‘One Day’ Review: Netflix’s Beautiful Romantic Drama Is Elevated By Lovely Characters and Performances
“We’re Dex and Em,” said the former during an argument between both characters halfway through Netflix’s limited series One Day. But what does that mean, exactly? Depending on who you ask -and most importantly, on when you ask-, all sorts of different things. A one-night stand, two best friends, two people who haven’t talked in years, everything in between, and also so much more. During its 14-episode run, the series, created by Nicole Taylor, who is also the lead writer, takes us on a 20-year journey on the lives of Dexter (Leo Woodall) and Emma (Ambika Mod) by checking up on them every July 15.
From the moment they meet at their graduation party and spend one night together, they soon become best friends on a constant game of will-they-won’t-they. She’s had a crush on him, the university’s “it” boy, for years — while he probably didn’t even know she existed before accidentally bumping into her while drunk off his face. But years go by, and that initial chemistry soon morphs into a friendship. That doesn’t come without a toll, though.
Deep down, Emma believes he takes her for granted, as someone tells her later on — it’s not exactly what she expected to hear at that point, yet something that didn’t really come as a surprise. After graduating, Dexter is off to see the world and lay eyes on everything that moves, while Emma is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life — while getting on with, well, much less attractive men than Dexter. She is one to put on a bathing suit rather than a bikini; he’s one to go around with an unbuttoned shirt.
However, they both know that there is something real between the two and though they’ve wished it could become something bigger than a friendship at non-simultaneous times through the years, the bond has survived the many ups and downs of life. The brilliant thing about the writing of this series, which is based on David Nicholls’ novel, is that even by getting to see them just once a year, we get a hold of exactly what is going on in their lives and we’re able to fill in the gaps. Sure, there might be some extra explaining for the audience peppered in nicely here and there, but it never felt forced.
This series hinges on the relationship between Emma and Dexter, which is itself a third main character in the story. That comes in through the writing, which allowed for such lovable, engaging, and complex characters, but also through Woodall’s and Mod’s stellar performances. They are electric together, so much so that the real weight of their work doesn’t dawn on us until they are separated, making us miss the other one so much. Where is she now? What is he doing? Is she going to leave that boring-as-heck boyfriend any of these days and realize she deserves someone much better? Will he stop with all the partying and actually become someone worth having a conversation with?
The beautiful thing about One Day, too, is how it’s able to capture the crazy rollercoaster of growing up in your 20s in just 14, 30-minute episodes. It’s an instantly relatable story about friendship, but also love. Because, keep in mind, this is very much a love story and no one ever pretends like it isn’t. But will that day ever come? As an audience, and despite the many narrative surprises the show keeps under wraps, it’s easy to imagine the eventual outcome. Yet, while watching the series, it’s also hard to see how they’ll ever move on from the situations they are in.
Throughout its course, Dexter struggles a lot with several addictions, most notably alcohol, which constantly sets him back. Emma can’t figure out what she wants to do with her life, and though she meets someone who loves her dearly, she probably can’t keep comparing her life with him with the one she would have had with Dexter. At the same time, Dexter can’t yet realize that his life would mean a lot more if he was able to actually take the step and be with Emma — he does try a few times, but she can tell his heart isn’t fully there and she’s not ready for having hers torn to pieces. And that’s the key to the show: making us believe that these two characters together are much bigger and better than they are individually.
At its core, One Day is all about seizing the, well, day. Life is full of highs and lows, and every happy moment will be followed by a deeply sad one, so why make it harder on yourself? This is not a new theme, of course, but it’s the delicate approach to character building and progression that gets this one over the edge for me. In a Hitchcockian way, we can’t stop but yell at the TV because of how these two are behaving, but in doing that, we’re acting like the other half of their relationship. Dexter needs Emma to focus on what is important to him, Emma needs Dexter to tell her to quit messing around and actually finish something for once in her life. The question is, who will hear it first, and what will that do to the other? Prepare to laugh, but also prepare to cry. A 14-episode run seems like a lot by today’s standards (and I have seen a few reviews pointing out that it’s too long), yet every time an episode finished, I couldn’t press the “Next Episode” button any faster.
One Day is currently streaming on Netflix.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
