One Day (2011)

After one day together, Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgress) begin a relationship that will last a lifetime. July 15th, 1988, Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? I looked forward to watching this; Director Lone Scherfig made an outstanding effort with his 2009 Oscar nominated delight An Education. Anne Hathaway is someone I can always count on to entertain me, and whilst I had no knowledge of Jim Strugress I was ready to take him on. I understand David Nicholls' novel is an excellent read, and was told that it would be excellent for the screen. My thoughts on this.......It took me a good hour to work out what I wanted to say about this. Whilst it has it's merits, such as the beautiful direction from Scherfig and the surpirsingly brilliant performance from Mr. Sturgress, the film has flaws that no matter how much I wanted to love the film, I just couldn't ignore them. I understand no film is perfect; There's always got to be something wrong, but a lot of the time, for the sake of enjoyment I completely overlook it. Matter of fact, a lot of the time is has to be pointed out to me. But One Day has glaring flaws that not only distract but make you think: Is it worth seeing this film through to the end? The film is of the same vein as other heartbreaking romantic films such as The Notebook and Dear John, the only different being that those two actually do it right. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel for the characters in the film, but if you're like me, you could've seen a lot of the things in the film happening from the first 10 minutes of the film. I can't quite call it predictable as a lot of the stuff I saw coming I got the wrong way round, but none the less it's run of the mill stuff. Let's get to performances......Anne Hathaway is wonderful actress. I loved her in The Dark Knight Rises, and I see her as the shining light of awful films such as Valentines Day and Bride Wars. And now she's tipped for an Oscar in Tom Hooper's Les Miserables. It's safe to say that when I watch a Hathaway film I expect nothing but entertainment, cause frankly that's what she delivers everytime, it's hard for me to imagine an Anne Hathaway film where Anne Hathaway isn't a joy to watch. In this film, her performance is good in it's own right, but it's different. For one, she has an English accent that at times goes a bit awry. But her character is quiet, lost. And the film follows the same rules as similar films. We feel like we're supposed to feel for the female characters, but in the end it's always the males who deserve more sorrow. Just like Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, just like Channing Tatum in The Vow, and now Jim Strugress in One Day, who is quite frankly brilliant. About half way through, I realised "This is who I want to watch, not Hathway". The scenes with his mother are quite touching. But I'm saying that he's excellent, just like Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, just like Channing Tatum in The Vow, and yet it feels like I'm repeating myself. Cause once again I'm making the point that the female is the one you should care less about, just like Rachel McAdams in The Notebook, and Rachel McAdams in The Vow and......Um......Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler's Wife......Ok, you know what, I just really don't like Rachel McAdams. But I love Anne Hathway, but this film shouldn't say "Starring Anne Hathaway as Emma Morley" it should say "Starring Anne Hathaway as Rachel McAdams as Emma Morley". It's a tough thing to say, but it's true. Anne is now playing the character that Rachel has been playing for most of her career, and it's a character I truly don't like. Now, I'm not afraid to show emotion at films. I'll admit I've shed a tear at many a movie, stuff like What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Stand By Me, The Green Mile, but to select a film more related to this, I'll go for The Notebook. I didn't cry per say but I sure as hell felt the emotional impact of the film. It is heartbreaking, and it's hard to watch. Like I said, I saw a lot of the things in One Day coming from a mile off, but I got mixed up with the characters. So there is strong emotion in the film, that I cannot deny, and as far as I know the book is even more emotional. Despite not having read the book, I get the vibe that the film hasn't quite caught the essence of it. I feel like the book would send me on an emotional roller coaster rather than the film. I did feel for the characters, but in a way I forced myself to cause I knew this was the intention of the film. Well, I actually geuinley felt for Dexter. The minute he walked on screen I was overly confident I was gonna hate his guts but nope, he deserves your tears more than anyone else. Hathaway I forced myself to care for, but it can be said that I didn't care nearly as much. It's a perfect combination of Sturgress' strong performance and Scherfig's brilliant direction that truly bring out the emotion in his scenes, Anne, not so much. Her acting and his directing don't quite blend as well. And finally, let's talk about pace. Obviously this was going to be a slow film........I just didn't realise how slow it would be. 15 minutes in, felt like I'd been watching for 2 hours. The film is an hour and 47 minutes, and at times takes forever to move along. So much happens, yet when you realise it you're only 35 minutes in, and then you think "Oh God, I have an hour more of this" which may or may not be a bad thing, depends how much you've enjoyed the film so far. Every scene is July 15th every year. Literally. There is not a single other day in this film than July 15th. Hence why it is called 'One Day'. By the year 1995, I wasn't entirely sure if I actually cared anymore. Unlike films in similar vein, and for the 100th time in this review I'm going to reference The Notebook cause I believe it to be the best example, the slow pace combined with the events of the film failed to grab me, unlike The Notebook which kept me reeled in. To be fair, Ryan Gosling could just stand there reading the dictionary and I'd be entertained, for he is surely one of the best actors working today, and far superior to both of these leads. However, Gosling was a one man show: I've already expressed my dislike for Rachel McAdams so it was Gosling keeping me going. Hathaway and Sturgress are 2 very talented actors, but not even Sturgress was quite reeling me in. So overall, Lone Scherfig has asked you to sit down and watch the years go by as it comes to what is supposed to be an ending that puts tears in your eyes and warmth in your heart, and yet I didn't quite feel it. Direction and acting absolutely superb, exceution of story, not so much. Any girl will tell you it's amazing but if you're a boy who is in to these kind of films, I'd suggest renting it, see what you think. I'm not saying it was a waste of my money, but you can be damn sure I'm never gonna watch it again. 2 Stars