A few days ago I watched One Day, a love story based on an award-winning novel. The movie is a romantic drama, it is not a comedy. Still, some sites include “comedy” in the genre tags, for what John O’Connell calls “comic gloss” (see below).
I usually shy away from Hollywood “romantic” movies, in part due to an aversion to how such movies represent relationship ideals. Sure, we all know movies are fiction, that real life does not work in quite the the same way, but such narratives still have much power in shaping our thoughts on what we expect in life. The emphasis on love-at-first-sight, the “there is only one person in the world for me” mentality, the example narratives of how relationships supposedly progress? I find the typical Hollywood “romantic” movies somewhat harmful.
One Day was not a typical Hollywood romantic movie, something I really appreciated. This would be thanks to it being based on a good novel. Consider the reviewers’ quotes used to represent the novel’s major themes on its wikipedia page:
Writing in The Times, John O’Connell writes, “For, in spite of its comic gloss, One Day is really about loneliness and the casual savagery of fate; the tragic gap between youthful aspiration and the compromises that we end up tolerating. Not for nothing has Nicholls said that it was inspired by Thomas Hardy.” A critic in thelondonpaper observes that One Day “may be a love story, but it’s no fairytale: Nicholls doesn’t shy from the dark side of growing up, the disillusionment, regrets and random cruelty of life.”
That probably says enough, this may be a book worth reading. The movie itself received rather mixed reviews from critics (metacritic: 48, Rotten Tomatoes: 37), suggesting it does not do the book justice. Nevertheless, with my limited exposure to romantic movie genres, this remains one of the movies I really liked, grim as it may be.
Can you suggest other good movies in the genre that I really ought to see?
2 responses so far ↓
1 Evamaria // Nov 19, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Funny, I saw a trailer for this and instantly thought “this could be a nice change from the usual fare”… Haven’t seen it yet, but am definitely planning to.
Some recs? I do like some rom-coms quite a bit, but not really from recent years – one of my favorites is Playing by Heart, which is an ensemble piece and thus shows a variety of relationships. Have you seen Before Sunrise and Once? Both are just beautiful and somewhat unconventional. I also enjoyed Garden State, although it’s a bit “hipster-cool”. And, always and forever, When Harry Met Sally. What can I say, I like them “talk-y”.
2 thinker // Nov 21, 2011 at 3:32 pm
I’m not sure whether I’ve seen Before Sunrise, I suppose not? I’ve seen at least part of When Harry Met Sally – possibly tuned in on the TV and watched to the end. (For the movies you suggest, I see the reviews also look good.) Might just be worth adding them to my list. Thanks!
Leave a Comment