One Day - series adaptation on Netflix, starts Feb 8th

[Netaporter]

Anyone fancy a watch thread? Loved the book by David Nicholls, loved the film, but it’s never really gained a strong following for some reason? The series stars Ambika Mod (This is going to hurt) as Emma and Leo Woodall (The white Lotus) as Dexter.

I have finished the series now and I do think it was wrapped up well. The use of flashback to fill in some gaps reminded me that the snapshot format of “one day a year” meant there were huge reams of relationship-building that we didn’t see. Weirdly the first house I bought (and was living in during most of the time they covered) featured in the background of some later scenes, so I kept expecting to see myself emerging with a shopping bag!

I’ve found my old copy of Us so will re-read that. It would be good if they adapted more of David Nicholls’ work.

@Marisquita Us was adapted for TV a few years ago.

@chocolatesaltyballs22 that's a criticism of the author not the adaptation which as you say is true to the book

@chocolatesaltyballs22 Oh I didn’t realise! Or I may well have watched it and forgotten…

I’d suggest there might be some unconscious bias associated with the criticism of her casting.

Not at all, I just know the casting was inept and what works in a TV show and what doesn't. Have you read the book?

I’d suggest there might be some unconscious bias associated with the criticism of her casting

How bloody patronising! Had she been sparky and feisty and funny she would have been perfect. I am sure that she is a good actor as I said upthread. But - she played Emma as dull, snippy, over serious and way too sarcastic.

Do not assume racism where there is none.

Read the book when it first came out and I absolutely loved this adaptation. Opinions are always going to be subjective, but let’s not issue blanket statements that those who ‘liked’ this Emma can’t have read the book!

@pumpkinpiee as someone who was in their twenties in the nineties it was a great time to be young. Being at uni in Manchester then was amazing. You would have loved it I think. 😍

Though I’m about ten years younger than the main characters I was certainly awash with nostalgia watching the series. I used to work in publishing in Kensington and there were so many Dexters around. I’m now an English teacher and I can certainly identify with Emma’s frustration. 😂

Honestly, this is one of the best things I’ve watched in ages.

As mentioned upthread Us was another David Nicholls adaptation with Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves. It was on BBC a while ago but not on iPlayer anymore, so not sure where you would seek it out.

I always thought it was incredible that Dexter got a job working in a café.

Earlier in the thread I said I wasn't keen on the casting of Emma (having seen one episode). By the end I thought she was brilliant and that Ambika's portrayal was perfectly judged.

I think reading the book (esp as a woman perhaps) the tendency is to identify with Emma and therefore to see her as pretty much faultless while Dexter has all the faults. (I'd need to read it again to think whether this is just the result of my over-identifying with the character or whether it seems to have been written like that.) The problem with this is that the whole thing then becomes all about Dexter's narrative arc- he develops, she stays the same- and the story is only about his realising that the woman for him is the one who has been waiting patiently all along.

The way Ambika played Emma meant that she also got her own development and narrative arc- at the start she is overly defensive, chippy, lacks confidence etc (and Dexter criticising her for not having done anything to bring her turn her plans into reality is accurate, even if it is unpleasant). As the novel progresses, she gains confidence, becomes less defensive, takes on more agency etc. So that when they get together, it's as a result of both of them having developed and grown and lived.

Watched some episodes with a friend on Sat. Not sure I woukd actively choose to do so if I had Netflix.

The way Ambika played Emma meant that she also got her own development and narrative arc- at the start she is overly defensive, chippy, lacks confidence etc (and Dexter criticising her for not having done anything to bring her turn her plans into reality is accurate, even if it is unpleasant). As the novel progresses, she gains confidence, becomes less defensive, takes on more agency etc. So that when they get together, it's as a result of both of them having developed and grown and lived.

That's the writing, not the performance, in my view.

Gosh @westisbest1982, you really don’t like Ambika Mod, do you?! Did you want the part yourself 😉

@SpraggleWaggle I like your analysis and agree, Emma's character really does develop and Ambika portrayed this so well.

the use of flashback to fill in some gaps reminded me that the snapshot format of “one day a year” meant there were huge reams of relationship-building that we didn’t see
This is a really good point - there's so much we don't see but it's hinted at - conversations, letters, time spent together, sex. They are at the start a miss matched couple who intrigue each other. But who become entwined/enmeshed/fall out/grow up.
It's a perfect ending as they never grow stale or tired of each other. Dex is always more than a pretty boy but not everyone sees that and Emma is a very normal person who properly experiences life before finding direction.
It's a very engaging and relatable story.

Yes I agree Beamur

In the first couple of episodes I would have agreed with PP about Ambika Mod’s Emma. She just seemed morose and dull. However now I only have 2 episodes to go and I love Emma and I think Ambika is playing her to perfection.
I’ve enjoyed this series so much more than I thought I would and this is mostly due to the two leads.

I've finished it and it was generally enjoyable - lovely locations, some on-point supporting performances (Eleanor Tomlinson, Toby Stephens) and this was a terrific showcase for Leo Woodall. I loved the short episode format as well. I thought there were too many songs used and the overuse was distracting and felt contrived.

But One Day is essentially a love story and this version ultimately doesn't work because of the miscasting of Ambika Mod, who was all kinds of wrong for Emma. I had little investment in her character and zero in the relationship with her and Dexter and it's because the film version (on Film Four tomorrow) was cast better than this series is why that adaptation, on balance, is the more successful one. I felt totally detached at the end of episodes 13 and 14.

I loved Ambika Mod in TIGTH and her portrayal of Shruti broke me so I was looking forward to seeing her in this. But when I switched on I started overthinking her casting. 1980's UK was still an incredibly racist place - if the series highlighted or dealt with this would it be a completely different story, if the series didn't highlight or deal with this then I'd find it hard to cope with the omission!

I absolutely hated Anne Hathaway's casting in the film.

Anyway, I did try to watch it but I found it to be as slow as a week in the jail. I see lots of folk comparing it Normal People and I felt the same about that! I don't know why. I loved the book. I am from that generation. I have no really strong feelings about the cast but there's something about the production that just felt stilted?!

I haven't seen the film, so I've set Sky to record it.

I also loved Ambika in TIGTH .

I loved Normal People the book but hated the series as it wasn't clear that the male actor was shy and anxious, he just across as a bit of an arse and it didn't make sense.

1980's UK was still an incredibly racist place

This was right at the end of the 1980s and right through the 1990s and I do not remember it that way. Was it that much different to today?

I haven't read the book and I'm glad as I could watch it with fresh eyes, unencumbered by whether casting's been good or bad.
I really loved it - it was entertaining and had depth and intensity. Both actors did a great job.

You should read the book for sure.

It wasn't for school/uni students.
It was still very much so for my parents.
Especially for my mother of Irish extraction, as she remembered the racism directed to her.
I met my husband in the late
1980's, born in Asia. It was certainly more unusual than it is today, but not unknown.

TW: pregnancy loss, miscarriage
I have to ask,

When Emma and Dexter try for a baby, are there any upsetting/triggering scenes around this? I’m currently watching this with my partner - we’ve just finished Tilly’s wedding episode.

I’m currently pregnant and my partner has suffered a miscarriage with an ex of his so I’m hesitant to continue if there’s anything triggering.

if anyone is further on with the series who could maybe advise that would be really helpful