Utterly charming and pulsating with color, "Rye Lane" is director Raine Allen-Miller's fabulous feature debut about two strangers, the introspective Dom (David Jonsson) and the refreshingly disarming Yas (Vivian Oparah), who meet cute at an art opening. The pair form a quick connection and soon spend the rest of the day together getting to know each other. Both are recovering from breakups, and as they reveal their vulnerabilities, they bond. Sometimes this involves karaoke, and sometimes it involves breaking into an ex's apartment to retrieve a sentimental object.
Both Jonsson and Oparah are charismatic leads, but the film is visually dynamic with terrific flashbacks and fantasy sequences. Allen-Miller also establishes a keen sense of place in the various ethnic food shops — one features a clever cameo — in this South London district in Peckham. But what makes "Rye Lane" magical is the way the two characters help each other become their best selves by just seeing what happens.
Ahead of the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Allen-Miller spoke with Salon about making "Rye Lane," which is now available on Hulu.
Let's start with an icebreaker. In the film, Dom and Yas are strangers who acknowledge that everyone has a mess. We are strangers, what mess can you share with me?
The mess I can share with you . . . Gosh, that is a hard question. I wasn't expecting that! I cannot think of a mess. My bedroom and my really neurotic dog.
You toggle back and forth between Dom and Yas. How did you identify with the characters and how did you maintain a balance in telling their stories?
I massively identified with Yas. Early on in the process of working on the script with the writers [Nathan Byron and Tom Melia], I put a little bit of myself into her. Therefore, the Dom character, and him being different from her, was inspired by that. But the actors did so much. I want them to know the character more than I did and tell me fresh things that I wouldn't think of. It was a collaboration in that sense, working with them and my obsession trying to create a female character that feels so young and "London."
Your film is a road movie that never leaves South London. What can you say about creating a different vibe for each situation and location that Dom and Yas find themselves in?
In all of my work I try to tell story visually, not only in dialogue. That was the attraction to the script. It's a dialogue-heavy script, and made me laugh a lot, but I felt I could inject a lot of visuals into it and build a world. I'm obsessed with world building. How do you take a script, set in a day that is two people mainly walking around and make it feel dynamic and make it feel like this amazing journey. For me it is like that. I do think in a visually bonkers way. Because it's a simple script of walking around South London, making that really elevated in a magical way felt nice. It's natural for me, but I also felt it would service the script well. I loved "Before Sunrise." and I thought, "How do I do the opposite of that?" I absolutely loved that film, but I don't want to do that. I want to do something that is more me. I was talking with someone recently about "Withnail and I" and how that was also a film about two people in London.
I looove "Withnail and I"! Can you talk about developing the energy and color which is so vibrant?
As someone who wears ridiculous, colorful clothes, it represents me in so many ways, because deep down, I'm quite a dark person, but I love color. I think when things are dark or sad, color helps so much, but it also helps when things are happy. No matter what I do, I always want to inject color into it. It's part of who I am, and the surroundings I am in. I moved to South London when I was 12. It is colorful place, so it was effortless to shoot. We added production design in some places but in was just there in others.
The characters' emotions are triggered by videos, songs, images, and objects. What observations do you have about the meanings we place on things that bond us, or how we connect to someone, even a perfect stranger, or even this idea of fate?
That is how we think. A song that really reminds us of someone, and flashes us back to that moment, it is what happens in our brain. I wanted to make a big point out of that. It's the truth, and even though it is done in a slightly surreal way, it is still the truth. That's how I think, anyway.
The film addresses issues of truth and trust. It also shows how strangers can have a positive impact on our lives. How do you think Dom and Yas helped each other become their best selves?
For me, when I met my partner, the first time we met I immediately felt comfortable and a better person. That's what relationships are about. If you meet someone that you can be your best self or feel like you can be your best self and be comfortable with who you are with that person, that's amazing. And I think you know that quite quickly. It's the same with friendship, I think. There are some people I meet that I feel really comfortable with right away.
Music is a very key element in the film. I'm curious about the song selections, which create different moods. I also want to know what you would choose to sing in a karaoke bar.
It's odd because, apart from the Tribe track, it's so British and that's really important to me to celebrate British musicians. But then we had Kwes. I had made a playlist before shooting the film, and 90% of it was Kwes' music. He helped really bring to life that world that I wanted to create that felt fresh and new.
My karaoke song would be "This Must Be the Place" by the Talking Heads. One day I'm going to make a film with that song in it. I sing it, I dance to it. It makes me happy. It makes me sad. It's just the best.
I love that song too! I want to do that lamp dance to that song! The characters talk about grand gestures. Have you ever made a grand romantic gesture, and if so, what was it, and how was it received?
Wow. I feel like I have the answer to this question! There's something I've done that's really romantic, and I want to remember it. I can't think right now! We may have to come back to this. I want to give you the answer. Oh, OK, my fiancé and I love hot dogs passionately — like you go to a Michelin star restaurant and review them vibe — and we have the same birthday. On our birthday I dressed up as a hot dog and danced around. That's not the one I was thinking of but it's one for now.
Speaking of food. I was amused by the "Love, Guacally" scene. I don't want to spoil it, but can you share how that came about?
I love talking about it, but I also don't want to say anything about it. Folks shouldn't know. All, I'll say is I wanted a cheeky wink.
The film's message is "Let's see what happens." What do you want to happen with "Rye Lane?"
Having been through a pandemic, I just want people to enjoy themselves, laugh, and have a nice time. It is an unapologetically joyful film and I think people should have an unapologetically joyful time watching it. That's the goal.
What are your career aspirations, now that you have this film under your belt?
I don't want to be the rom-com person. I'm in denial about "Rye Lane" being a rom-com. [Laughs] I'm writing a heist film at the moment and have ideas for a horror film. I want to make work that is funny. I really like comedy, but it doesn't have to be completely joyful. What I loved about "Get Out" is that it's so entertaining, and it has a message. I want to make work that does that. I don't think everything has to be arthouse. I like the world seeing it and it being accessible to everybody, but also, having important messages and voices is key for me.
What about the opportunities you may have as Black female filmmaker?
I am very proud of being a Black female, working-class person, but I also really just want to make films and have that not be the film as to why someone is interested in me. I want to make great work and I am excited that in hopefully less than 10 years people won't be saying "female," 'Black." I just love to be able to make films. It's all about what's next. What's next is not a rom-com. It's a diverse cast because that's the way the world is. It is harder for me, but there are so many elements — there is female, class, because the UK is obsessed with that, and my race. The pigeonhole situation is about my next project not being those things.
"Rye Lane" is available on Hulu starting March 31.
