In a modern landscape of tired rom-com’s, Raine Allen-Miller finds a way to give life to the usual clichés writes Carter Smith
Modern rom-coms have become stale. They have treated the audience like the lazy partner does to the protagonist at the start of their movies. They are just going through the motions and have a clear lack of interest in us, their partner.
Rye Lane on the other hand, is the charming love interest we have been yearning for. A partner who is beaming with life and reminds you what true love feels like. Our knight in shining armour.
As directorial debuts go, you don’t get much more impressive than Raine Allen Miller’s Rye Lane. She has breathed life into a genre that seemed to have run out of true love’s kisses to save it.
Like any good love story, it starts with a breakup. In this case, it’s Dom. But this isn’t just any breakup. This is true betrayal. His girlfriend of six years has cheated on him with his best friend Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni). Ouch.
No worries though, because after crying in a bathroom stall at his friend’s art exhibition, he meets Yas (Vivian Oparah) — infectious, carefree and unapologetically herself.
Set in a sunny London — yes sunny, it’s not always doom and gloom in the UK — Yas and Dom moped through the streets of Croydon, give a shoddy attempt at signing Salt-N-Pepa’s Shoop at karaoke and get a burrito from the astutely named ‘Love Guac’tualu served by none other than UK royalty, Colin Firth. As they both connect on an action-packed day in South London, they help each other process their recent heartbreaks and rebuild the broken faith they have in love.
It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. But it’s in its presentation of these usual tropes and cliches in which the brilliance lies.
There is an unwillingness to play it safe visually. Scenes which would usually be basic are instead given a quirky makeover. It’s infectious. It expresses itself with an explosion of colour which never comes off as gimmicky.
It makes even a staunch London hater like me enamoured by the cityscape. It truly is a feast for the eyes.
However, like any feast, it’s nothing without a good chef behind it. Luckily for us, Jonsson and Oparah are Michelin Star level. You’d struggle to find a more charismatic and charming couple than these two. If I were Harry and Sally I’d start looking over my shoulder.
Allen-Miller shows that it is still possible to create an engaging, fresh rom-com. Rye Lane is a sign to never settle for less than you deserve. A reminder that if they wanted to, they would.
- Rye Lane is free to watch on Disney +, ITV X and BBC iPlayer
