MY REVIEW OF 'ONE DAY' *no spoilers
In the point of view of how it resembles my own longstanding love affair. This won’t be corny I promise, nor will I make you cry.
Dear City Girl,
This is the week to either get terribly drunk with your bestie or stay in and order sad food delivery and rewatch some Girls episodes. Chin up gorgeous, it’s just one day.
One Day originated as a novel by David Nicholls, then adapted into a 2011 film (starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess) and now into a Netflix series with Ambika Mod (This Is Going To Hurt) and Leo Woodall (White Lotus). At first I was hesitant to dive into the series, because the film nearly did me in.
The book, the movie and the Netflix series all thankfully follow the same line of characters and general storyline. Emma and Dexter meet at the end of their graduate year at University of Edinburgh. Their first night was meant to be a one-night stand, but instead turned into a lifelong friendship stemming from deep rooted unrequited love for another. We follow Emma and Dexter throughout their friendship-sometimes-courtship and even through their temporary emotional separation from one another. That’s all I will say about the plot for those who haven’t read or watched the film (even though the series is a bit different).
I loved the filming style, which felt authentic, like we were actually living in the late 80’s and 90’s. Nothing looked like a soundstage. More than just hairstyle transformations and wardrobe, everything from the lighting and set design transported us to a time when no smartphones existed. No moronic texts back and forth, just panic messages left on answering machines. (For any Gen Z’er reading, that was a small square box placed next to an actual landline push button phone that at that time you had to be home to retrieve phone messages) The soundtrack is brilliant and nostalgic.
What I like about Emma: She knows what she doesn’t want, yet struggles with what it is she really wants. We can all relate to that. From the first moment with Dexter, she knew that she didn’t want to be just another girl, which remained a factor throughout their friendship. Even with the passionate sexual tension, Emma never changed herself to try and fit in to what Dexter was normally used to as far as intimate relationships.
What I like about Dexter: He never objectified Emma as a sex object, his interests with her from their first night together was to get to know who she was, intellectually and personally. I suppose that’s what separated her from the high turnover of Dexter’s girlfriends.
What I disliked about Dexter: Once his insecurities rolled in particularly when it came to his rising career with the masses or at his lowest when it pertained to family, it was always Emma he needed for rescue, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously Emma always came to his mind, because it was Emma that he trusted to be at his most vulnerable and true self.
The thing about this story for me is that it resembles a lot of a past yet ongoing tale of my own. I have a Dex and we also met post-grad, started out as mutually interested, then close digital/online friends (ours was/is long distance), then lovers, then friends, present day question marks.
With some similarities to Emma and Dexter’s up’s and downfalls that I had with mine, we shared adventures, the kind that we’ll reminisce about in our golden years or read as a page from a long lost journal entry. The timing was never (or still is) right for us. He was with someone, then I wasn’t with anyone. I was with someone, when he wasn’t with anyone. There were times when we were both with a someone and somehow still we were each other’s Emma and Dexter. Once my Dex flew over an ocean to visit me, for no special occasion except that he had something to tell me. I was so excited to see him, all the way from London only to hear me say that I was currently seeing someone. It was the first time he had ever been so upset and disappointed. I could’ve told him before he left London. I had opportunities to do so (just like Emma had during the Paris scene). When I think back to that time, I’m almost sure that was supposed to be when we were going to be together - finally, for real. I got scared, that’s why I couldn’t tell him beforehand. At that time I only wanted the type of relationship where I didn’t have to think of anything. Non-committal, I needed someone not all the way in London.
Emma and Dexter wanted different things. I went through that phase with my Dex. We were both at different points in our lives, where we had halfway outgrown the things we loved post-grad/early adulthood then cut to right in the smack of our we have to be serious about adulthood now. We’re not those same people anymore. We also went through a “I don’t need you in my life anymore!” separation, but like Emma and Dexter, we always find our way back to one another.
Friendship knows no bounds. Friendships mixed with deep love and adoration does have bounds and road blocks. Whether it’s out of respect, fear or honesty, falling in love with your bestfriend doesn’t always feel like the safest option. Sometimes we end up placing that relationship on a pedestal, which I think is the love story between Emma and Dexter. And that’s what I believe is the story of me and my Dex.
In the words of Emma, “We grew up together. I like that.”
So was One Day a good series version of the novel and the film? Yes, many romance dramas don’t get it right, especially if taken from a novel and then a film. Nothing about the series format or storytelling was oversaturated. More than a love story, One Day is about friendships, connections, family, loss, grief and moving on. I think the series offered the viewer and fans of the novel more closure than the film did. We were able to say goodbye to Emma and Dexter’s story and the life they had together.
In the wise have-lived words an elder would give, isn’t it more of a blessing to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all?
One Day will destroy you emotionally though, for about a week.
THIS IS DEDICATED TO ALL MY PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE LOVERS
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However you choose to spend this upcoming Valentine’s Day, I hope it’s with someone you love, someone you fancy and is worthy of your time and admiration. And if you’re in a question mark relationship, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t think my Dex subscribes to this, but you never know … I miss you lots.
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Your Valentine,
DNAMAG