One Day (2011)

Directed by: Lone Scherfig | 108 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Romola Garai, Jodie Whittaker, Jamie Sives, Rafe Spall, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes, Georgia King, Matthew Beard, Ken Stott, Joséphine de La Baume, Tom Mison, Sarah Jane O’Neill Natalie Hallam Thomas Arnold Gino Picciano Filippo Delaunay Heida Reed Seelan Gunaseelan

Accents can make or break a movie character. Brad Pitt, for example, showed his versatility as an actor by showing off a perfect Irish accent in ‘Snatch’ (2000), while Julia Roberts showed off as an Irish widow in the politically-tinged biopic ‘Michael Collins’ (1996). Others, like Tom Cruise in ‘Valkyrie’ (2008), don’t even dare to do it and just keep their accent. Of course you are not really convincing with that. Anne Hathaway has also been able to experience how a defective accent can continue to haunt you. The entire British press was on its back legs after hearing the American actress bumbling in the romantic comedy ‘One Day’ (2011). Time Magazine spontaneously included her in the top ten ‘Worst Fake British Accents’, which also included the names of Dick Van Dyke (‘Mary Poppins’, 1964), Marlon Brando (‘Mutiny on the Bounty, 1962) and Kevin Costner. (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” 1991). It’s a good thing Hathaway manages to grab a lot of viewers with her charm.

‘One Day’, after the eponymous and immensely popular book by David Nicholls (known for the ‘Cold Feet’ series), follows two people during twenty years of their lives. Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) meet on the evening after their graduation party, July 15, 1988, when they spend the night together. Although Emma almost immediately catches fire, their relationship is (for now) limited to friendship. From that moment on, every year on July 15, we return to their lives to see how they are doing. Do they make their dreams come true, which people do they hang out with? And most importantly, how do they interact with each other? The high-spirited Dexter wants to discover the world and scores a job in television. He has plenty of girlfriends and seems to be doing well, but it doesn’t make him any happier. In fact, his increasingly self-centered behavior and addictions put the relationship with his parents (Patricia Clarkson and Ken Stott) and his best friend on edge. The shy Emma, ​​in turn, muddles up as a waitress, because a career as a writer does not seem to be in it. However, teaching seems to give her more satisfaction. Unrequited for her love for Dexter, she hooks up with failed comedian Ian (Rafe Spall), but secretly continues to long for her best friend.

Follow the same couple on the same day for twenty years; it’s a fun gimmick. The danger of this approach, however, is that the film can feel a bit fragmented, especially because the original story has been cut quite a bit to be able to finish it within 110 minutes. The rich context of the book, which sets the romance between Emma and Dexter in time, has all but disappeared. Directed by Lone Scherfig (‘An Education’, 2009), the film focuses entirely on the two protagonists who circle each other for years, while we’ve known for a long time that the two will eventually come together, even if they fit. actually not together at all. However, anyone who suspects that we are dealing with a happy ending will be disappointed; ‘One Day’ isn’t as predictable as you think. Until about three quarters of the film, Emma and Dexter’s lives go on, but then Scherfig shakes things up with a good dose of melodrama. While that may not be the most subtle way to hold your audience’s attention, the last quarter of the film does deliver the strongest scenes.

Both Hathaway and Sturgess have their own charm, but as a romantic couple they do not really convince, simply because there is hardly any chemistry between the two. Hathaway’s character, despite her incomprehensible accent, is almost immediately our favorite. Dexter has to try harder to win our sympathy, especially since at first he’s really just a selfish bastard who doesn’t deserve Emma’s unconditional adoration at all. Anyway, after a while we thaw for Sturgess, especially when he finally sees that he’s scaring away everyone who loves him. ‘One Day’ seems like a typical case of ‘the book was better’. Nevertheless, this nostalgic dramedy is wonderful entertainment for romantic souls, who want to dream away at atmospheric locations (the south of France and Paris are extensively in the spotlight) and destined loves.