I don't want to turn this into a book review because I am assuming that if you have chosen to read this blog, you have read the book, or recently seen the film. When I mentioned to fellow friends and colleagues that I was going to see the film of One Day I was met with comments of 'oh it has terrible reviews' and 'Anne Hathaway's Yorkshire accent is meant to be terrible'. This I had to see for myself!
As someone who formed a bond with Emma and fancied Dexter in the book, my first criticism of the film when it began was... ANNE HATHAWAY as Emma??!!?? A warm, naive, directionless West Yorkshire lass being played by a well known, glamorous, American actress. Quite simply, casting fail! The casting would have been better if Film4 hadn't got to big for its boots and stuck with a less well known, British actress, who may have some sympathetic inkling as to the character and culture of Emma.
Using a less well known actress would have worked wonders for the film. It would have been more in-keeping with many Film 4 productions, as well as the book and the nature and narrative would have benefit from a lower budget production for a more gritty sense of realism.
Regretfully, however, Hathaway was unable to fill the role of Emma mostly due to her extremely confusing accent.
The West Yorkshire accent is easily identifiable. However, Hathaway built a rip roaringly laughable accent amid a highly rushed year by year account of her and Dexter's life on 15 July from the year 1988.
Her accent went from period drama/queens English to a mild Yorkshire accent to cockney to the most accentuated West Yorkshire accent, most likely found coming from the mouth of a farmer up in't dales tha knows lad!
Similarly, the accent of Jim Sturgess who plays Dexter was just plain odd. So odd, that I wondered throughout the film weather he too, is American playing English, but oh no! He's English. So I wonder why he sounded Australian and sometimes American?
The first 12 years of the film from 1988 to 2000 felt rushed, panic stricken almost it its pursuit to get the the part when Emma and Dexter fall out, become friends, and fall in love. That's what we all want right?
Wrong! - because in rushing to get to 'the good bit' it skimmed the surface of the complexities of their relationship, which didn't really come to light until Dexter began to fall as Emma began to rise.
The care free, arrogant, confident and transparent early days of Dexter were weak compared to the book, and it gave very little impression of Emma's loyalty and desire for him. Jim Sturgess created a creepy, irritating slime ball of a character out of Dexter, when in my opinion he was a little more sleek, manly, sexy and certainly less creepy in the book. He was a Jack the lad in the book, but in the film he came across as a spoilt teenager.
In the scene where Emma and Dexter go on holiday and end up skinny dipping, Dexter has some peculiar head tilting/shaking thing going on to imitate flirting. It was really very irritating and not sexy or flirtatious one bit.
The only redeeming moment where Sturgess began to play Dexter well was when he'd become more settled, albeit with a cheating wife and a baby girl. His failed career and his greying hair made a more endearing chap and this certainly was one of the turning points in the film where it made it more comparable with the book. He was more humorous. But I guess that is the point, someone who lives a life of drugs and debauchery are actually pretty boring to their onlookers.
In the book the moment that Emma is killed happens so quickly and so surprisingly that, for me and many others, that one page was read and re-read to make sure you had actually understood what had happened. Emma has just been killed, with about one third of the book left!
Because of the impact of Emma's death I was keen to see how this would be done on the big screen and I must confess, I wasn't disappointed!
Emma and Dexter discuss having children together and on the morning of Emma's death she founds out that yet again, she isn't pregnant, after a year of trying to conceive. She is upset and her and Dexter leave each other in the morning on a bad note.
Upon Emma's return home, she is riding her bike through some built up traffic. The mood is tense, you can sense danger, but then she turns onto a side street where it is quiet and safe, until she pulls out of the side street and WHAM - hit by HGV and dragged under it's body where she is left to die. The tense build up, followed by quiet calm certainly makes the impact alarmingly shocking and at no point do you want Emma to die. How can you? Where is the happy ending?
The happy ending comes from seeing the pain and upset Dexter suffers on the 1st anniversary of Emma's death. It comes from him being so utterly hurt that he is forced to return back home to his father to be cared for having lost their relationship because of Dexter's destructive behaviour at a time when his mother was dying of cancer. However, the happy ending is not the pain and suffering. It is the love that is felt by Dexter and by the viewer.
The happy ending also comes from Ian, Emma's hilarious and very well played ex-boyfriend, Ian, played by Rafe Spall who, knowing and understanding Emma and Dexter's bond, as friends and inevitably as lovers, seeks out Dexter on the 2nd anniversary of Emma's death. They both share a moment of remembrance the emotion and love for her are exuberant.
And finally, the happy ending comes from Dexter taking his little girl, Jasmine to Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh in memory of Emma, where before they make the summit we are returned to the last moment of Emma and Dexter's first meeting, where the promise of love begins.
So as I'm sure you can sense. I found this film a little bit cringe, but it certainly improved in the latter part of the film, where as the book for me, was a page turner from start to finish. My recommendation to you is...see the film for yourself. Make up your own mind. laugh at the terrible accents, cry at the emotional end and if you see the film before reading the book. Do yourself a favour...READ THE BOOK! :-)
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