Rye Lane

As I obviously was not in attendance at Sundance Film Festival... I am just now getting to see some of the films as they are being slowly released to the public. Rye Lane is one I've heard an awful lot of praise about, so I knew I had to check it out right away.

Let me tell you, all that praise is justified! This movie is WONDERFUL! It's a smart, funny and heartwarming rom-com, truly such a gem of cinema. It's a stunning directorial debut from Raine Allen-Miller, filled with energy, style, colour, romance, laughs, charm and emotion. The movie just loves life! It hits like a bolt of energy, and is a pure feel good film from start to finish. The film does such a good job at showing off how hard it is to make meaningful connections between people in this day and age, while also showing an unexpected blossoming romance between two people who share an unlikely but pure connection. I just loved following them as we see them genuinely connect with one another! There's this really easy energy between Jonsson and Oparah which makes the movie feel like a walk in the park. The writing was also exceptional, and the direction creative. The film just has so much heart and depth, it's so loveable and shows how love can come into our lives at the most unexpected of times. One of the great rom-coms, you gotta see it! It'll warm your heart, I loved it! I really need more films from this director pronto!

And I couldn't help but love the quick Colin Firth cameo!

An unexpected treat. Director Raine Allen-Miller and the writing team of Bryon/Melia essentially de-construct the tired and shop-worn rom-com; then cleverly reassemble it in a form which seems fresh, new, and -- something quite rare for films this year - ENTERTAINING. The dialog is so sharp you could use it to cut open an Amazon package. Check out the line about the pitfalls of trying to impress your true love by letting chocolate melt in bed. And just when you think this can't get any better, you realize you are seeing a true breakout performance from Vivian Oparah, who immediately comes across as someone you want to know and spend time with. Highly recommended. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Rye Lane is a fun RomCom set in the heart of South London, notably in Peckham and Brixton. We pick up with Dom and Yas who coincidentally bump into each other at an exhibition and realise that they have both come out of long term relationships.

We then enter a day in the life (mostly) story where Dom and Yas discuss how they have dealt with their recent breakups whilst going through several interesting situations.

It was cool to watch a RomCom unapologetically set in South London, with several fun cameos and many genuine laughs.

The runtime is an hour and twenty two minutes but it felt a lot longer than that, mainly due to long conversations and the short period to time that most of film took place over.

I did feel that it started to run out of steam at the end but overall Rye Lane was a nice London RomCom that explored break ups, healing and power of sharing honest stories with others.

If you're looking for a film that's lots of fun, with great dialogue and some pictures of folks bums, where two people in despair, begin to form into a pair, then you'll find Rye Lane is probably the one; as Dom and Yas, kick-off their conversation, on London streets they wander round with animation, meeting exes who have hurt, plenty of teasing, taunt and flirt, Mooncups, strings, forgotten things, cause consternation.

What a wonderful piece of cinema, with two absolutely outstanding performances at its heart, a wave that effortlessly flows from start to end, genuinely laugh out loud funny, heartfelt and overwhelmingly gorgeous.

Thoroughly enjoyed this film it kept me entertained from start to finish. Performances were excellent by both leads. My only minor quibble is that for Jonsson voice acting and enunciation exercises are needed. I had to struggle to hear his lines at times and they were not articulated clearly. I can only describe it as mumble mouth. I have seen him in other films, shows and have the same issue. Other than that I highly recommend this film. It is quirky, unique and showcases relationships that unfortunately are very rarely seen in media especially in the U. K. It is impressive to me that they were even able to get this film made.