The decent British rom-com seems like a thing of the past. Arguably, Richard Curtis is the king of them all, but he’s not directed a romantic comedy since 2013’s About Time, and even that seems like less of a classic than his earlier works like Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Let’s skip the rest: it’s time the UK film industry started financing good romantic comedies again. And I’m happy to report that BBC Film and the BFI might be onto something with this one.
Rye Lane is the directorial debut of female director Raine Allen-Miller, a Manchester-born BRIT School alum who clearly has bundles of talent. The film is set in and around – you guessed it – Rye Lane of South London. Starring two relative newcomers in the main roles, it sees their characters meet when Dom (David Jonsson) is crying in a toilet cubicle. Doesn’t sound like a meet-cute, but it is. When the pair of them bond and begin to learn about each other’s lives, we’re taken on a whirlwind story of how they become to see each other as friends, and then as more than friends.
Remember what I said at the beginning of this review regarding Richard Curtis and his rom-coms? Well, check out the first thing I originally wrote down in my notepad when thinking about what I should write about Rye Lane:
“Now I’m not saying this is quite as iconic as, say, Notting Hill, but finally there’s a new British romcom that’s been made with some style!”
It’s true: this is absolutely the overwhelming feeling I have and it’s the feeling that’s remained with me since watching this film (almost three weeks ago – yes, I’m super behind).
On that final note regarding style, I have to say the use of that fish eye lens did get on my nerves, but thankfully it’s not used over-excessively by this up-and-coming female director. Push that to one side and we’re left with a film full of stylistic choices from camera angles to colour composition that is simply wonderful and visually so interesting. If we were going on visuals alone, this might be a 4-4.5 star movie.
Rye Lane’s storyline is pretty much what you’d expect from a romantic comedy: a boy and a girl meet and find love in a hopeless place. What the movie does well however is actually inject some real comedy into a genre that is generally lacking in that department, despite its namesake. It’s not the most thrilling plot, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a modern, updated take on the romcom that will feel more relatable and less fairy tale than others.
Perhaps the most notable thing other than Allen-Miller‘s fabulous direction is the performances. Using a cast of relative unknowns is always a risk (if you’re not counting that fun Colin Firth cameo), yet all of these young actors were pretty great. The standout is undoubtedly Vivian Oparah, who will hopefully keep popping up elsewhere from here on in.
Overall, I can’t say that Rye Lane is the most unforgettable movie of 2023 (stay tuned for my review of that one), but it’s an endearing, interesting look at love in modern London, and there’s no doubt that this movie will mean a lot to a lot of people.
Rye Lane is currently available to stream on Disney+ in the UK.
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
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