‘You’re the best person I know. And I know a lot of people...’
One Day is one of those books that I always see in charity shops but I knew nothing about it going into this Netflix mini-series. While it has drawn justified comparisons to Normal People, One Day has more to say in terms of socio-political context and it’s more grounded in reality…
We meet posh boy Dexter (Leo Woodall) and working-class girl Emma (Ambika Mod) at a student party at Edinburgh University. One Day takes us from their awkward inaugural encounter through to adulthood, marriage, kids and beyond. We also meet Dexter’s loving but troubled mother Alison (Essie Davis) and Emma’s reliable best friend Tilly (Amber Grappy) but aside from the two leads it is our main characters’ respective love interests that shine brightest of the supporting cast. Jonny Weldon is brilliant as wannabe comedian Ian and Eleanor Tomlinson provides a thoughtful and nuanced performance as Dexter’s even-posher-than-himself girlfriend Sylvie.
While there are moments within One Day in which I questioned why Dexter and Emma would ever choose to spend time together, the show does attempt to answer this particular conundrum in the later episodes. It’s also refreshing to have a prestige TV miniseries in which most of the episodes come in at under 25 minutes. As with The Bear, a similarly succinct show, One Day is truly binge-worthy, heartwarming and genuinely funny. I would suggest going into it knowing as little as possible because once you know the general mood and tone of the later episodes (as I did going into it) it’s pretty easy to guess what’s going to happen.
One Day is more meandering than Normal People but this suits the characters. Both Dex and Emma have moments of aimlessness and this will be relatable for anyone who spent their twenties day dreaming and watching cartoons as I did. By the end, I really felt as if I’d gone on a journey with these characters and I was sad when it all came to an end. In that respect, One Day is like a holiday romance. Short, fun and intense. Well worth checking out.