James Delingpole James Delingpole

Evocative and immaculate: Netflix’s One Day reviewed

A simply but effective story that makes you realise everything really was so much better back in the nineties

Ambika Mod (Emma) and Leo Woodall (Dexter) in the beautiful new series One Day 
issue 17 February 2024

One Day is a bestselling novel with a simple but effective premise: a delightful, made-for-each-other couple meet on their last day at university, narrowly miss getting off with one another, then continue narrowly to miss getting off with one another every year for 14 years until finally, eventually they do.

Actually, I’m not sure about the pay off. I never got round to reading David Nicholls’s book, nor did I catch the poorly received movie version with Anne Hathaway playing the love interest. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed and shall be very disappointed if the dénouement doesn’t deliver what the plot seems to be promising. All right, so the episodes – each set, as in the book, on the same date in successive years – are only half an hour long. But that still makes seven hours of viewing wasted if it all turns pear-shaped. (The sub-editor has informed me that I will be disappointed.)

The settings are immaculately realised; the tone and dialogue rarely strike a false note

I’m currently half-way through and so far, so good.

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