The other day, I was (not proudly) mindlessly scrolling through Instagram reels and I saw this scene from the new Netflix series “One Day” so I decided to watch it. I went into it thinking it was a movie and not until the third episode that it hit me that it was based on the same book as the 2011 movie with Anne Hathaway. Unlike the movie, which had some poor reviews and was not accepted by many, the show is absolutely worth the watch and a well-done book adaptation, validated by the rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“One Day” is a hard watch for the hopeless romantics, as we go through the life of two friends Dex (Leo Woodall) and Emma (Ambika Mod) during their 20s and are witness to the highs and lows of a love relationship. Their first contact starts as a failed one night stand after their university graduation party. They end up having a heart to heart conversation instead of s**, and this dialogue alone right in the first episode got me completely hooked on their stories. The show goes on to demonstrate their two points of view brilliantly by interpolating each episode focused on each of their stories one day every year (July 15) over a 20 year period.
Their relationship grows in the years to come, but it is met with a constant back and forth of disagreements and miscommunication. Even though they clearly have feelings for each other, they just seem to not be able to admit it and we are left with this “will they, won’t they” trope. Together with this, the show gives us some heartfelt and spontaneous moments between the two that result in a feeling of hope for their possible romance. This dynamic keeps us on the edge of our seats wondering if they will ever admit their feelings and finally get together.
Another important aspect is the casting. Both leading actors give amazing performances and portray the angst of love with such raw emotions. But also all the other secondary characters are so well casted and play an important role as guides to the two main characters’ lives apart from each other. The combination of right person, wrong timing together with the showcase of their personal lives, as they go through work, friendships and family problems is what makes this story so captivating. This representation of how some things just never seem to be right connects to us, because it represents the real emotions and situations we go through in life.
Even though the show is mostly devastating and not a romcom sort of romance, the score is beautifully constructed and offers some very insightful messages about life and how fleeting it is. It is definitely a must watch and you can binge watch it on a weekend as it is only 14 episodes of 20 minutes.