Most romantic comedies begin with a meet-cute. Most often, it's a meet-awkward, or at least something awkward happens that ropes the two love interests together. In Notting Hill (1999), that awkward something was the two bumping into each other on the street and spilling juice. Here, that something is the two randomly sitting next to each other in a unisex toilet.
Not since Ally McBeal (1997) have I seen a unisex bathroom utilized on screen for comedy or otherwise. That opening scene gives you an idea though of how progressive and at times how raunchy this film can get. Yet, I wouldn't say the film gets much vulgar. The opening scene also is an indication of how real or authentic and how down-to-Earth this film can be, and that's even in spite of its sequences that could be described as flights of fancy. It's certainly not a Hollywood production with all the sheen and gloss that normally comes with big-budget rom-coms.
David Jonsson (Industry) stars as Dom, a young Black man living in south London, England. He resides at home with his parents, but he recently went from working at a KFC restaurant to now being an accountant. However, he's depressed and sad because three months ago, his girlfriend of six years broke up with him, and he's having a hard time getting over it. It doesn't help that his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend since primary school and now wants all of them to be friends.
Vivian Oparah co-stars as Yas, a young Black woman who is an aspiring fashion designer. She currently works as a buyer for a local company, but she hopes to pick or make costumes for film productions. Like Dom, she also recently broke up with her boyfriend, but she's seemingly handling it better. She's not crying in a toilet like Dom. She's the opposite of him. She's upbeat and cheery. She's constantly smiling and saying hi to people on the street. She's more extroverted and personable.
Speaking of people on the street, Dom and Yas spend a lot of time strolling outside. The film is composed of a lot of walking and talking. It's reminiscent of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995). It's buttressed with a lot of flashbacks, which add to the comedy. These flashbacks incorporate the aforementioned flights of fancy. Director Raine Allen-Miller, in her feature debut, also creates a distinct look with a lot of wide-angle or fish-eye lenses with Allen-Miller trying to make the scenes, situations or even the landscape feel bigger or larger than life. She could even be trying to immerse us in her locations in a fuller way.
Allen-Miller might be attempting to do so, as a way of spotlighting the specific setting in south London. The title of this film is an actual road. It's located in an area, known as Brixton, a neighborhood of predominantly Afro-Caribbean people. It's filled with Black folks, but it's famous for its street markets and its nightlife. It's near another area called Peckham, one of the most ethnically diverse, working-class sections of London. Allen-Miller does what she can to capture and underline this place on film as it perhaps hadn't before. This film is in fact a love letter to this neighborhood.
It's also a slight love letter to Black culture, which has been a rarity in cinema lately. I can't comment too much on media representation in the United Kingdom, but Afro-British filmmaker, Steve McQueen reportedly created his series Small Axe (2020) because that Black representation was lacking.
Rated R for language, some sexual content and nudity.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 22 mins.
Available on Hulu / Disney +.
