One Day (2011) Review

After graduating University together Dexter and Emma spend the night together. They agree to be just friends and this film takes us on a journey over 20 years to see where they are on the 15th July each year from that first night together.

I found this film to be a very emotional journey into the lives of two people we begin to care about a lot watching them over 20 years. We get to see them grow up and struggle to achieve what they really wanted. All the time still keeping in touch and really helping each other out along the way.

I felt a great desire to see Dex and Emma together, but it was obvious that he had a lot of growing up to do and he even admitted himself that he was not yet ready for her. While it sounded quite awful hearing him say that to her, he was telling the truth. Even then when he seemed to have a lot of women he did not want to start a relationship with Emma and hurt her. No matter what Dex done it was not possible to hate him.

The most hard-hitting line I found came from Emma to Dex when she tells him “I love you, I just don’t like you anymore” – something I am sure everyone can relate to when in a relationship or have a great friendship. When you change or the other person changes you find yourself not liking them.

As the years went on and we saw Emma and Dex fall out with each other and not speak for what looked like a couple of years. Dex is ready to get married and going to become a father, I really found that upsetting and felt for Emma as you could really see the disappointment in her face. Yet I still held hope that they would be together in the end.

But as we got closer to the current year it was starting to look like we would not be having a happy ending – which we so craved throughout. I will not spoil what happens, but I will say I really did find it so upsetting and utterly tragic. After taking so long to get to that point it was all taken away in a split second. So was the moral of the story, that you cannot have everything that you want as it will just be taken away from you again? That is kind of how I felt when we got to the end of the film. But they helped each other through life and really made each other better people. They made each other happy – something that we all want to be.

I haven’t read the book this film is based on (yet, I do plan on reading it). I have heard that it is a very good book so looking forward to reading a copy now I have seen the film . . . yes I often do it the wrong way round!

I really did find this film very touching and enjoyed it from start to finish. I was trying to get through the review without mentioned Hathaway’s accent but I couldn’t quite make it – it really was not good at all she just sounded Australian at times?!? But Jim Sturgess impressed me once again he really is becoming one of my favorite actors!