Roger is the boss who evaluates the writers' story and authorizes the film after hearing their defense of its broader truth.

• Tom Buckley → Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank (Professional Screenwriting Collaborator) — Tom's writing supports Ambrose's participation in the production.

  Tom and the other writers develop the film's story and its roles for the actors, including Ambrose's performance.

• Catrin Cole → Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank (Professional Writer And Actor) — Catrin's script work and Ambrose's acting connect their creative roles.

  Catrin writes for the film in which Ambrose is recruited to perform after initially refusing the role.

• Catrin Cole → Phyl Moore (Professional Trusted Colleague) — Phyl provides solidarity within a male-dominated workplace.

  Phyl is one of the few other women at the production company and reassures Catrin during tense disputes.

• Catrin Cole → Roger Swain (Professional Supervisor) — Roger supervises Catrin's early script work and authorizes her secondment to the production company.

  Roger Swain is Catrin's boss at the Ministry of Information and decides whether her proposed film will proceed.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Catrin Cole → Tom Buckley (Conflict Creative Rival) — Their professional conflict drives the film's debate about truth, representation, and propaganda.

  Catrin repeatedly clashes with Tom over factual accuracy, artistic license, and whether female characters should be sidelined.

Story Analysis

A wartime screenwriter turns disputed reality into a sustaining story while confronting discrimination, grief, and the value of artistic work.

Plot Progression

1. A Woman Enters The War Office — Catrin is hired to write female dialogue for propaganda films but faces unequal pay and absent credit. Her interview with the twins gives her a morally dangerous opportunity.
2. The Lie Becomes A Film — Catrin alters the twins' story, and Roger approves the project. Bombings and arguments force the writers to weigh factual accuracy against the emotional needs of propaganda.
3. Stories Under Pressure — The production receives an American role and moves to Devon. Catrin saves the filming when the pilot cannot act, while Tom begins to respect her talent.
4. Love Without Closure — Catrin reveals her secret arrangement to Phyl, and Tom proposes after learning about it. She refuses, then writes a fictional resolution to their unresolved quarrel.
5. The Cost Of The Ending — Tom dies in a studio accident just after reconciling with Catrin. Catrin completes the film, grieves, and ultimately returns to screenwriting after seeing its effect on audiences.