One Day

I opted to go and watch One Day today, as a last minute decision, simple because I was so excited to see it when I first heard about it. I have since read the book and will admit that it was one that was a bit so, so for me. It was easy enough to read and I loved the concept of the plot. I did not dislike the characters and it did keep me reading. However, I did feel it was a bit overhyped. Not that much happens in it really and, although I suppose that makes it true to life, it just did not grab me completely. I did not even cry at it, and I am normally a complete emotional minefield that anything can set off. It just seemed that after all the praise and love I read about it in the press, it wasn't anything amazing. It wasn't completely lacklustre, but is not something I will count amongst my favourites.

Anyway. I was still excited about the film and could actually imagine Anne Hathaway as Emma. It may simply be because I knew she was playing the part before I read the book, but I was not in the camp that opposed her playing the part- I thought she would do a great job. I think that she did :) Ok, the accent was not perfect. The Yorkshire accent tended to flit and and out, even at the beginning when it was meant to be strong (I was expecting it to diminish lots as the film went on anyway, as it does in the book). Her accent was defintiely English all the way through though, and I don't think it detracted from the film at all.

Dexter, or should I say, Jim Sturgess, surprised me. From interviews with him he seemed a fairly shy actor (I have never seen him in anything before, so was judging purely on what I read over the past few months) and not someone I could imagine at Dexter that well. I thought he fit the bill perfectly though and made a loveable, but a bit idiotic, character who had the charisma that the part requires. I wouldn't fault either actor at all and feel that it was a pretty good cast overall. I was surprised to see that it was a relatively unknown cast really, apart from Hathaway, and thought that was a refreshing thing, as you are not sitting there constantly wondering where you have seen so and so from before. I also liked the random appearance of Matt Berry as Dexter's agent, as that was an unexpected surprise.

Overall I did like the film and came out glad I had seen it. I am more than willing to sit through it again this coming week with mum, who is on the latter half of the book now. I feel a bit strange about it really though. On one hand I really do feel the book is better, as the film missed out some things that I thought were pretty integral for character development, due to the fact you can only show so much. Things like relationships the character's had were brushed over or never shown at all, and Dexter's problems during his time as a TV star were brushed aside and downplayed on a huge scale, I feel. I thought the character's could have just been shown with so much more depth, but at the same time felt they did not suffer for what was left out. There are bound to be differences from the book and it was done well in the way it was translated to screen (maybe because Nicholls scripted it?), but I still felt that something was missing and was constantly thinking about what was missed out. I think that is the problem with having read the book first though. Having not enjoyed the book too much on reading, I can see from the film that I must have in fact liked it a fair bit and thought it was better than the film and worth a read after having seen it. I can't help but wonder if people seeing the film first will not enjoy it as much, simply because they lack knowledge of some of the backstory and so only see the characters as purely their on screen form? It seems to me that it may be one you enjoy more having read the book to begin with.

The film was well done really and an enjoyable one. For those who have read the book, it is a good enough version to warrant a watch and I don't think you will regret it, and for those who haven't, I would encouarge a read through of the book after, just so you see what was missed, as some of it was really good and worth knowing about the characters.

There were a few little niggles for me, such as locations from the book randomly changing to be set somewhere else in the film (budget restrictions?) and the frustration of some chapters being cut down to just a few minutes on screen. The bits they did in depth were good though and I feel Emma and Dexter really came across in the way that they seem to have been intended.

It is a good one if you want a bit of romance and escapism for a bit. Don't put too many expectations into going, as it is not absolutely fantastic, but it is not time wasted either and is just a nice way to distract yourself from everyday life for a few hours, as you can't help but like the characters and want to know what happens in their stories.