One Day Review

 Rating: ***

There was a fair bit of apprehension that I was carrying before stepping into 'One Day'. I mean how engaging can a movie really get if it is basically chronicling one particular day in the lives of a man and a woman for 20 straight years? Ok, so it may have made for a great read in a book but when it comes to a motion picture, it all threatens to become way too monotonous to be presented in a 100 minutes affair. This is where the basic structure of a film screenplay versus written word in a book comes into consideration, something that director Lone Scherfig also understands and pretty much takes care of in 'One Day'.
 
At the core of it, 'One Day' pretty much reminds of 'Serendipity'. Of course the pair here (Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess) does continue to meet on a regular basis right through those 20 year span in which the movie has been set. However the very fact that they aren't together to begin with and there is a spark between the two that is just waiting to ignote, as a member of the audience you root for that to happen sooner than later.
 
In this context, Lone Scherfig (in her first major motion picture) does well to keep the audience engaged with the story of her key protagonists. As mentioned earlier, it could well have become monotonous but the director does well to showcase different lifestyles and career progression of Anne and Jim that ensures that there is something predictability always round the corner. So while Anne has a rather modest beginning to her post graduation life, Jim moves on a fast track. They remain friends and share a relationship which is as platonic as it gets.
 
The chronicle goes along smoothly though with Anne finding a boyfriend (Rafe Spall) for herself while Jim too has a lady love (Romola Garai) for him. However you do hope and believe that it would be Anne and Jim who would be together one day (pun intended). Thankfully, this wait never gets way too over bearing and the director ensures that with every passing year, the significance of this particular day in the lives of this couple keeps the momentum rolling.
 
One can also see that Lone has her own style of filmmaking which is quite prevalent right through 'One Day'. She refrains from giving the film a Hollywood-ish touch and brings in her own style by not just setting the film in the U.K. but also brining in the kind of texture and topography that was required for a film of this genre. This means that for those who are used to cinema from the West being much faster paced, lively and feel good would take time to adjust to Lone's vision and narrative. Also, for those hunting for quintessential mushy affairs, 'One Day' may just come across as way too subtle.
 
The actors though play their part well and while Jim is convincing and believable, it is Anne who showcases all over again that she is much more than just the girl from 'The Princess Diaries'. Leaving the image that was set for her a decade back in her debut making film, the girl-woman has come a long way with films like 'Love and Other Drugs' and now 'One Day' pretty much justifying her stance of stepping into non-chartered zones. With her next film being 'The Dark Knight Rises', one waits to see what does Anne have to offer there.
 
Coming back to 'One Day', despite the oddities against it due to the fact that it doesn't take a regular Hollywood movie making route, the films turns out to be an entertaining affair that doesn't restrict itself to a romcom, dramatic or classic genre and instead amalgamates each of these elements well to come across as one of the more sensitive affairs that we have seen from the West.
 
Rating: ***