Director Raine Allen-Miller makes her acclaimed feature debut with this primary-coloured romance bursting with wit, grit and charm
British director Raine Allen-Miller, who became the toast of Sundance in January, has jokingly characterised her praise-laden debut feature (from a script by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia) as a tale of two people spending a day together and having a lovely time. That’s a deceptively simple description of a hugely enjoyable romp that effortlessly combines the “limited time” romcom format of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy with the in-your-face visual cheekiness of Peep Show. Unfolding against the vibrantly photographed backdrop of sunny south London locales, Rye Lane blends the warmth and charm of a formulaic love story with the colourfully street-smart grit of Brit pics such as Shola Amoo’s A Moving Image or more recently Reggie Yates’s Pirates, creating something that is at once playful, poignant and personal.
British director Raine Allen-Miller, who became the toast of Sundance in January, has jokingly characterised her praise-laden debut feature (from a script by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia) as a tale of two people spending a day together and having a lovely time. That’s a deceptively simple description of a hugely enjoyable romp that effortlessly combines the “limited time” romcom format of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy with the in-your-face visual cheekiness of Peep Show. Unfolding against the vibrantly photographed backdrop of sunny south London locales, Rye Lane blends the warmth and charm of a formulaic love story with the colourfully street-smart grit of Brit pics such as Shola Amoo’s A Moving Image or more recently Reggie Yates’s Pirates, creating something that is at once playful, poignant and personal.
- 3/19/2023
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
This week HeyUGuys fell in love, deeply and irrevocably in love, with a couple we’d never met before. We laughed with them, hoped for them, cringed with them and sighed over them. And it all began with a pair of ugly break-ups and a quick chat on Rye Lane…
Dom (David Jonsson) has had his heart broken. Properly stomped and shattered. Forced to return to the sympathetic embrace of his childhood home – where boiled eggs come with soldiers and his every need is catered to – the last place the woebegone accountant wants to be is at a trendy gallery humouring the singular photographic skills of his smug mate.
Yas (Vivian Oparah) appears to have taken her breakup a bit more on the chin. Her ebullient spirit would not allow her to stay crushed by the crapness of an ex so she is bemused to overhear Dom sobbing in a...
Dom (David Jonsson) has had his heart broken. Properly stomped and shattered. Forced to return to the sympathetic embrace of his childhood home – where boiled eggs come with soldiers and his every need is catered to – the last place the woebegone accountant wants to be is at a trendy gallery humouring the singular photographic skills of his smug mate.
Yas (Vivian Oparah) appears to have taken her breakup a bit more on the chin. Her ebullient spirit would not allow her to stay crushed by the crapness of an ex so she is bemused to overhear Dom sobbing in a...
- 3/17/2023
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The romcom has lapsed into such an anaemic state that Rye Lane feels like a miracle. Here’s an entry into the genre that doesn’t surrender to thinkpiece-ready neuroticism. And doesn’t demand two A-listers shoulder the entire job of summoning chemistry from a dead-eyed script. And, most refreshingly, doesn’t subsist purely on nostalgia for romcoms of old.
Raine Allen-Miller’s breezy, south London-set debut is exactly what we deserve from this genre. With one foot in the present and the other in the past, it follows a day-long flirtation – à la Before Sunrise – between two of life’s loveable losers, Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson). Both are shipwrecked by post-breakup shame. But when Yas catches Dom in the act of a not-so-private sob session in an art gallery bathroom, the pair become unlikely allies in the search for emotional closure. Yas subs in as Dom...
Raine Allen-Miller’s breezy, south London-set debut is exactly what we deserve from this genre. With one foot in the present and the other in the past, it follows a day-long flirtation – à la Before Sunrise – between two of life’s loveable losers, Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson). Both are shipwrecked by post-breakup shame. But when Yas catches Dom in the act of a not-so-private sob session in an art gallery bathroom, the pair become unlikely allies in the search for emotional closure. Yas subs in as Dom...
