RYE LANE

If on-screen chemistry could be bottled, you’d happily drink what David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah bring to Rye Lane on a daily basis: the actors are the best thing about this engaging romcom.

The romcom has been pronounced dead more times than I can remember, but Rye Lane breaths new life into it with a dynamic, original, thoroughly modern take on a meet-cute that still adheres to durable tropes of the genre.

Taking place mostly over the course of one single day, Rye Lane partners a guy and a girl, both still reeling from recent break-ups. The movie sends them on a series of misadventures, from a witty joint lunch with an ex to the mischievous theft of a music record, before they inevitably realise that they are meant for each other.

These films stand and fall on the strength of the lead actors and in that regard Rye Lane has hit the jackpot. Jonsson and Oparah make for an instantly relatable oddball pairing, which finds a surprisingly believable middle ground between your typical, bickering movie couple and the kind of real people you might encounter in a diverse city like London.

But the movie’s virtues extend beyond the chemistry between the leads. The script is snappy and witty, with plenty of fun surprises along the way, while director Raine Allen-Miller makes Rye Lane stand out from your average romcom with a visual style that incorporates fish-eye lenses, colourful fantasy sequences and energy to spare.

Because the film never aspires to be more than a tale as old as time, I’m hesitant to give it a fourth star, but rest assured: Rye Lane is one of the most crowd-pleasing movie of the year, capped with a pitch-perfect ending.

release: 2023

director: Raine Allen-Miller

starring: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Poppy Allen-Quarmby, Simon Manyonda