介绍:
Director Lone Scherfig's "One Day" is a challenge to the concept of a movie. It is very original in presenting a story that otherwise would have been rather flat. Somehow, the flatness of this movie turned out to be way beyond its originality.
Adapted from author David Nicholls's novel of the same name, the movie tells a decades-long story between a man and a woman. Emma and Dexter, played by Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, respectively, find themselves in bed together on graduation day, July 15th, 1988. Mind you, nothing exciting happens here. They talk, they cuddle and they decide to be friends. From then on, the development of their relationship is revealed to us on July 15th of each year for the next 20 years.
The movie, as a collection of 20 or so such snapshots, inherits this original structure from the novel. The structure inevitably begs the question: Can men and women really be just friends? In search of an answer, the movie puts both characters to the test of life's ups and downs. A normal practice would be to track all the significant events that marked the development of their relationship, but instead the novel only accounts for the events that take place on a particular day, while supplying hints as to what may have happened during the rest of the year.
But filling in gaps in a visual format is not easy. Despite the director's efforts to piece them together, some parts still give you the impression of a slideshow. And you certainly feel much worse when you hear the almost stereotypical soundtrack that hypnotizes you with boredom over and over again.
Not surprisingly, the movie is not able to provide an answer to the tricky question. What appears to be a long-lasting friendship is in fact fuelled by unrequited love. I only realized this when the word "love" popped out of Hathaway's mouth, and I was not quite convinced because the chemistry between the characters was missing. Perhaps the distinct form does not give the actors much chance to act it out.
Usually, I like to watch movies that cover a lengthy period; for instance, "Legends of the Fall," because films like this give you a different perspective. When you weigh things on a lifelong scale, you find it easier to ignore some unhappy trivia at hand and discover what is really important in life. But in the case of "One Day" where the fragmented story rushes uneventfully to the end, I felt more drowsy than enlightened.
To sum up, "One Day" is audaciously original, but its originality creates too many problems that only serve to make it a very dull film. On a scale from one to 10, I give it a five.
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