One Day review: Netflix rom-com is perfect for the BookTok set

The 2011 film One Day, adapted from the David Nicholls novel of the same name, is not a very good film. Released during the spiritual decline of the rom-com, it had all the right elements (and ostensibly likable leads in Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess), but none of that unknowable alchemy that makes a romance truly spark. The prestige TV streaming era has created an opportunity for many maligned 2010s movies to be reborn as series; now it’s One Day’s turn, with a new—and much improved—television adaptation that premieres February 8 on Netflix.

As much as it is a romantic comedy, One Day is a conceptual experiment. We meet our protagonists Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall) on one specific day, July 15 (the obscure St. Swithin’s Day), every year from 1989 throughout their lives as their relationship deepens and evolves. After sharing a near-hookup on the night of their graduation from Edinburgh College, the opposites-attract pair become unlikely best mates. To describe this in the trope-heavy parlance of BookTok (which is definitely the show’s target audience): Slow Burn. Friends to Lovers. One Bed. Right Person, Wrong Time. Unrequited Love. Second Chance Romance.

The miniseries format is an immediate upgrade from the film version, allowing us to really sink our teeth into each July 15. But the real treat of this adaptation is the perfectly cast leads, Mod and Woodall. Mod’s expressive face takes us on many an emotional journey throughout Emma’s turbulent twenties. She’s capable in the dramatic moments, but shines particularly in her humor; when her comedian boyfriend complains that she’s funnier than him, we’re inclined to agree. In Mod’s hands, One Day is actually a romantic comedy. (Sorry, Anne Hathaway, you tried!) Woodall, meanwhile, radiates such warm charm that it’s completely understandable why everyone in the show wants to be his friend or his lover. Even at Dexter’s lowest, he retains a a glow that keeps Emma and the viewer coming back for more.

The pair have a comfortable, lived-in chemistry that makes their banter shine. From the jump, they’re able to call each other out on their flaws (Emma is strident and pretentious, Dexter is spoiled and rudderless) while still seeing each other’s highest potential. Beyond some period costuming (and a soundtrack that touches on some of the hits of the day), there isn’t much about the actors to physically mark the passage of time from year to year. Nevertheless, both ably embody the mental and emotional transformation that occurs over a decade plus as they grow and change and push each other to become better versions of themselves.

The crucial chemistry between the leads can’t be overstated in its importance, but One Day has something else that other romances should take note of: a sense of sensuality. The quiet tension is palpable when Dex spreads sunscreen over Emma’s back, and in the long, unnoticed look she gives him while he showers. The camera draws us into their attraction; we notice them notice each other. An early example is when Dexter watches Emma readjust her bra strap during the hike they take on that first July 15. Seeing the simple gesture from Dex’s perspective hints at an entire hidden world underneath the supposedly platonic outing. One Day’s gaze isn’t limited to romantic voyeurism, however. There’s a similar moment when the camera lingers over the body of Dex’s sick mother (Essie Davis) that evokes a different, but parallel, feeling. It’s about the way we look at the people we love, their small beauties and vulnerabilities, and how seeing them in a certain light can stir up our emotions.

The series falls apart towards the end as the July 15ths begin to blur together. But the difficulty in sticking One Day’s landing lies more with the story itself than with the show’s adaptation of it. Those familiar with how the book concludes will embrace it or reject it, regardless of how it’s shown on screen, but it makes for something of an anticlimactic finale. That’s the tricky part of the show’s premise: One day you could be on top of the world, and another you could lose it all; one day could be completely ordinary, and another could change the course of your entire life. It’s a difficult and ambitious challenge to portray this for television, because by definition that makes for an uneven tale. If nothing else, though, the conclusion manages to convey the thematic importance of one day in Emma and Dexter’s lives.

In spite of any bumps along the way, One Day is overall a satisfying, swoon-worthy ride. Online, fans have been clamoring for romance, as evidenced by the BookTok phenomenon and the recent success of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s Anyone But You. Now, One Day is here to answer the call. The rom-com has slowly been clawing its way back in fits and starts, but if this show is anything to judge the genre by, the next generation is kickstarting a robust revival.

One Day premieres February 8 on Netflix