Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
After watching three episodes of the 2024 series “One Day,” I had a lightbulb moment (it’s a phrase we use in India for when someone takes their time to realize/notice/understand something), where I said to myself, “Wait, is this the same ‘One Day’ as the movie with Anne Hathaway?” Of course, a quick online search revealed that both the Hathaway film and this series are based on the same book by David Nicholls. And then I didn’t watch the rest of the series for a while because so much seemed familiar, that the story wasn’t exciting anymore. But eventually I finished the series, and I’ll admit I was in tears in the last episode, courtesy some fantastic acting by Leo Woodall, but that didn’t make me forget how frustrating (and boring) the middle episodes were!
Created by Nicole Taylor, “One Day” spans two decades and is spread over 14 episodes, starring Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall as the lead pair, Emma and Dexter. Each episode is set on May 15th of different years, from 1988 to the 2000s. Viewers witness their story through snapshots of their lives on this date, capturing their journey from the day they first meet and tracing how they fare in their lives each year.
The first episode is probably the best edition in the series, where the nerdy-cute Emma catches the eye of Dexter, the dashing handsome college heartthrob, for the first time. But it’s the night of their graduation, so despite spending a memorable night together, they must part ways the next day. However, the two continue to remain in each other’s lives, sharing a hot-and-cold relationship that continues to deepen over the years.
Now, since this is a Netflix series with a generous budget, there isn’t much to complain about the cinematography – the world-building is charming, bringing to life the 1990s, even though some parts don’t feel as retro. The music however is the soul of this show, with some of the background tracks making a scene seem a lot more romantic, sweet or poignant than it really is.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall are fantastic as Emma and Dexter in “One Day”. Ambika’s Emma is smart, sarcastic, and cocky, although sometimes she doesn’t seem to value herself enough. But she is no pushover either. Leo Woodall is perfect as Dexter. He has the boyish charms of Ryan Gosling from the romantic hit “Notebook,” combined with the playful innocence of Macaulay Culkin from his “Home Alone” days. Dexter is the handsome devil on campus, a Lothario who is dashingly charming, which easily blinds people to his self-centered, shallow ways.
“Why do these two even like each other?” I wondered at one point in the series. In the middle years of their friendship, they are close to miserable in each other’s company. If Dexter weren’t so good-looking, an intelligent, career oriented woman like Emma would never sustain a passionately romantic interest in a guy like him after being in the “friend zone” for years. He is like the forbidden fruit she wants to bite. Besides, there are plenty of instances in “One Day”, where the creators keep reminding viewers that they should excuse Dexter’s behavior because he doesn’t recover from this mother Alison’s (Essie Davis) death. Grief is no excuse for people to be vile to their loved ones, not over a consistent period of time.
And why does Dexter like Emma? Only because she is always around for him, because he knows of her hopeless crush on him. Emma tells him “I don’t want to be the consolation prize!” to Dexter in one of the latter episodes, and even though Dexter believably denies it, he is in denial himself – she is his consolation prize. His love for Emma is a case of “Mere-exposure effect”, she is the only constant friend in his life, who puts up with his shitty behavior over the years, so his close proximity with her makes him fall in love with her. I am not saying that’s wrong, I am just saying – it’s just not the kind of romance that leaves you feeling good.
Some aspects of Emma’s character don’t make sense unless you begin to rationalize them yourself. For example, it’s emphasized from the very beginning that Emma is academically brilliant – she graduates with top honors from a prestigious college. While her decision to tour with a small theater group in a rundown vehicle still makes sense as a young artist’s experiments at life, but her move to start working as a waitress in an awful restaurant in London was bizarre. If she’s not going to pursue her theater or writing dreams, why doesn’t she get a proper job? She does eventually get a teaching job, and so you think – okay, maybe the restaurant job was temporary. But why does she seriously begin to date a wannabe stand-up comedian called Ian (Jonny Weldon), who she clearly isn’t attracted to? Or at least their attraction isn’t palpable at all.
Emma probably deserves better than both Ian and Dexter. Or maybe Emma and Dexter do have an amazing time together through the years, but “One Day” doesn’t choose to show us the better part of their romantic relationship, not until their last few years together. While it’s a great literary trope to show just one day of a couple’s life over the years, it’s only able to show us where their relationship is at, not what it really is.
The last episode of the series tries to wash away all the flaws with their story with a heartwarming reunion party of sorts with all the major characters, the last minutes signaling the importance of friendship, family, and starting over after loss. It will be sure to make every movie/series crier cry, but like I said, it still didn’t make me forget the disappointing plot progression of the tale. Overall, the series manages to be an entertaining watch due to the earnest and brilliant performances by the cast.
Rating: 6 on 10. Stream “One Day” on Netflix.
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