Two Cents is a Cinapse original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team curates the series and contribute their “two cents” using a maximum of 200-400 words. Guest contributors and comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future picks. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion. Would you like to be a guest contributor or programmer for an upcoming Two Cents entry? Simply watch along with us and/or send your pitches or 200-400 word reviews to cinapse.twocents@gmail.com.
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re focusing our attention on memorable works of Black female filmmakers. The four movies under our theme this month range from horror to romantic comedy to the supernatural, but each exhibits distinctly original voice and a creative vision. Join us as we celebrate this underrepresented group of directors and their stand-out films.
The Pick: Rye Lane (2023)
A lively and vibrant recent addition to the romantic comedy genre, Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane won over critics and audiences alike after its premiere at Sundance in 2023. The two charming leads get to know each other as they wander around London, like a laugh-out-loud Before Sunrise, if you will. The film is currently streaming on Hulu.
The Team
Elizabeth Stoddard
As soon as Rye Lane opens, the audience gets a sense of what we’re in for. The camera pans through random bathroom stalls, a fun introduction to the diverse London community in which the film is based. Our lead characters, Dom (David Jonsson, The Long Walk, Alien: Romulus) and Yas (Vivian Oparah, Class, I May Destroy You), have a kind of meet cute in a unisex bathroom at a mutual friend’s gallery opening. They then meander through Rye Lane market and other spots in the neighborhood as they chat about their recent break-ups, getting to know each other (and of course, falling for each other in the process).
Jonsson and Oparah are engaging enough onscreen to have the viewer falling a little in love with their characters, as well – foibles and all. The screenplay by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia is fresh and often hilarious, throwing in some aspects of an unreliable narrator in Yas. Olan Collardy’s cinematography wanders around the streets with the leads, giving a real sense of place; the lighting also loves their faces.
Given the neighborhood characters we see throughout (the cowboy dressed in blue, the man seen through the window of his flat, the young girls choreographing a TikTok, the yoga class in the park, etc.), the cameo from Colin Firth as owner of a food stand called Love Guac’tually doesn’t seem too far-fetched. These neighbors shown in the background – as well as the lively side characters Dom and Yas interact with – deepen our sense of this community. This is as much praise for the film’s casting as it is for the production design, and filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller’s work overall.
There is an utter joy to Rye Lane, both the Black joy we see depicted herein and the joy we feel as viewers watching the film. The romantic comedy is such a mood-lifter and leaves me with a smile on my face at the end.
Justin Harlan
In one sense, I am a bit sad that this film simply isn’t for me. I am a genre junkie and films in more traditional drama or romance worlds don’t typically do much for me. While there were certainly some great quirks and unique things about this film, I could tell from early on that it simply wasn’t one I was going to be able to fully get into, but I would certainly still try.
In another sense, I’m not sad at all that this isn’t for me. Not all films or stories need to be, obviously. There is a unique perspective and a decidedly focused point of view here that will definitely hit others in important ways. The acting is wholly believable and the writing is tight – both contributing to keeping me watching, even when it felt rather certain that it wasn’t my kind of film.
Truly, one of the greatest things about this column and our team is the diversity of interests and thought. Films like this one deserve as much exposure as the latest tentpole action flick or A24 horror joint. For that, I’m always grateful for what we do both with Two Cents and at Cinapse in general.
Ed Travis
My 40s have been challenging, if I’m being totally honest. And having just completed another trip around the sun recently, not to mention watching 21 films at SXSW last week… I’m in a reflective mood.
Which set me up well to watch a movie like Rye Lane, which is so simply and energetically about two people making a spontaneous connection. I don’t think the film is flawless or transcendent, per se. But it sure is refreshing to just enjoy young talent (David Jonsson is one of our most exciting up and coming actors, and new-to-me Vivian Oparah was effervescent) portray young love on screen in a satisfying way. Some of the extended meet cute of a movie really did achieve a kind of musical transcendence, such as the Tribe Called Quest breakup story, and the legendary karaoke performance. In both instances, the music elevates the moment.
Despite the film largely taking place over a single day in relative real time, involving a lot of walking and talking, director Raine Allen-Miller infuses the tale with plenty of visual flair, clever editing, and the aforementioned energetic musical elements, to make Rye Lane feel bigger, more magnetic, and more lived-in than it could have been.
The world out there has been rough and getter harsher of late. Cinema sometimes feels the need to go big, to go high concept, to go maximalist, perhaps in light of the chaotic world out there. My old ass was more than happy to simply enjoy young, energetic, Black, British love unfold on screen in Rye Lane. I laughed, I cried, I cheered for our leads to be vulnerable and honest with one another and find genuine connection, healing, and yes, attraction. The simple, streamlined, and culturally specific story charmed me just enough to forget about the troubles of the world while I watched it, and what more can you ask for from a movie these days?!
Brendan Agnew
The trick to creating a romantic comedy that really clicks is to make the audience fall in love with the characters as hard as they fall for each other. The best ones lodge in your heart and become like old friends you’re always keen to revisit, and in spite of its recency, the crazy day that Dom and Yas take through the streets of South London is already a warm blanket of a movie. The story of their bathroom stall meet-cute and whirlwind romance doesn’t break a ton of new ground for the genre, but the specifics of the place and people involved create a “world” for the movie that feels both fresh and familiar.
It also can’t be overstated how fully these performances pop off the screen. Vivian Oparah plays the confused anger and messy sadness that keep Yas from coming off like yet another Manic Pixie Dream Girl with a deft touch that makes it hard to catch when you’re first getting to know her, and David Jonsson’s Dom is a quietly phenomenal breakout turn. Nathan Bryan and Tom Melia gift the stars a script that gives plenty of room to play in the confines of a story who’s shape most genre enthusiasts will suss out pretty quick, but the latter is a feature more than a bug.
The other major ingredient that makes Rye Lane feel so vivacious on relatively well-trod road is director Raine Allen-Miller’s visual touch. Her use of wide anamorphic lenses both allows the titular street to stretch out like a horizon of possibilities, but also warps the frame to center the characters so their world seems physically affected by their chemistry. Allen-Miller also has a slick sensibility for using her frame to land a joke like a body blow, and the film’s 82 minute run time feels like a minor miracle given the myriad of laughs and kooky characters the film pinballs through.
If you’ve ever mournfully thought “they just don’t make ‘em like they used to” about the romantic comedy, a stroll down Rye Lane is what you’ve been waiting for.
This month, we’re honoring some of the incredible Black female voices in film! Join in by sending your thoughts on any of the films above to cinapse.twocents@gmail.com or your favorite Cinapse staffer by early in the week listed above. Hope to see you all month long!
