Lots of pre-screening criticism of Anne Hathaway's accent did not stop me enjoying One Day.
Yes the narrative device is contrived, but it works. Yes I'd expect there to be more interaction between the characters between their anniversary celebrations, but the mutual lack of fulfilment and neediness between the two leads crackles on the screen.
Indeed, the two major and one supporting roles are beautifully played. Anne Hathaway's pain when she walks away from her true love at the height of his chemical reliance is heart-wrenching. The simultaneous desire for love and friendship at the point of departure from the live-in partner is achingly portrayed.
The film works hard but never quite manages to pull off the sense of moment without slight clumsiness. There always seems to be just too much happening or put on the screen to assist us with knowing exactly where we are as times progresses year on year. David Nicholls' screenplay of his novel never quite captures the precise dynamics and mood of his book.
This is not a criticism that can be levelled at Starter for 10.
The soundtrack and excruciating recall of what we were into as students place us squarely in the 1980s. This works so well for me because this was the very time that I attended university. All of the historical record portrayed on the screen represents my student experience.
David Nicholls' reworking of his novel as a screenplay works well with its the clash of working and middle-class values (a superb, annoying portrayal by Benedict Cumberbatch), the love-lorn pantings of an English undergraduate determined to enter into all that he has heard university life offers, and the protagonist's desire to prove his intellectual capabilities to his absent father.
As with One Day, Nicholls has changed some of the scenes in his novel. However, here they retain the character and underlying impact that they had in his book. They present the idea and nuance, just in an altered or fresh scene.
This film reads like a roll-call of future and already-established stars: for every Lindsay Duncan and Charles Dance, there is a young James McAvoy, Alice Eve, Catherine Tate, James Corden and Dominic Cooper showing why they have gone onto bigger projects. For me, it is Dominic Cooper who plays a very different part to that of the saccharine sweet lead of Mammia Mia, who shines: he proves why he was later chosen to front films dealing with very serious issues, such as doubling for Saddam Hussein's sadistic son in The Devil's Double.
Enjoyable viewing both of these films has driven me to David Nicholls' source novels which have both proven to be a delightful read. I suppose that there is no higher recommendation than that.