Dir: Raine Allen Miller
Cast: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah
Rising talents Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson are playful and captivating in the South London set rom-com.
The 1 year anniversary of DanLovesFilm continues with a repost of my review for the excellent London-based romcom Rye Lane from 2023.
Manchester born director Raine Allen Miller broke onto the scene when her debut feature film premiered at Sundance back in January. The success and heaps of critical praise the film received at the festival saw it get snapped up by Searchlight and subsequently distributed by Disney+ in the UK and US from March.
Unfortunately I was unable to see Rye Lane, during it’s limited theatrical run, and it has taken me a couple of months to get round to it on streaming – but it was worth the wait. I had heard plenty of good things upon the film’s release, with many critics comparing it to Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy; particularly the first film Before Sunrise (1995). These early reactions immediately grabbed my attention as Linklater’s Vienna based Rom-Com, starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, is possibly the most romantic film I have ever seen.
At a glance, it is easy to see where these comparisons come from. Like Before Sunrise, Rye Lane follows two strangers who meet by chance and end up spending the rest of the day together. The obvious difference being that Before Sunrise follows our two young lovebirds wandering the streets of the architecturally stunning Vienna. Where as here, we get to explore the colourful streets of Brixton and Peckham.
The opening scene introduces us to Dom (David Jonsson), who is in a bathroom cubicle crying over the latest social media post of his ex-girlfriend and his best friend. Dom’s intimate moment to himself is not quite as private as he would like, as his audible sobbing gets the attention of Yas. The pair are both at an art exhibition of a mutual friend, with all of the artworks on display centring on the human mouth. Yas decides to check in on Dom and the two begin discussing the artworks on display, which leads to Yas persuading Dom to purchase one. The two carry on chatting as they make their way to their respective homes and they begin to bond over their shared connection of recent breakups.
What initially starts of as friendship between the two, starts to blossom into romance as they both aid each other in getting closure from their past relationships. The rest of the film plays out as our two hapless romantics wander the vibrant streets of South London meeting a variety of eccentric characters. This includes a cameo from Colin Firth as a Burrito vendor.
I must admit, it took me a while to warm to this film. For the first 10-15 minutes I found the film’s electric pacing and use of fish eye cinematography a little jarring. However, once the film finds its feet and I managed to come to terms with the film’s energy, I was completely on board with it. The comparisons to Before Sunrise are understandable, but only in terms of the film’s general set up. In terms of tone and energy, both films could not be more different. Before Sunrise utilises a more improvised script that incorporates awkward silences and more casual conversations between the two leads. Rye Lane, however, has constant dialogue between it’s co-leads with more quippy back and forth exchanges. This perfectly suites the film’s tone in general as it captures the vibe and atmosphere that surrounds the characters amongst the streets of south London.
With the help of Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia’s script, both Jonsson and Oparah truly shine here. They have great chemistry every second they are on screen together and both bring playful physicality to their roles. Despite my early reservations about the use of fish-eye cinematography, Olan Collardy manages his shots in such a way that he keeps focus on our two young lovers at all times but also allows us to see the hustling world around them. This makes you feel that the story you are seeing play out in front of you is only one of hundreds that could be going on beyond the boundaries of the frame.
I can see why Raine Allen Miller got so much praise at Sundance back in January as her debut feature is an absolute gem of a rom-com. It manages to being new life to a genre where it is very easy to fall in to old tropes.
Rye Lane is available to stream on Disney+
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