The new British romantic comedy “Rye Lane” is a breath of fresh air in a sea of usual direct-to-stream releases of a dozen cents in the genre.
A Sundance festival hit that was acquired for release on Hulu, the film is the feature debut of Raine Allen-Miller and screenwriters Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia.
It follows Dom (David Jonsson) and Yas (Vivian Oparah), two young people from south London who connect after each going through a breakup.
Mostly taking place over the course of a day, the pair roam the city discussing relationships, jobs and aspirations, eventually finding themselves in a series of humorous situations, from awkward dinner parties with exes to stealing property from their homes. former partners.
A charismatic Jonsson and Oparah are at the heart of the film, which wouldn’t work as well without the chemistry of its two leads, which fit perfectly with its energetic storyline.
Elsewhere in the cast are other quirky animated characters, from Dom’s friend Nathan (Simon Manyonda), who hosts bizarre art galleries filled with close-up images and videos of mouths and butts, to his former best friend Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni), now the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend Gia (Karene Peter).
Despite what could have been a minimalist approach to its conversational storytelling, the film has plenty of flair via a vibrant and colorful visual palette.
As for the music, it’s a fun mish-mash that pairs a score by producer Kwes with a soundtrack compiling a variety of grime, classic hip-hop, reggae, R&B and other tracks (A Tribe Called Quest plays a central role for the characters, for one, while Sampha makes several musical appearances).
A nice little surprise in an age when small, quality rom-coms seem rare, “Rye Lane” is proof of its creative team, from the director and writers to the two leads, who are new talents at pulling off quirky, funny stories with an eye on style.
Searchlight Pictures’ “Rye Lane” premieres on Hulu on Friday, March 31.
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