Rye Lane

'Rye Lane (2023)' feels fresh because of its unique energy and flavour, offering a distinct spin on its well-worn genre by way of directorial flourish and writing prowess. It's this that allows the piece to rise above its familiar plotting and uncomfortably conventional finale. The believably sweet central relationship is strong enough to carry the narrative, primarily due to the witty screenplay and sturdy performances, but it's the extra bits of seasoning sprinkled throughout that really mark it as something special. There's a larger world at play here, one built on background detail and vignette-like side stories, and this grounds the core story in a satisfyingly quirky way. The bright cinematography renders the urban setting with genuine love and the visualised stories with Giallo-like vibrancy. The bouncy editing elevates the quick-witted, ever-so-slightly absurdist humour and is a joy to watch throughout. That's true of the entire affair, really: it's a joy to watch. It's always fun, often funny and rarely misses a bit. It's a sweet romantic comedy that does everything it needs to and more.

Rye Lane is an all time great rom com, efficient in moving through all the tropes with bottomless charm and a level of visual craft rarely seen within this genre. Obviously it's also really funny with several memorable moments rife with effective cringe.

David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah are just phenomenal. They bring out the best in each other with chemistry that's so natural resulting in the initial awkwardness evolving into a real connection. Vivian Oparah is the standout though with an instant and boundless energy which hides a sadness.

Raine Allen-Miller's direction is so good that even something as off putting as a fish eye lens works seamlessly. From the very first scene it's so inventive and that thankfully never lets up. There's so much detail in it as well, background extras make themselves known in subtle ways which just make everything even more fully realised.

"Rye Lane" aesthetics, vibe and music

if you are looking for something visually pleasing, then just go watch this movie. Amazing cinematography, so colorful and beautiful. The director definitely has an amazing visual sense. I just read a review in which someone wrote, "the movie is like before sunrise and Wes Anderson had a baby", i couldn't agree more. Vivian Oprah and David Jonsson were amazing together. The jokes were amazing. The editing and the story telling style especially when the characters narrates their breakup story were amazing. The music was really good. Aesthetically pleasing. Looking forward to Raine Allen millers future projects.

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.

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.