It is time to get back to our journey through the featured lists over on Letterboxd. Our last installment was from the Academy Award Winners for Best Picture with The Artist (2011). This week, the movie comes from the Top 100 Black-Directed list with Rye Lane (2023).
Title: Rye Lane
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes
Watched via: Hulu
Dom (David Jonsson) is having a rough go of things. He finds himself at an art exhibit of a friend, sobbing in a bathroom stall after seeing a post from his ex-girlfriend, Gia (Karene Peter), where she and her new beau are repainting walls. But they aren’t just any walls, they’re the walls that she and Dom originally painted together. Adding insult to injury, Gia’s new beau is none other than Dom’s best friend, Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni).
During his bathroom stall cry session, Dom is overhead by Yas (Vivian Oparah). Dom tells her to get out of the men’s room and, without missing a beat, Yas reminds Dom that they’re in a unisex bathroom. Yas peaks under the stall and sees Dom’s pink Chuck Taylor shoes. Later, while back in the gallery, Yas sees the pink Chuck Taylors and saunters over to Dom.
After an awkward “formal” introduction, Dom and Yas begin chatting it up. She lets him vent about his relationship troubles while they walk through Rye Lane Market. Yas lets Dom know that she too is coming out of a relationship. Except, in the case of Yas, she was the one who ended things and she tells Dom how good it felt. Dom informs Yas that he’s about to meet up with Gia and Eric to clear the air. She tells him that’s a horrible idea but ultimately decides to let him learn that lesson the hard way, or so Dom thought. About five minutes into the meet-up, Dom is not handling things well and it’s at this time that Yas swoops in to save the day.
Pulling no punches and being as over-the-top as can be, Yas puts on a show. She acts as if Dom is her wildly sexual lover before absolutely dressing down both Gia and Eric. Yas and Dom then leave the restaurant and decide to continue the day together. As they get a bite to eat and stroll through a park, both Dom and Yas begin opening up to each other more.
Is their day spent together the therapeutic session they both needed in order to move on?
Or could their connection over the course of a single day lead to something more?
One of the first things that stood out to me about Rye Lane (2023) is the way that it was shot. The use of wide-angle lenses provides a distortion to each shot and keeps your attention drawn to the characters, who are primarily centered in each shot. While this approach might not work in a different genre of movie, for a romantic comedy like this it works perfectly and provides a uniqueness.
Speaking of uniqueness, Raine Allen-Miller came out swinging in her feature debut as a director. What an absolute delight to see a new and modern take on the rom-com genre. Yes, all rom coms follow somewhat of the same formula, but there’s isn’t anything paint-by-numbers about Rye Lane (2023). In fact, there is one specific scene with an unexpected cameo that pays homage to the British rom coms that came before it.
All of this means nothing if the leads aren’t strong. Well, lucky for us, both David Jonsson and Vivian Oprah were more than up for the task. The story takes the time to establish both Dom and Yas as independent individuals rather than two hopeless fools destined to fall in love. We run the gambit of emotions with Dom and he’s oddly charming every step of the way. Meanwhile, Yas carries the load as far as comedic relief. However, when she bears her truth, we see a deeper side to Yas that is just as believable.
Let’s also not gloss over the fact that the soundtrack is phenomenal!
I’d heard good things about Rye Lane (2023) and after watching it I can see why it had so much hype coming out of Sundance 2023.
I am always a sucker for a good rom com. So, it should come as no surprise that I absolutely loved everything about Rye Lane (2023). If it is still a blind spot for you, please correct that as soon as you can.
So, what did you think of Rye Lane (2023)? If you’ve seen Rye Lane (2023) I want to hear what you thought in the comments below or by reaching out to me on social media!
As always, you can stay up to date with everything else I’ve been watching over on my Letterboxd profile.