Rye Lane Review

Streaming Movie Review

Breakups are almost always hard. Most of us don’t enter into a relationship expecting it to end, and if it’s one that we’ve been a part of for a long time, it hurts when it does. We invest a part of ourselves into a relationship, so when that is no longer there, we can feel like we’ve lost a little bit of ourselves. Director Raine Allen-Miller explores some of these themes in her new film “Rye Lane,” currently streaming on Hulu.

Dom (David Jonsson) is suffering from a bad break up with his girlfriend Gia (Karene Peter). He caught her cheating with his best friend since elementary school, and he can’t seem to move on. When at an art show for a mutual friend, he escapes to the bathroom to have another cry. While there, he is overheard by Yas (Vivian Oparah) who offers some light condolences. 

When they recognize each other by their shoes later, Dom explains that he’s going to be meeting his ex the next day. Yas, who has recently experienced her own break-up, offers to come along, but he declines. However, as Dom is sitting awkwardly across from his former girlfriend and former best friend (who seems to think they are still best friends), Yas shows up anyway, rescuing him from this terrible situation. From there, they spend a wild day together, learning more about each other and the deeper truth of their situations.

This movie was an interesting twist on the romantic comedy. We have seen the movie where both characters are pining over lost loves (my all-time favorite, “When Harry Met Sally” leaps to mind), but that is not a common theme. And the way the story plays out in this one, we are constantly led through much deeper character development than we typically see in a regular rom-com.

The performances by the two leads are beautiful. Their “opposites attract” energy works brilliantly and the chemistry that Jonsson and Oparah have together is fantastic. In most rom-coms, you hope for the couple to get together, but goodness, this one takes it to another level.

What really made this film unique were some of the directing choices. The flashback sequences are very stylized and interesting, leading us down some fascinating roads. Allen-Miller uses a fisheye lens that also gives a little sense of unreality to some of the events in the movie, which helps blur the line between what is being told to us by the protagonists and what is actually happening. The vibrant color palette she uses is visually arresting. 

Different people react to a romantic breakup in different ways. Sometimes people need to take time to cry and wallow a bit. Sometimes people will distract themselves with all kinds of busywork. Sometimes people will jump immediately into a new relationship. Sometimes people will put on a romantic comedy to remind themselves that love is possible again. If the last one is you, consider a stroll down “Rye Lane.”

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on April 15, 2023.