[ FILM ]
RYE LANE
Before teatime: Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson) find the colour in a grey day.
★★★★
OUT 17 MARCH / CERT 15 / 82 MINUTES
DIRECTOR Raine Allen Miller
CAST Vivian Oparah, David Jonsson, Alice Hewkin, Munya Chawawa, Simon Manyonda, Karene Peter, Benjamin Sarpong-Broni
PLOT Over the course of a day on the streets of South East London, twentysomethings Yas (Oparah) and Dom (Jonsson) meet for the first time, bond over their failed past relationships, and settle scores with their respective exes. Could a new romance be just around the corner?
LATELY, THE ROMCOM has felt like a genre in decline. No longer the box-office draw it was in the ’90s, it has largely been exiled to the realm of streamer cheapies, with only veteran taliswomen like Jennifer Lopez and her wedding-industrial complex boldly keeping the meet-cute flame burning. Then along comes something like Rye Lane — and suddenly a once-stale corner of cinema feels invigorated with possibilities. It is, quite simply, utterly delightful.