Dear Gossips,
It’s been nearly two weeks since the release of One Day on Netflix, a series that is meant to be binged which is what I did this weekend.
Those of you who’ve been visiting this site from way back might remember that I was obsessed with this book by Dave Nicholls when it came out 15 years ago and obsessed with the set photos from the film adaptation when Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess were filming it. The movie was not well received in its time but I wonder if it might deserve a rewatch given how tastes have changed and also a comparison now that we have another version.
That, of course, is the advantage of having read the book and knowing what happens, which is not the experience of so many people who’ve been watching the series since it came out. All I’m seeing on TikTok are swollen eyes and broken hearts – in part because, again, they’re not familiar with the book or the film and also because… who was selling this as a rom-com, LOL?!
One Day is very romantic. And there are funny moments, but it is not a rom-com, in the same way that The Notebook is not a rom-com, even though I’ve seen it referred to as a rom-com. The other comp here is From Scratch, also on Netflix, starring Zoe Saldana. That series was super popular in the fall of 2022, also based on a book, Tembi Locke’s memoir of the same name.
To go back to One Day 2024, it’s wonderful, and it could only be wonderful if the chemistry between Emma and Dex, played by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall, pops on screen the way it popped on the page – and, obviously, it does. Leo is currently getting the Paul Mescal treatment for this performance and I didn’t get it in The White Lotus and I don’t really get it when he’s himself but I definitely get it when he’s in character as Dex. As the kids would say, he is the newest babygirl – irresistible but disappointing, troubled but soft, eyes beseeching, yearning for a hug. For me it’s his lips, I don’t know if it’s conscious but he's either pouting or sucking on them and it drives me crazy.
None of that would be enough though without Ambika Mod and she is a REVELATION. She is the investment, she’s the reason you keep watching, she’s the reason you’re even giving this f-ckboy a chance, because as cute as he is, you’re not sticking around for 14 episodes if not for her. Ambika’s performance is outstanding – her hilarious facial expressions, the way she radiates pain or fear or confusion or delight through her eyes, but holy sh-t, the way she delivers a line. That’s what hits for me the most with Ambika, her way with a line. What she can do with a line, it’s a thing of beauty, and most of my rewinds were just to listen to her dialogue, it’s the sexist f-cking thing.
So I’m a little cheesed that Leo’s the one who’s been doing North American promotion and not Ambika. Sure, people know him from The White Lotus but she truly is the breakout of this series, she’s the one I want more of.
I’ll leave it there for today, just in case some of you haven’t watched yet. But heads up, if and when there’s more Ambika and Leo content, I’ll be talking about it and there will be spoilers!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
