One Day (2011)

Even with my extremely recent change of making my reviews structured, paragraphed, and longer, I can tell you right now that One Day will not be a long review, because it doesn’t need to be. Because even though I did enjoy watching this past-present romance, it just is a film that doesn’t deserve a lot of attention. It just passed under people’s radars, which is just something that happens to lesser movies. I actually do remember seeing one poster inside of a bathroom at a theater, but that’s it. Nobody thought anything of it, nobody paid attention. One Day is the underdog story that doesn’t end in joy and happiness, and I’m not even talking about the events of the film. Now let’s look at the romance that time forgot.

Based off of the novel of the same name, published in 2009 and written by David Nicholls, One Day tells the story of Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway), a recently graduated student in 1988 where she meets Dexter (Jim Sturgess), a fellow graduate. After a bumbling and poorly-crafted attempt at a one-night-stand, they decide to become close friends, and over the years, every June 15th, the day they met, they always meet up. A good portion of this movie takes place on a June 15th anytime from 1988 to 2011, as we see their relationship alter and change and move on from its basic platonic nature, because, if you look at the poster for this film, let alone the trailer, it’s not a spoiler to say that this is a film about these two people who love each other, despite the fact that Dex is a self-centered snob and Emma is very much a pain in the neck, to put it lightly. But despite that, I still felt something for this film.

I don’t know why I don’t hate One Day, it seems to have all the elements of a bad film-bad direction, shaky acting, at times really unbelievable writing, and at those times I did not care for it. But there were moments in the film, where watching it, I did feel something. It all clicked and I enjoyed watching these two people realize their feelings for one-another. And watching the film, it has a major gut-punch ending. And even though I had it spoiled for me when it first was released in theaters (thanks, internet forums), I still felt something at that end. And the movie has Patricia Clarkson in it, who is amazing. So I highly suggest watching this movie for Patricia Clarkson being in it for ten minutes, and some chick named Anna Hathaway too, or something.
7/10