Rye Lane - Movie Review

Critics Score - 7 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

Romantic comedies were a dime a dozen once upon a time, but if you’ve ever taken the time to watch a few, you know that not all rom-coms are created equal. Many of them hit the same emotional beats, they’re all predictable, the couple you want to see together ALWAYS ends up together and there’s always some dividing force that almost separates them, keeping us in suspense until the final moments. But on occasion, you come across a rom-com that tries some new things, like the new film Rye Lane now on Hulu, even if it falls back on some of the old rom-com habits, but it breathes some new life into the genre. The director Raine Allen-Miller pours some really curious production design, set pieces and a varied color palette into the film, which combined with the romantic comedy genre made for a genuinely unique and quirky effort. While the film won’t leave you rolling on the floor, there were a few moments of comedic brilliance and all in all, most general audiences and even the more critical ones will really enjoy this ride down Rye Lane.

SYNOPSIS - The story begins like any good romantic comedy should, a young man weeping from a woman induced broken heart. In a bathroom stall, of all places. After a bird’s eye view of a camera slowly moving down a row of wildly colored bathroom stalls, mothers changing infants, stockbrokers on the phone, girls throwing up, others taking selfies, we finally land on Dom (David Jonsson) as he enters a stall. Perched from

above we see his mustard yellow sweater, blue headphones and pink sneakers setting a visual cue, not only of the eclectic wardrobe of the individual, but of a standard of the visually striking film to come. The varied color palette the film strives to live in, from this opening scene onward, is one of the trademarks of the filmmaking that sets it apart from its fellow genre films. Well, Dom isn’t having a great day. He’s sobbing uncontrollably as he swipes through pictures of his presumed ex with another man, who we later find out was his best friend. As he’s having a moment, a young woman Yas (Vivian Oparah) enters the restroom and begins fixing her hair while talking to herself as the camera cleverly and effectively utilizes a fish eye lens shot of the stalls spread out behind her. As Yas hears Dom sobbing but then steps into the stall beside him, he strikes up an awkward bit of conversation with her as she uses said facilities in the unisex bathroom.

Outside the bathroom walls, Dom eventually wanders out into an art gallery where one of his friends is showing his latest collection, a bunch of strange pictures of people’s lips and teeth, some of them contorted into strange positions. But when Yas notices his same pink sneakers that she saw under the bathroom stall beside her, she feels compelled to inquire as to how Dom is doing before the conversation eventually turns to the artwork and how each other knows the artist. Eventually the artist friend joins the conversation and under persuasion, Dom is coerced into purchasing a toothy, gummy picture of a pair of lips. The film’s title Rye Lane flashes on the screen in a multi-colored sequence that matches the rest of the film’s quirky color scheme before dropping us back down on the street with our main couple, post art purchase. They decide to walk around a bit together, starting around the Rye Lane Market in London. Their wonderful British accents take center stage as they walk around discussing their careers, interests and eventually, love lives, as Dom discloses he’s actually on his way to meet his ex and his best friend that she left him for to try and clear the air. When they finally sit down together at a restaurant towards the end of the first act, the film really comes into it’s own when the fantastically awkward meeting between ex’s proves to be absolute dynamite.

The screenplay by Nathan Byron stands out as a highlight of the film as he reels us in with snappy dialogue and fun interactions between the couple as the get to know each other and get into some silly shenanigans as they travel about during the day. Unfortunately most of the genre tropes and emotional beats still hold true for the film in the second and third act, couple falls for each other, something “unexpected” comes in between them and drives them apart, and *Spolier Alert*, they end up together in the end. As I mentioned, the direction by a new female director deserves praise as well, Raine Allen-Miller brings a very distinct and fun visual style to the rest of the upbeat and energetic story. The two main performances the film hangs its hat on, David Jonnson and Vivian Oparah, are also incredibly well suited for their roles, their chemistry works very well together. Not so much on a sultry, these two can’t wait to get in each others pants or that they fell in love at first sight à la Sleepless In Seattle, but in a more hip and witty, cool kids hanging out and growing on each other style that felt unique and different. Rye Lane was very cinematic, at least for a rom-com anyway, the cinematography utilizing a wide variety of visuals, color schemes and camera lenses to complement the eclectic and cool vibes the film gives off. The film also drops in a fantastic cameo and it takes advantage of a fun soundtrack of songs, one party scene in particular, was an absolute riot. All in all the film does so many things well, it’s tough to not have a decently fun time, even if the story hits many of the beats we can predict without much difficulty.

SUMMARY - For a directorial debut, this walk and talk rom-com, while not completely reinventing the wheel, is nothing short of an impressive achievement. It’s a fun, fresh and fascinating take on the age old genre leaves us spellbound in its wake and ready to step outside and take a walk down Rye Lane ourselves.