One Day (2011)

Number Rolled: 61

Movie Name/Year: One Day (2011)

Tagline: Twenty years. Two people.

Genre: Drama

Length: 107 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Production Companies: Focus Features, Random House Films, Film4, Color Force

Producer: Raphael Benoliel, Jane Frazer, Nina Jacobson, Tessa Ross

Director: Lone Scherfig

Writer: David Nicholls

Actors: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Tom Mison, Jodie Whittaker, Rafe Spall, Josephine de la Baume, Patricia Clarkson, Ken Stott, Heida Reed, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes, Gil Alma, Georgia King, Matt Berry, Romola Garai, Diana Kent, James Laurenson, Matthew Beard, Toby Regbo, Thomas Arnold, Mike Binder

Blurb from Netflix: After a brief college romance, Emma and Dexter pursue separate dreams, but meet on the same day each year to compare their progress in life and love.

Selina’s Point of View:

Normally, this is not my kind of movie and, quite frankly, I’ve never been less in the mood for a drama than I am right now. Even with those massive hurdles, I found myself fascinated by One Day.

The pacing of this film was very good. There was never a length of time in this movie when I was bored or wishing something would happen. Everything was either happening or quickly building up to happening.

There was a slightly artsy flair to the set-up of this film, including the order of the scenes, but it wasn’t unbearable. There was a reason behind it instead of just being artsy in order to be artsy. I really like when films do something with a creative flair when there’s a good reason for it. This film didn’t insult the intelligence of the viewers by doing something completely out there and making it seem as though if you don’t get it then you must be an idiot.

The actors were very good, and I was impressed by their chemistry. Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables, Don Peyote, The Dark Knight Rises) and Jim Sturgess (Upside Down, The Way Back, Close to the Enemy) work incredibly well together and I believed in their story. Plots that tend to lean toward how ‘impossible’ it is for men and women to just be friends tend to annoy me, but I think this one did pretty well with it. It didn’t make the obnoxious assumption that men and women could NEVER be friends without romance, they just localized it to a specific couple.

I’m not going to get into that rant right now, because One Day didn’t really make me feel like I had to.

So, moving on. I probably won’t watch this film again… but not because it’s bad. This movie was absolutely fantastic, there are just very few dramas I watch voluntarily. A drama has to get a 4.5 or higher on my rating scale for me to really want to see it again. One Day fell just short.

Cat’s Point of View:

I wasn’t sure how well I was going to receive a romantic drama. Shoulder issues have left me a bit cranky the last several days; though it wasn’t a good reason to think down on a movie I’ve never seen before, right? Stiff upper lip and all that rot – tally ho!

Ok, I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

This movie surprised me by how well it grabbed me by the feels and whisked me along.

Jim Sturgess (The Other Boleyn Girl, Cloud Atlas, Stonehearst Asylum) isn’t always my cup of tea, but the pairing with Anne Hathaway (Becoming Jane, Passengers, Interstellar) was actually adorable. There was enough dissonance and yet pull between them that I bought in.

The word is that Hathaway was instrumental in Sturgess’ selection for the role. Whatever the reason, I’m glad it worked out.

This film actually had me pining a bit for school days and remembering a friend I had long ago. Sadly, they have passed from this world; but I wondered what it might have been like if we’d kept in touch at least once a year to compare notes as the main characters of this story did.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not pining for a ‘what could have been’ love story or anything like that. The movie just spurred a few maudlin thoughts.

I also love the casting for Dexter’s parents. Patricia Clarkson (All The King's Men, Elegy, Shutter Island) and Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson's War, Toast, Café Society) seemed a little bit of an ‘opposites attract’ in their own story that is deftly woven behind their son’s tale.

This movie cast a spell on me, and I am glad for it. I would definitely watch this film again. There were laughter and tears as well as some palming of the face. I almost wish that there were more time to explore each of the presented years – but then that might have changed the whole thing.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 36%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 49%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer: