‘Rye Lane’ Sundance Review: A sunny, irreverent tribute to Britain’s rom-com forefathers

Breathe new life into Raine Allen Miller’s rom-com genre Rye Lane is a pleasure. Premiering at Sundance, it pays loving tribute to its forebears while exuding a youthful British energy reminiscent of groundbreaking TV shows like sheets. This is a sunny, irreverent take on life and love that follows two strangers through a busy day and more – although it’s most exciting when played out in real time, Before the sunset-Style.

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The opening scenes capture the cultural clashes and archetypes of contemporary South London – or Peckham, to be precise, home of the eponymous Rye Lane. The aerial camera flashes between stalls in a unisex bar toilet, showing a young man being beaten, a parent changing a baby’s nappy, teenagers taking selfies, girlfriends drinking and throwing up. When Dom (David Jonsson) enters the locker room solo, he begins to do what many viewers don’t expect: cry. His sobs are soon answered by Yas (Vivian Oparah), who seems to be the only person using the toilet for its intended purpose.

The couple strikes up and continues a conversation about an art show hosted by a vague mutual friend. Turns out he got dumped by his girlfriend and is on his way to meet her to discuss things. His half-hearted attempts to shake off Yas during the trip fail: This is a woman on a mission. There are certainly nuances of the “manic pixie dream girl” in this sincere character, but she also has agency, her own story, and is not only at the service of the male protagonist.

The screenplay, written by Nathan Byron and Tom Melia, also pokes fun at the hero and heroine’s romantic woes: one of its messages is not to take yourself too seriously. Most of the one-liners land – from broad to observational, they’re often laugh-out-loud funny, backed by a strong supporting cast playing everything from ex-partners to lesbian mothers.

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The storytelling has an imaginative visual flair. When Yas and Dom tell each other stories from their recent past, it’s not just a flashback: the characters are shown looking back at their old selves and remembering everything Back to the Future Part II of Being John Malkovich.

Major movie references come from the romantic comedy genre itself. As the pair meander between parks, karaoke bars, house parties and food markets, eccentric strangers wander in and out of the frame. Some are familiar – either cameos or homages to famous British romcoms from the diary of bridget jones to love actually. It’s a fun way to document the legacy Rye Lane comes from, but also to highlight how it breaks the norm. The characters central to this story may have previously been in the supporting cast of such films – or were absent altogether.

Of course, there have been British romantic comedies with mostly black casts before, like 2018’s Already so long and that of 2021 Second day of Christmas. But they are rare – and Rye Lane feels like a huge, energetic leap forward for the genre as a whole.