- 3/16/2023
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Non-Londoners might think of the U.K. capital as a single city, the perceived interchangeability of its regions and locations evident in many a notionally London-set but geographically manic film where characters stroll from Chelsea Bridge to the heart of Soho in a matter of minutes. Residents know that its quadrants are so disparate as to be whole separate ecosystems, with the Thames River that separates north from south London a virtual equator running through the city.
Those who have toured the Big Smoke via the movies — in particular, the idealized, exportable London of Working Title trifles and “Paddington” pictures — are largely familiar with the most leafy, genteel streets of the north and west, with the increasingly bourgeois east lately getting a look-in. But the diverse, dynamic neighborhoods of the south have received less than their due on screen, which is where Raine Allen-Miller’s delightful romantic comedy “Rye Lane” aims to set things right.
Those who have toured the Big Smoke via the movies — in particular, the idealized, exportable London of Working Title trifles and “Paddington” pictures — are largely familiar with the most leafy, genteel streets of the north and west, with the increasingly bourgeois east lately getting a look-in. But the diverse, dynamic neighborhoods of the south have received less than their due on screen, which is where Raine Allen-Miller’s delightful romantic comedy “Rye Lane” aims to set things right.
- 3/16/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The “walk-and-talk” filmmaking technique is where characters have a conversation while moving from one location to the next. Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy masterfully executed this storytelling technique thanks to impeccable writing and brilliant performances from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Raine Allen-Miller’s comedy, Rye Lane, is an absolute charmer, bringing its own unique flavor to the storytelling technique.
‘Rye Lane’ deals with the hurt of a breakup L-r: David Jonsson as Dom and Vivian Oparah as Yas | Chris Harris / Searchlight Pictures
Dom (David Jonsson) is on the edge of a breakdown after his girlfriend, Gia (Karene Peter), broke up with him. He happens to meet Yas (Vivian Oparah) when he’s embarrassingly sobbing in a public toilet stall while trying to mentally prepare himself for having an awkward meal with his now-ex. Gia cheated on him with his best friend, Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni), and they want to clear their guilty conscience.
‘Rye Lane’ deals with the hurt of a breakup L-r: David Jonsson as Dom and Vivian Oparah as Yas | Chris Harris / Searchlight Pictures
Dom (David Jonsson) is on the edge of a breakdown after his girlfriend, Gia (Karene Peter), broke up with him. He happens to meet Yas (Vivian Oparah) when he’s embarrassingly sobbing in a public toilet stall while trying to mentally prepare himself for having an awkward meal with his now-ex. Gia cheated on him with his best friend, Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni), and they want to clear their guilty conscience.
- 1/31/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Take the plot of one of Richard Linklater’s Before movies, combine it with the eye-popping aesthetic of Wes Anderson, then set it within the ethnically diverse, highly photogenic South London enclave of Peckham, and you’ll wind up with Rye Lane.
Starring the charismatic pair of David Jonsson (Industry) and Vivian Oparah (Teen Spirit) as a would-be couple who spend one long, action-packed day checking each other out around the film’s titular thoroughfare, Raine Allen-Miller’s rather addictive feature debut is colorfully clever and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. But most of all it manages to make an old story feel new. This Sundance premiere from Searchlight Pictures should help put its gifted first-time director on the map.
We’ve seen it before: the meet-cute of two attractive youngsters on the rebound, the stories of their hellish exes, the flirting and the sidestepping, the anticipation of the first kiss, the rejection and the inevitable reunion.
Starring the charismatic pair of David Jonsson (Industry) and Vivian Oparah (Teen Spirit) as a would-be couple who spend one long, action-packed day checking each other out around the film’s titular thoroughfare, Raine Allen-Miller’s rather addictive feature debut is colorfully clever and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. But most of all it manages to make an old story feel new. This Sundance premiere from Searchlight Pictures should help put its gifted first-time director on the map.
We’ve seen it before: the meet-cute of two attractive youngsters on the rebound, the stories of their hellish exes, the flirting and the sidestepping, the anticipation of the first kiss, the rejection and the inevitable reunion.
- 1/24/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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