Date: July 15
Time: 20 years
Duration: 14 episodes
One Day you’ll fall in love, but when? If you’re ready to dive headfirst into a whirlpool of emotional push and pull, you’re ready to press play on the new Netflix series One Day. Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall) draw us into their 20-year romantic drama as it unfolds one ‘July 15‘ at a time. Out today, this latest adaptation of the David Nicholls novel gives us 14 chances (episodes) to find love with Emma and Dex.
As far as clever narrative structures go, One Day uses its story engine well. The series follows Dex and Em on the same date, throughout different years, starting from their graduation in 1988. It’s as if you’re listening to someone relive the pivotal moments in their lives, sifting through memories of a devastating love, telling the tales so vividly you can each vignette as it plays out.
Mod and Woodall are the linchpins of the series. Even when it stumbles, they’re able to keep you looking forward to what comes next. Mod’s portrayal of Emma is full-bodied. She’s someone you continue to adore even while recognizing their annoying quirks. Woodall’s Dexter is a tragic child of wealth. As long as things are easy, he remains unbothered but during harder times he spirals. That mixture of charisma and complexity is what makes Dex endearing even when you want Emma to chuck him into the sea. Their onscreen rotation around each other is simultaneously intimate and strained, which is what we want from a ‘maybe/maybe not’ romance.
But here’s the thing, the series, despite its charms, might be a bit too long at just under 7 hours. It explores the many shapes relationships take over time: the friendship, grief, expectations, and the contentiousness of unfulfilled dreams. That’s what gets you, the regrets, the might have beens—One Day captures them with the wonder of fireflies in jars, but left too long they can stifle.
Comparisons to both the 2009 book and the 2011 film are inevitable, but the series uses its longer runtime to outdo the movie, exploring the characters more deeply and giving them more space to develop. However, Emma’s world is limited because she lacks a family foundation to lean on. Although she has strong friendships, especially in Amber Grappy‘s Tilly, there are several South Asian actors who could’ve given her a counterpoint to Dex’s well-rendered parents.
RIOTUS 