One Day

Release Date: 26 August 2011
Director: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson
Details: US / 107 mins (12A)

Based on the much loved novel by David Nicholls (who adapts his own book), An Education director Lone Scherfig is in charge of this innately complex tale of the development of a relationship over the course of a couple of decades. While a brave attempt at transferring the intense ambiguity of the book to the big screen, the film is ultimately dull, overlong, and full of unlikeable characters.

Hathaway and Sturgess are Emma and Dexter, two friends who we first meet on July 15th in 1988 as they graduate university together. They almost sleep with each other, but instead their possible one night stand develops into something that will span decades. As Dexter finds himself a famous TV presenter, Emma is a waitress but destined for bigger things; wherever they are in their lives they are never too far from each other. The film revisits them on the same date they first spoke, July 15th, every year, as they live, love, learn, and lose those closest to them.

Much has been made of Hathaway's schizophrenic accent, which veers from working class Northern English, to posh Southern within the space of conversations. But the actress is actually a good fit for the role of Emma, and you can picture her and Sturgess (the best thing about this) together. It's a shame the accent doesn't work, but ultimately that's the least of One Day's worries, as Nichols struggles to transfer his epic tale to a screenplay that does his core characters justice.

The main issue is the lack of development with the main duo, even though peripheral players are given little in the way of screentime - or worthwhile dialogue. The set-up is such that when each year passes, important things have gone on between Emma and Dexter that are merely mentioned; the trick for Nicholls was filling in those gaps with a couple of lines or knowing glances and that's too tough a task to pull off. It fails, not because we don't buy these two and what they go through, but because there's not enough of the good stuff.

Sturgess is a gifted actor and is excellent as Dexter; he pushes the ostensibly cocky, but subtlety layered personality without stretching himself and it's easy to buy the huge, gradual difference in age he goes through. But Dexter still comes off as a horrible guy, and it's hard to find what Emma sees in him, precisely because we don't see the good stuff. Also, the ending is borderline clichéd.

Boring, but well-acted, One Day is a noble attempt at adapting an ambitious story, but never really works the way it should.

Review by Mike Sheridan

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Your Comments

shauna

Can't wait to see this!! Loved the book! Hopefully the film wont be a let down!

Posted 21/08/2011 18:03:00

CherrySueDointhedo

Like the Lovely Bones adaptation before it my thumbs are still hovering mid air about this one. Having read the book and loved it last year, the film was never going to live up to it. Though I usually feel that way. In fairness Jim Sturgess plays a blinder as Dex, quiffy/obnoxious Dex, whom I had very little time for while reading. Sturgess has helped me empathise with the character, definitely the sign of a great actor. I can almost forgive him for the weirdest film I've yet to see, Heartless. You find yourself rooting for Dex, wanting the best for him even if he doesn't. Anne Hathaway as Emma had huge potential, she was actually believable, until she spoke. Honestly how much does a dialect coach cost in the grand scheme of things? I wanted to like her, I really did but not knowing whether the next line would be Harry Enfield's Scouser 'Calm down Dex, eh la?' or a Wool Pack extras 'Eh up chuck, fancy a bitter?' just put me off, right off. Her London accent was believable, if only she stuck with it. While her lines were funny, on paper, they were delivered in a mish mash of accents that just lost it for me. Shame. I have to give a nod to Ken Stott as Dex's father though, one of the greatest actors of our time brought the character to life. Truly believable as a Dad that just wants the best for his boy, in-spite of his boy. The scenes that were taken directly from the book are well executed and instantly recognisable but there's so much missing that would have woven the story together, that happens in adaptations. I suppose. As I've said I knew I'd be biased having truly enjoyed the novel so asked my date for the evening, who hadn't, my Mamito. Her take? 'There was the makings of a great film there'. One Day is a wonderful story, beautifully written and while the film as a standalone works, if you love your books, as I do, you're really doing yourself a disservice if you watch this before reading.

Posted 23/08/2011 00:31:11

marie434

Went to see this film last night and to be honest i didn't leave the cinema thinking this was a great film!after seeing the trailers for this movie i expected a lot more!marks out of 10 i would give it a 5 out of the 10, i just felt it was far too dragged out and you kind of get sick of waiting for the 2 main characters to get together. Good acting by both main characters but i won't be buying the dvd when it comes out!

Posted 25/08/2011 11:44:21

teabags18

I was left disappointed and my tissue dry

Posted 25/08/2011 14:32:17

carolinka

spot on review

Posted 25/08/2011 14:34:54

FilmBuff76

I was disappointed too. I haven't read the book, but what works in a book may not work in a film. It felt far too fragmented, as if each fragment was just a teaser trailer for a better film. (500) Days Of Summer told a similar story in a much better fashion. I think the solution to the book's epic time span would be a TV series. Instead of one episode per hour like in 24, you could have one episode per year. Just a suggestion if it gets remade in about 15 years...

Posted 25/08/2011 21:07:43

LuckyMe

Read the book recently an enjoyed he movie. I felt it was a good adaption of the book, some bits left out of movie. Great performances by both Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess

Posted 07/09/2011 11:41:56

lara

I don't necessarily blame the actors, Anne Hathaway was cringey in parts but I think it just fails because the script just dips in and out of chapters so quickly that it only barely skims the surface of the story.. if you hadn't read the book you wouldn't be convinced that these Emma and Dexter would ever be drawn to each other..i did force a tear out at the end though, thought I'd better get my moneys worth!

Posted 14/09/2011 12:40:48

Majenta

This was the best film I've seen in years. Hathaway's portrayal of Emma was hauntingly vulnerable and it echoed the real-life reality of ambiguous love. The chemistry between Dexter and Emma had a depth to it - going from the initial awkward sexual tension to thinly veiled glances. The script was spot-on. There wasn't an excessive word and there was something ultimately believable about their lives and loves. So much was said in the subtext. For once, we're not faced with a movie relationship where the characters are one dimensional, unequivocally in or out of love and drenched in the classical Hollywood narrative. I will remember this one for a long time

Posted 16/09/2011 16:47:17

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