One Day

For a lot of people, a movie has a very short amount of time to grab your interest.  The opening scenes of a movie are incredibly important.  Not only do they need to set up the tone of the film, they also need to convince you, the viewer, that you want to spend your next two hours together.  I read the synopsis for One Day and thought it sounded interesting; the opening of the movie tried its hardest to convince me that wasn't the case.

One Day is the story of two people, told over twenty years, where we are only privy to one day a year.  You see them meeting on July 15th and then rejoin them each consecutive July 15th.  It's a neat premise.  When you throw in Anne Hathaway, who is a good actress with a bit of cred, you have a recipe for success.  My only concern was how far into "chick flick" territory the story would take me.*

Luckily, the film comes across as more of the story of two people, rather than a zany romantic comedy.  The acting is fine.  Any drawbacks are more due to the source material.  As the film is based on a novel, you lose the ability to see inside the characters.**  Seeing two characters on one day a year causes us to not see their relationship grow.  We are exposed to it, but it isn't as natural, nor cohesive.  At the beginning of the film, the jumps are very jarring.  As the movie progresses, the jumps become smoother and work much better.  At the same time, as the story progresses, it manages to hit every big cliche.  There is a definite attempt to tug on your heartstrings.***  

The movie did earn bonus points through a few random inclusions.  They appealed to my not so inner nerd by referencing certain things.  At one point in time, two of the characters discuss Army of Darkness.  Who doesn't love that movie?  

It wouldn't do to further discuss the film without making mention of the attempt to age the characters throughout the twenty year span.  Through the use of different hairstyles, glasses, and demeanors, the characters appear to grow and change.  The tricks are simple but used very well in the movie.  You believe you're jumping through time with them.  Add in appropriate music, and the time is relatively well established.****

One Day is not a great film.  It may not even be a good one.  I'm pretty sure I'll forget all about it here pretty quickly.  That being said, it gave me what it said it would.  I appreciated the attempt at something different, but I'm not going to go around telling people to watch the movie.  My recurring thoughts were focused more on Anne Hathaway's shoes than anything else.*****

  

*I'm not too big into movies marketed specifically to women.  I don't really enjoy them, but I will watch them on occasion.  I need all the experience points I can get.  

**I haven't read the novel, so I could be making a poor assumption.  I'm referencing my experience with other adaptations.

***It worked; don't judge me.  I really believe that your own mental state and personal situation will allow you to be more or less impacted by the entertainment you choose to watch.

****The opening music is incredibly generic though!  It's like they just picked a random bit of instrumental composition to go with.

*****Seriously, she had these pumps with an ankle strap.  I am constantly looking all over for shoes like that and can't find them.  She wore two or three pairs in the film!  Unrealistic!!

<< Unnecessary Possible Spoiler>>  Perambulator.  Hehehe.  (Rick, if you're out there, I expect you to know what this indicates!)