ONE DAY – The Review

The new romantic drama ONE DAY owes much if it’s structure to one of the greatest romantic comedies of the last 25 years, 1989’s WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. Like the previous film, the two leads meet many years ago and try to fight the mutual attraction and prove that a man and a woman can be good friends and avoid all that messy sex stuff. That’s not to say that there’s not a few laughs in DAY, while SALLY certainly has more than it’s share of dramatic tension. Still, is it possible that DAY’s Dex and Em will be more successful in pulling off the good friends thing than Harry and Sally?

The day referenced in ONE DAY’s title is July 15. That’s the day that Emma ( Anne Hathaway ) and Dexter ( Jim Sturgess ) celebrate their college graduation in 1988 by getting to know each other. Dex is more of a swinger, a player, while Em’s been a bit of a wallflower ( designated by her studious eyeglasses ). She’s not been on Dex’s radar, but since their friends have coupled up…why not? Em acts on her attraction to him and soon they’re back at her modest flat ( oops, forgot to mention that they’re British ). Fireworks don’t happen, but they do strike up a friendship. The film then catches up to them on July 15 for the next 18 years. Dex’s life takes a surprising turn when he becomes the star/host of a late night music and chat show. We also get to explore his rocky relationship with his Dad and Mum ( Patricia Clarkson another Yank doing a Brit accent ). Of course his meteoric rise is soon reversed thanks to the usual trappings of fame. Em finds that her climb is a slow one. She aspires to be a best selling author, but is stuck at a seedy Mexican restaurant where she begins a relationship with an aspiring stand-up comic. Somehow Em and Dex’s paths usually meet on that mid-Summer’s day. Will they ever spend some time together during the other three seasons?

ONE DAY is a terrific looking film. Director Lone Scherfig ( AN EDUCATION ) makes great use of the European locations ( besides the UK ) and approximates each year very well ( are we going to get nostalgic about the 90’s already? ). She’s got two engaging young actors to work with, but I had a tough time buying into this relationship. This may be more of a problem with the screenplay by David Nicholls based on his popular novel. We’re supposed to root for these two to get together in the opening scenes, but it seems that their personalities are so different that it’s difficult to imagine how they could have a long relationship outside of ” movie-romanceland”. Sturgess is a talented actor, but the Dex character for most of the film is a superficial, selfish jerk who’s not deserving of Em’s company. I’ll admit that I find Hathaway enormously appealing ( even hosting the Oscars ), so I had a difficult time buying her as a frump ( she does lose the glasses quickly, though she was still a mighty cute four-eyes ) who has to settle for the somewhat drippy, annoying comedian. Her accent was a bit iffy at times, but she’s still an enchanting screen presence ( so when is she gonna’ do a big musical already? ). My other problem with the script ( a big one ) is that a character abruptly does a 360 degree turn in behavior from what she had stated just minutes earlier ( I won’t say who ). Perhaps it was an editing snafu, but it took me right out of the story. If you’re a fan of the actors and a wanting a nice European travelogue than you might enjoy ONE DAY. I was hoping for a better thought out, mature romance that’s worthy of these two talents.

Overall Rating: Two and a Half stars Out of Five