Summary
- Ambika Mod shines as Emma, providing a more grounded and realistic performance compared to Anne Hathaway's portrayal.
- The episodic format of the Netflix series allows for more character development and a deeper exploration of the story compared to the 2011 film adaptation.
- The chemistry between the leads, Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod, is palpable and genuine, creating a more believable and ionate romance on screen.
Warning! Spoilers for Netflix's One Day series, the original book, and the 2011 movie of the same name.
Netflix's the original One Day book was a fast-seller when it first hit shelves, begging for a film adaptation due to its popularity and a narrative conducive to replication on the big screen. The story follows the relationship of leads Dexter and Emma as their lives intersect on the same day once a year, punctuated by ill-timing, romance, and tragedy.
Only two years after the release of the book, its popularity was capitalized on with a film version featuring Anne Hathaway as Emma and Jim Sturgess as Dexter. This One Day adaptation was critically panned on release, failing to capture the charm of the book and leaving audiences to wonder if the lengthy time-frame of the story was fit for a screen adaptation at all. This sentiment has been definitively disproven with the recent release of Netflix's One Day miniseries over ten years later, which makes some welcome deviations from the movie's previous attempts at translating the novel to live-action.
Despite their lives drifting apart after high school, Dex and Emma reunite one day every year as their lives run parallel. Love, heartbreak, and the experience of growing apart together lie at the center of this decade-spanning love story.
7 Ambika Mod Is A Much Better Emma Than Anne Hathaway
Both in of acting ability and accent
Though Dexter can arguably be interpreted as more of a protagonist, Emma is undeniably the focal point around which the cast of One Day revolves around. Thusly, casting the character is one of the most important choices either adaptation made, with Emma's actress possibly making or breaking the two adaptations. In the end, Netflix's choice to cast relatively unknown actress Ambika Mod paid off big time, outdoing Anne Hathaway's star power. It doesn't hurt that Ambika Mod's Indian heritage adds a welcome splash of diversity to the story compared to the monochromatic film.
Ambika Mod gives Emma an infectious positivity while still being aware of the world around her, realistic without being cynical. Conversely, Anne Hathaway's movie plays Emma as a relatively straight romantic-comedy lead, ever so slightly edging the tone of the film away from the grounded center of the original book and into Hollywood make-believe. Beyond Mod's more down-to-Earth performance, her native British accent is far easier on the ears than Hathaway's abysmal attempt at an English speaking voice, making the dialogue of 2011's One Day frequently difficult to take seriously.
6 The Episodic Format Allows For More Development
Netflix's format suits the book's story far better
ittedly, the difference between an extended miniseries and a feature film isn't the fault of 2011's One Day, being inherently limited to how far it can delve into the story with a limited runtime. However, the effect of the additional development and the extra time spent with the characters the series' format allows is undeniably felt when comparing the two. With more time on screen, Dexter and Emma are given more time to develop, the audience being able to explore and enjoy their stories at a more easy-going pace.
Not only are the characters given more room to breathe, but the episodic format suits an adaptation of the novel's narrative framework far better. Just as the original book had each chapter take place on July 15th of a given year within a 20-year span in Dex and Em's lives, the series is able to center almost every episode on a single year, even titling them as such. Meanwhile, the film had to make it painstakingly clear whenever the timeline jumped ahead, slightly soiling the experience with a sporadic 100-minute runtime.
5 Emma Acts More Reasonably Towards Dexter
Anne Hathaway's Emma is far less cautious
One major difference in how the two One Day versions of Emma are written beyond their performance is their initial attitudes toward Dexter. While Hathaway's Emma is strikingly forward, Ambika Mod's character begins more reserved, rightfully weary of Dex's reputation as a playboy and thrill-seeker. This paints the Greece trip shown in both versions in very different lights -- Hathaway's Emma shrieks and giggles at Dexter's clothes being stolen while they skinny-dip, but Ambika Mod's version tries her best to keep Dexter at arm's length before ion is finally able to overcome her weariness to indulge him.
4 Emma And Dexter Have Better Chemistry
The Netflix version functions more as a romance
From the beginning of the tale to One Day's bittersweet end, the crux of the story is Dexter and Emma's romance. Of course, any good romantic drama needs two leads who can genuinely convey being in love, and the Netflix series' casting once again prevails over the 2011 movie in this regard. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess' chemistry isn't bad, per se, but their pairing does invoke Hathaway's other romance movies like Valentine's Day and Love & Other Drugs. Meanwhile, Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod's on-screen relationship is palpable enough to avoid any semblance of manufactured Hollywood ion.
3 Tilly Gets To Be More Of A Character
The movie version of Emma's best friend doesn't get to do much
Tilly isn't all that important of a character in either the original novel or the 2011 adaptation, mostly existing as a background extra to fill out Dexter and Emma's wedding. The Netflix series makes the wise decision to expand on Emma and Tilly's relationship, developing her as an interesting character in her own right and steadfast friend to Emma. Not only does this work to fill out the show with more interesting actors than just Emma and Dexter, but it gives Emma more of a life beyond her career and romantic encounters, helping to flesh own her own character as well.
2 Emma’s Death Is More Dramatic
Netflix hits audiences with a more powerful gut punch
Emma's death is the shocking twist that kept the original One Day talked about over a decade after its original release. Both the movie and series faithfully adapt her death via bicycle accident into live-action, but the dramatic rainy setting of the scene in the Netflix version proves a far more compelling image than Anne Hathaway's gentle gliding into the path of a speeding truck in broad daylight. The movie version of the devastating accident borders on the verge of unintentionally comedic, while missing out on the thematic connection of rain to One Day's setting of St. Swithin's day.
1 Dexter And Ian’s Final Conversation Is Handled Better
The two's reconciliation in the series is better than the film's frosty conversation
Still mourning the death of his love years later, both versions of One Day have Dexter receive a heartfelt consolation from an unexpected source, Emma's ex, Ian. In the Netflix series, Ian is one of many friends who intervene in Dexter's misery, coming to his house to personally reassure him. Meanwhile, the movie version of One Day has Ian offer some words in ing while visiting Dexter's cafe, making it clear that he still harbors some resentment towards Dexter despite being a happily married man himself.
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