REVIEW: Rye Lane [2023]

Rating: R | Runtime: 82 minutes
Release Date: March 17th, 2023 (UK) / March 31st, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International / Searchlight Pictures / Hulu
Director(s): Raine Allen-Miller
Writer(s): Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia

Everyone has a mess.

I haven’t seen Tramps since it played TIFF many years ago, but its sense of unbridled quirky rom-com energy and spontaneity is the first thing that came to mind while watching Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane. The lead characters ooze chemistry as their journey through South London twists and turns from exaggerated anecdotal memories of past love to clandestine adventures that bounce around karaoke clubs, backyard barbecues, and a microwave-ready dinner from Mom. So, of course it all starts at a gallery show populated by photographs of mouths with a tearful Dom (David Jonsson) trying to compose himself in the unisex bathroom as Yas (Vivian Oparah) sits down to pee in the next stall. It’s the sort of meet-cute you hope to forget with the person you hope you won’t.

While you must credit Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia for their exhilaratingly witty script, so much of its success relies upon Allen-Miller’s visual style (fisheye pans, widescreen compositions, and unforgettable background players like a bare-chested man hanging out his window or a dude chowing down on the bus) and Jonsson and Oparah’s impeccable rapport. The latter is so natural that I wouldn’t have been surprised to find them also credited as writers due to the whole playing like one long riff session with stories of broken hearts and impromptu jealousy-fueled sabotage. They’re wearing their emotions on their sleeves whether through their words or body language. Dom is the self-immolating type getting excited with awe about everything Yas does while she guards her insecurities with a brave face she wishes was more than a defensive façade.

They become the people they wish they were while together. Unencumbered by a shared history and game to see where lofty ambition might take them if only they allowed themselves to throw caution to the wind, the unadulterated playfulness and heightened state of personality adopted makes it so that they reach joyous highs they’ve never yet experienced. But that also means they must eventually come down. And while this romance does—at the usual narrative pivot point, no less—it doesn’t feel false. This fairy tale of flirtation inevitably bleeds into their real lives, allowing conservative impulses to take over. Because what’s actually happening? How much of this is true and how much a product of the social invincibility their unexpected lark of a day has imbued within them?

The film looks great and sounds even better with a fantastic soundtrack (Salt-N-Pepa karaoke, Tribe Called Quest power fantasies, a funny yet heartfelt rendition of Sananda Maitreya’s “Sign Your Name”, and a Sampha/Tirzah collaboration at the end credits). The supporting cast is fully on-board (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni’s goofball Eric is a highlight) with a jaw-droppingly unexpected yet unflashy A-list cameo possessed by exquisitely deadpan timing to boot. And with charm to spare, the story is able to touch upon more serious subject matter (self-esteem, maturity, heartache) without losing the ability to swiftly pivot back to the comedy since the characters are never so oblivious to ignore their own failings in a given situation. Because Dom and Yas aren’t perfect. They get so wrapped up in the image they yearn to project that they don’t initially realize it comes naturally together.