One day is one of those films that make you cry, laugh, hope, reflect. A touching story that speaks of love but above all of bonds.
Those bonds which, in everyone’s life, are able to accompany us despite everything. This 2011 film directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, is based on the novel One Day by David Nicholls. Although the readers of the novel were a little disappointed by the film, this remains one of the most beautiful films of recent years, which has a truly stellar cast. Let’s find out together the most important themes and teachings of One Day, a film to be recovered also on the Netflix platform . One Day, the story
One Day and the story of Dexter and Emma. They meet for the first time on their graduation day, July 15, 1988. They talk, laugh, and in no time at all they find themselves in Emma’s apartment kissing. But things get awkward too quickly, and they spend a “platonic” night together cuddling, deciding to simply remain friends.
So, from that day on, every year for 18 years (from 1988 to 2006), the film shows us the evolution of Emma and Dexter’s lives. Lives that cross, touch, collide, in a linear script with rapid transitions from one year to another. In these “encounters”, the two characters change and grow, learning to accept each other and, above all, accept their love. Get ready, however: we cry a lot. What One Day teaches us
One Day contains some great ‘life’ lessons. The first lesson is that friendship takes a lot of work to stay close to, especially when you’re miles apart. The whole film portrays the changes of Emma and Dex, who, for example, must learn to overcome his being a child-man or his problems with alcohol.
Emma on the other hand has to find confidence in herself, learning to be less serious and strict with herself. Another lesson is that love is not the magical fairytale that romantic and Disney movies make it seem. Sometimes the love you seek can come from less obvious places. And above all, love is not a simple thing. The protagonists have their problems, quarrels, breakups, but they are never separated. Even when they are not together, they are in each other’s thoughts.Two lives inextricably linked
Another fundamental theme of the film “One day” is that of understanding. That kind of understanding, however, that doesn’t know the label of love or friendship. Rather, it is based on mutual respect and esteem, aimed at improving the other person. In short, they both try to bring out the best – each other – in themselves.
They are not black and white characters. They are full of nuances, weaknesses, flaws, sometimes they are even inconsistent, but it is this representation that makes them real. Dexter is sometimes an alcoholic. Emma wants to be a writer but she has to work as a waitress because she needs the money. Dexter is rich and successful for a while but he doesn’t like what he does and keeps pretending he likes him. Emma doesn’t love the boyfriend she’s been dating for two years, but she takes an apartment with him. They make mistakes and feel real, alive, vulnerable.
This makes the romance of One Day, a real and tangible romance, which makes us feel a strong connection with the story. Last, but not least, is the wonderful soundtrack that accompanies most of the scenes in the film. Here we leave you the original musical theme.
