I've always been a fan of the "rom-com." It's simple. Gets a few laughs out of me. And it's oh so cute. But, I've noticed there seemed to be less Black rom-coms to choose from/that were getting viewed when I was younger. Lately, I've been stumbling on more of us in romance, and loving it. The thing is though, sometimes it misses something that I always want out of my rom-com, but we'll discuss that in another post. This one is about Rye Lane and how Raine Allen-Miller directed a movie that made my little heart happy.
So, let's get into the plot first: girl, Yas, (kinda) meets boy, Dom, while in the "loo" (did I mention this was set in South London), and proceeded to properly meet him outside of it. They get to talking, and it turns out THEY"RE APART OF THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB. Well, Dom is. Yas is taking the break-up in stride. Actually, she's pretty much thriving. Dom's the "heart on my sleeve" guy and Yas is like, both into love, but not the same way Dom is. She's not gonna get walked all over.
Anywho, Dom needs to meet his ex and connect with his feelings, while Yas helps him loosen up. They talk about their lives, and have their own adventure where they right wrongs, and get to the bottom of their last relationships. And that adventure is pretty darn interesting, but I won't give any details away (other than it involves art, two helmets, and karaoke).
What I liked about Raine Allen-Miller's directorial debut, was that it was vibrant and had something going on everywhere. I loved how there were background characters that felt interesting and not just "there" as they typically are. Like, everyone, including the background characters, felt like they needed to be paid attention to as they added to the scenes well.
The movie was vibrant and fresh.Their bond felt authentic and every time they poked fun at each other I thought, "They are tooo cute."
In an interview with Collider Interviews [Youtube Channel], she said that she found the script "simple," (but great of course-not direct words) and was able to play around with it a lot. That's something I really appreciated. I could tell she played a lot with the way the story was told just because the film brought in elements that most movies don't have. The way they would tell their side of the break-up and we could see both Dom, and Yas, transported to the scene as it unfolded in front of them was one element that I found made it stand out. The way their distance from each other both gave me feels and made me think, "huh, they really know each other after being together for a day"-aka the longest day in history-was a decision that made it feel like a proper rom-com. They always looked comfortable with one another.That's important for a realistic "we met in a day, yet we're definitely end-game," story.
I loved everything from the camera movements (a scene to note: when they're walking around the shops, or the one at the 2nd art show in front of the tv with the butt), to the way their faces would somehow get right by each other. "Surely they're gonna kiss now. No? Okay. That was still very sweet though."
The pacing and the realness...man, Raine Allen-Miller hit the nail on the head with her directing.
Two people meet in South London.
They spend time getting to know each other.
They point out things within their last relationships,
while forming their own
There are small stakes, and heartbreaks. But, it's mainly just the cutest, most colorful film you'll see if you head over to Hulu right now to watch it.
Shout out to:
Yas-Vivian Oparah- brought the great energy and funniest to Yas
Dom-David Jonsson-brought the heartfelt and kind feel to the movie
Both were wonderful, believable and toooo cute!
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