When it comes to the genre of romantic comedies, it is one of those areas where you don't often see the films treated with a lot of prestige most of the time. Frankly, that is often a valid criticism.
Most romantic comedies don't end up reaching the heights of Moonstruck or When Harry Met Sally or have the vibrancy of so many of the screwball comedies of the 30s or 40s or the dynamics of a duo such as Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
Romances, comedic or not, can end up being deceptively captivating films.
City Lights, Now Voyager, Brief Encounter, The Apartment, Annie Hall, the Before trilogy, In the Mood for Love...all truly magnificent example of romantic films whether they be more dramatic or comedic...or a mix of both.
In 2023, we got two films that played into those areas.
I have already discussed Past Lives, which had the more dramatic approach and perhaps a bit more realistic.
Some of you might be wondering: "Why have I not heard of Rye Lane?"
Well, this is often the sad case of some of the small films that often premiere at Sundance. While Rye Lane made a splash at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, it was quietly bought by Fox Searchlight and sent to Hulu for streaming way back in March. After hearing about the film through various YouTube channels of film lovers, it seemed as though it slipped through the cracks, and I ended up forgetting about it.
It wasn't until I saw a random review for it pop up on Letterboxd that I decided to check it out as I felt like the vibe of the film would be something I would enjoy. I am currently going through my second bout of COVID as I type this (but I am on the tail end of the suffering) and when I put it on, I was dealing with a very brutal, pounding headache. My goal was to just lay in bed and stare at the TV and hope that if I just did nothing else, I would feel better, and my Excedrin would kick in.
And it was easily one of the best decisions I could have made.
Rye Lane began as the first film script for British actor and writer Nathan Byron, who had acted on multiple seasons of the series Benidorm and helped co-create the show Bloods starring Jane Horrocks.
Byron co-wrote the film with writer Tom Melia and its original title was Vibes and Stuff...which, honestly, is VERY fitting. The directorial duties were given to Raine Allen-Miller, who had yet to direct a feature film and she actually had reservations to doing romantic comedies due to some of their more corny and predictable sensibilities. Her input to the film would become crucial to its tone...and also, her visual style would also aid to a lot of the film's flair.
The film is set in the South London neighborhoods of Peckham and Brixton. We meet Yas (Vivian Oparah) who overhears Dom (David Jonsson) crying in a bathroom stall. She peeks through the bottom sliver of the stall to see if he is okay (a reminder at the privacy one gets in stalls in the UK...) but is only able to see his pink-hued Converse.
Shortly thereafter, she is able to find Dom outside the stall by recognizing his shoes. They are both attending an art exhibition by their mutual friend Nathan and have an immediate connection despite him being a bit more reserved and her being more outgoing (classic "meet-cute" trope).
They go for stroll through Rye Lane Market and both discover that they are going through relatively recent breakups, but Dom's is deeply affecting him. He was with Gia for 6 years and he happened to find out (in a very silly but brutal way...let's just call it "low-res cock" as Yas puts it...) that Gia was cheating on him with his best friend Eric that he had known since childhood. After the breakup, Dom moved back home to his parents' place and is pretty much living life in limbo.
Before the two begin to part ways, Dom tells Yas that he is actually on his way to meet Gia and Eric as the two of them want to clear the air. However, Yas does have a plan...and from there, I became even more invested in this duo.
There is a famous quote that is basically "good artists copy, great artists steal".
As for who said the quote (some have said Faulkner, some have said Picasso, Tennyson, T.S. Eliot...), that isn't really the point here, but I do want to stress that this is a very true but precarious statement. A lot of how a great artist "steals" is what they can do to help make their work feel fresh and vibrant as opposed to something that just feels typical and barely competent.
While watching Rye Lane, you those meet-cute elements of many romcoms but you also get the sense of two people spending a day together similar to films like the Before trilogy. On top of that, this is romantic comedy focusing on two black people in South London...areas of that city that aren't often featured on media...at least as much on the media we often see prominently in the US.
The way that Raine Allen-Miller, along with her cinematographer Olan Collardy, films this feels so alive. The lens gives off a vibe as if we are watching the film through a 0.5x setting on our iPhone, and all of the colors pop so gloriously that it gives the film such a rich and welcoming vibrancy.
In some ways, it feels like just as a flashy an introduction to a neighborhood as when Spike Lee showed the world his home of Bed-Stuy in Do the Right Thing. While that film certainly had a darker subject matter to say the least, Lee immersed us in it with lots of pizazz and color and with creativity with his cinematography. Allen-Miller does that here with great fervor.
On top of that, we see small moment of flashbacks where Dom and Yas are interacting/watching themselves in their breakups...and this element reminded me a lot of how Woody Allen used similar motifs in Annie Hall.
And yet, these tropes were stolen and used with great care and given a new coat of paint.
I cannot begin to tell you what a joy this movie was. Oh, and with a runtime of just under 90 minutes, the film doesn't mess around. It just says what it has to say and doesn't outstay its welcome. Perhaps my only quibble is that it does feel a tad rushed once we get to the "conflict" but not enough for me to call it a true detriment by any means.
As a duo, Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson are simply divine. Their chemistry is off the charts, you adore both of them instantly, and even if Dom is supposed to be a bit of a wet blanket, you sense how good and sweet he is, you want him to be happy.
With Yas, you might view her as being too bold and obnoxious, but she totally has heart, and you root for her just as much as you root for Dom.
I really wish that this film was getting the same kind of attention as Past Lives. While both are very different in tone and content, they both represent what can be great about the romance genre when done with great integrity.
Past Lives represents that sort of bittersweet "what might have been" feel, but Rye Lane shows us the prospect of two souls who might be a bit different finding out that they may be perfect for each other.
It may not be something entirely new in theory, but I cannot stress enough how wonderful this film was and how much it just made me beam the entire time, COVID-induced headache and all.
I am often a very cynical person by nature, so when a film makes me feel this good, it is quite the feat. What a truly remarkable debut and what a fantastic led duo.
9.5/10
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