*Critics and UK audiences are wild about “Rye Lane,” a 2023 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Raine Allen-Miller starring Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson.
Social media users are said to be over the moon for the film because it stars two dark-skin Black leads who fall for each other — a rarity in most current films and TV series. As NBC News reports, Oparah recalled someone making note of this to her during the film’s screening at the Pan African Film Festival in February.
“He was like, ‘It’s so beautiful to see two dark-skinned people just fall in love. Usually, they’ll do a dark-skinned man and a lighter-skinned woman. To have you two embrace, that felt really special,’” she said.
“Rye Lane” marks Allen-Miller’s directorial feature debut. The film centers on “Yas and Dom, two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups, who connect over the course of an eventful day in South London – helping each other deal with their nightmare exes, and potentially restoring their faith in romance,” per the official synopsis.
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Rye Lane’s @davidjonsson__ and Vivian Oparah play ‘Ask Me Anything’ and discuss the importance of portraying Black love stories. pic.twitter.com/CDfFOEz2cp
— ELLEUK (@ELLEUK) April 21, 2023
“Rye Lane was such a great and quirky rom-com. And with two dark skinned Black Brit leads? *chef’s kiss*,” one person tweeted. Another Twitter user noted that they “loved seeing two dark-skinned black British leads having sweet, carefree banter.”
Oparah said the film is a love letter to dark-skinned Black characters.
“Sometimes you get scripts and you could be the casting wild card,” Oparah said. “But when I went into the room for the audition, it was a room full of dark-skinned women. That was clearly the intention. It was what they wanted.”
“Rye Lane” has a 97% “certified fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“For it to resonate with so many different pockets of the Black community feels really lucky and unique,” Oparah said. “It seems that quite a lot of people feel seen by it. You make art for people to feel seen or understood or represented. For that to be fulfilled feels super special.”
Watch the trailer below.
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