Review of Rye Lane

In recent times the romantic comedy has established itself as a genre in decline. No longer the box office draw of the ’90s, it was largely exiled to the realm of budget streamers, with only veteran female talismans like Jennifer Lopez and her marriage-industrial complex boldly maintaining the match flame. Then comes something like this rye alley — and suddenly a once stale corner of the cinema feels invigorated by possibility. It’s absolutely adorable.

There’s no particular spin on the rom-com wheel here: In Yas (Vivian Oparah) and Dom (David Jonsson), she has her own will-they-are-obviously-don’t-dance. Allen-Miller has given this wheel a fresh coat of brightly colored paint and a boost in nuclear-nitro power. There’s craftsmanship and care here, in a genre that too often settles for utilitarian blandness. What immediately strikes you most, from the initial overview of a series of toilets, is the liveliness, elegance and visual interest of each image; Allen-Miller practically grabs your eyes by the sockets and covers them in color.

This partly reflects the South East London setting (it’s shot entirely on location in Peckham and Brixton) – its various historic market stalls and newly gentrified Instagram extravagance all take center stage with generous framing. The film sets out to establish a real sense of place, with the screen always teeming with life. (South Londoners, in particular, will have some fun with geo-correcting character travel.)

But that visual poppiness (which extends to everything from editing to wardrobe choice — check out Dom’s chic pink Converse shoes) is also a reflection of hue. It’s a warm, funny, and instantly likable story centered around two ridiculously charismatic young leads, Oparah and Jonsson, who share lively chemistry. They are, as tradition dictates, opposites that attract: he is a whiny, heart-pounding romantic, she is a self-confident, risk-taking, fast-talking romantic. Soon, their differences become similarities.

The screenplay, by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia, values ​​conversational simplicity and like a Gen-Z jerk. Before sunrise, a large part of the film allows these two young people to meet and get to know each other. Refreshingly different from most rom-coms set in the capital (rhymes with “Schmotting Schmill”), it’s also far more representative of the diversity of London boroughs, Oparah and Jonsson united by an almost all-black British cast. (There’s also, notably, a cameo from a former rom-com regular that will make you scream.)

Apparently by design, it is light and perhaps airy (the big thing here is picking up an old vinyl album) and ends with a final act crackling in its formula, which also suffers a little from the movement of the action into a less colorful central London. . But these are minor subtleties. At 82 minutes, it’s lively, agile and leaves you on top. The romantic comedy is back!