RYE LANE
Directed by Raine Allen Miller – Out March 31 on Hulu
Not every love story starts with a meet-cute—sometimes sparks fly when two people are just trying to keep it together, reacclimating to single life while coping with barbed memories of recent breakups. This is the vibe when Dom (David Jonsson) and Yas (Vivian Oparah) cross paths in Rye Lane, each of them seeking solitude in the communal bathroom of a gallery and disrupting the other’s search for peace. Dom is sobbing in a stall, cyberstalking the ex who left him for his childhood friend, while Yas is verbally abusing her own reflection for reasons yet to be revealed.
So begins a meandering day for this duo, who casually share secrets and expose their scars during a jaunt through London interspersed with musical interludes and cheeky British charm. Yas quickly agrees to pose as Dom’s date to humble his ex, fabricating a tale of a love-at-first-sight karaoke duet to explain how they met; the scene is later echoed as they explore the beginnings of their real potential relationship.
The pair spends a good part of their day rescuing each other from awkward encounters with their respective exes, at one point retrieving a record Yas left behind with her joyless boyfriend. The film is enhanced by a soundtrack that’s central to the story without feeling forced, much like the chemistry between Yas and Dom. Rye Lane is easy but not too obvious, the way many of us hope a spontaneous date will feel.
Top Photo: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
