Rye Lane was a film that I started hearing good things about as soon as it was in cinemas, with both critics and general audiences seeming to agree on how well it manages to deliver a satisfying rom-com while also knowingly playing around with the familiar tropes. I agree with everyone already in agreement.
Dom and Yas are our main characters, both having recently broken up from their previous partners. Yas seems to be taking things in her stride, although she just might be better at hiding her emotions. Dom, on the other hand, is first seen hiding away in a toilet cubicle to allow himself some uninterrupted weeping time. Once these two people connect, they stick together while navigating a number of tricky social situations, discovering how different they are while, yup, realising what makes them a good match for one another.
Written by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia, two men who have previously written for a number of different TV shows between them, this is a very funny and very sweet rom-com that adds enough spice or bitterness to each main sequence to avoid giving viewers an overdose of saccharin. Everything is mixed in in just the right amount, taking you through a full and effective journey even as you wait to see if the ending will deliver what you expect from a film within this sub-genre.
Director Raine Allen-Miller, making her feature debut after a handful of shorts, guides the whole thing with confidence. Making some strong choices when it comes to the visual style, Allen-Miller lets you stay close to eh characters, and get to know them, while also filling the frame with colour and culture that allows you to feel as if you are being whisked along by a friend on a whistle-stop tour of their favourite hidden treats in London.
Although I am unfamiliar with David Jonsson (Dom) and Vivian Oparah (Yas), both relative newcomers in terms of onscreen work, they are so perfect in their roles that I immediately became a fan, and hope to see whatever they do with the many upcoming opportunities that should be coming their way in the near future. The “heartbreakers”, although not onscreen for very long, are also well-played, with Karene Peter (Gia, Dom’s ex) and Malcolm Atobrah (Jules, the ex-partner of Yas) presenting enough flaws to show why a relationship was due to end, but never feeling like caricatures. Benjamin Sarpong-Broni is hilarious in a scene-stealing turn, a “friend” of Dom who is now with his Gia, and there is room for some enjoyable turns from Levi Roots, Llewella Giden, Gary Beadle, and a few others. Oh, there’s also a cameo so enjoyable that you should be legally allowed to smack anyone who spoils the surprise for you.
The only big problem with Rye Lane is that, despite having fun with the formula, it IS still very much staying within the confines of the sub-genre it belongs to. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when everything is done this well, but others may decide to hold that against it. Not me though. I have a soul, and a small bit of warmth in my heart, and I absolutely loved this. Everyone should check it out ASAP. It’s hard to imagine anyone really disliking it, even if you don’t end up enjoying it as much as I did.
9/10
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