I’m really hoping to stay away from using phrases like “made my heart melt,” or “a timeless love story” or anything along those lines. I’m not saying those phrase can’t be used, I’m just saying I don’t want to use them. I’m going to try and describe my feelings about the movie in a way that doesn’t sound cliched and is understandable to everyone.

A little bit of summary is needed, hopefully without spoilers. One Day is the story of Emma and Dexter. What’s special about this story is that it only take place on July 15th. The entire movie takes place on one day, hence the title, but it’s one day of every year starting in 1988 when Dexter and Emma meet and continues on through 20 years of them knowing each other. All of this you already know from either seeing the trailer or reading the back cover of the book, so I’ll move on from this.  Anyways, like the book, which i did read before seeing the movie, it’s a bit disorienting in the beginning to have such long periods of time missing. A year is a pretty big jump in a story to not see or really know anything about, but like when reading the book, I got use to it and then the movie seemed to flow through the years smoothly. My favorite part, well one of them, was the quirky ways in which the Editor or Director (whoever came up with the idea; it was pretty brilliant) showed the date throughout the years. Some times it moved with the character, another time it was a screen saver on a computer. The date is a big part of the movie and I liked that it was given a little bit of character when it showed up.

Over the course of the movie we watch as Emma and Dexter live their lives. Emma, the quiet, modest, homely teacher who wants to change the world and do good things. And Dexter the wild, center of attention, living for the moment guy. The movie is pretty mellow. It’s not this laugh-out-loud comedy, although there are chuckle worthy spots. It’s not a huge drama either, but there is drama. It really doesn’t fit in to any one category. There isn’t any one thing about it that stands out that makes you think “this movie is a drama, or a comedy, or inspirational film” or any of that. It has a good balance of being able to make you laugh and feel sad at the same time. I am not a crier. It’s not something I do when it comes to movies. In fact there are very few movies I’ve ever cried at. One was The Little Mermaid but I was a little kid and there’s really no point in going to it. The other was Armageddon. That part where Ben Affleck is crying his eyes out when Bruce Willis is going to stay behind and detonate the bomb….goodness. Anyways, back to what we’re supposed to be talking about. There was a point in One Day where I was a little choked up, my throat got that knot in it that I had to swallow down.

So you’re probably wondering by now, what makes it a good movie? Yes, it is a good movie, and in this time of action adventures, crazy melodramas, and raunchy humor, one might wonder what keeps someone watching this movie? The characters do. It’s a character driven movie and the characters are well written. The screenplay was done by David Nicholls, who also is the author of the book. The dialogue between characters is great, it’s quirky and cheeky some times. Just the way the characters interact with each other is entertaining. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are good together. They played their parts very well. I loved when Emma would say something snarky to Dexter during the moments when he was talking his self up. I have lots of guy friends and guys brag a lot. I think that’s what made me like the movie so much is that I can relate to their relationship a little bit. The things they say are basically to keep the other in check, so to speak. People “zing” their friends all the time. You give them crap about the stupid things they say or do and bad decisions they make. The way Emma and Dexter talk to each other and the other characters, it’s a natural way friends talk to each other, except they’re using British (English?) slang. In the U.S. we don’t use bloody or cheeky nearly as much.

I really thought it was sweet movie. It’s one of those movies you watch over and over again because it’s consistently good. It’s not one of those you watch once and it’s good and then when you try to watch it again, you’re over it. Granted I’ve only seen it once, but I feel like it’s one of those movies that grows on you more and more, the more you watch it. By the end of the movie all I wanted was good things for Emma and Dexter, like I want good things for my friends. I want them to be happy. Whether or not good things happen, I cannot tell you, but I can tell you it is a good movie and worth watching.

1. loicialeilani posted this