Rye Lane – A Genuinely Inspired Slice of Life Film

Rye Lane is a story about two people, Dom played by David Jonsson and Yas played by Vivian Oparah. After running into each other at a South London art gallery, Dom and Yas start to open up to each other about their past relationships and recent breakups, developing a mutual attraction to each other along the way. Over the course of day, the two run into their exes, riding on the back of a moped, and find the best burrito spot in the world. The film delivers not only a lovely look at relationships, but also an honest investigation of navigating life in one’s mid twenties in the midst of a big town and figuring out the things that matter to someone the most.

Much of the beauty of Rye Lane comes from its simplicity. With a running time clocking in at just over the 80 minute mark, it essentially is a condensed little film that is allowed plenty of time to breathe. For many, the film will be reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy dashed with the sensibilities of a director like Boots Riley. What makes the film stand out from its contemporaries is its visually splendid aesthetic. Every shot found throughout is simply illuminating. The color theory on display here is gorgeous, where each and every shot is so meticulously crafted. Its manic cuts, pans and edits all serve the purpose of getting into the headspace of two characters in their twenties who found themselves feeling both lost and confused. That movement also takes inspiration from the films of Edgar Wright. However, the film’s absolutely larger than life editing and cinematography never take away from its simple premise and wholesome nature. The dialogue is incredibly clever and sly while its characters are so well developed and identifiable, that countless viewers are sure to relate to the lives of either Dom or Yas.

At the end of the day, Rye Lane is a wonderful little slice of life film that is elevated by genuinely inspired filmmaking on display in the feature directorial debut of Raine Allen-Miller. Showing a lot of promise, it will certainly be interesting to see what Allen-Miller does next as she sets quite the high bar with this feature. It’s a little sad that the film was not given a theatrical release because this is a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen. That being said, hopefully it will find an audience on either Hulu in the US or Disney+ internationally and become a cult favorite because it arguably has the makings of a film that film fans and casual viewers will take something away from.

still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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Brett Schutt

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