Dubai-set romantic drama fails to deliver on its strong premise

There’s a good movie somewhere in The Letter Writer.

The debut feature film from singer-songwriter Layla Kaylif tells the story of Khalifa (Eslam Al Kawarit), a teenage letter writer in Dubai in 1965, who scribes inquiries, complaints, follow-ups, recommendations, apologies, and even divorces for illiterate locals.

Khalifa is approached by garment store owner Mohammad (Muhammad Amir Nawaz) to write a love-letter to Elizabeth Warren (Rosy…