One Day (2011)

Anne Hathaway (Emma) and Jim Sturgess (Dex) pair up to portray the couple depicted in David Nicholl's book of the same title. I loved the book, which makes it difficult to love the movie, but I like both actors, and I was not disappointed. The story is that two friends, who have shared a bed while in University, but choose to go forward opting out of the sexual side of their friendship over a lengthy period of time, only to change their minds down the road. She has a major crush on him from the beginning, and not hard to see why early on--he is handsome and confident and charming. She is shy and not completely in touch with her beauty. She hides underneath glasses and ill-fitting calico. The story unwinds through a series of view of one day each year--St. Swithin's Day--and it turns out that Emma is talented and beautiful, while Dex turns into someone that is really unlikable--even his father can't bear him. So he gets less successful as she gets more successful, and as Dex has to deal with various realities (he is not a talented TV performer and he is a serious drunk), he is better able to see that Emma is his one true love. Or at least she is his one true friend, and he manages to see the value in that. The story takes a left turn near the end, which is much harder to take in the movie than when you are just reading about it--but the take home message--don't let the good one get away, and live for the moment because you don't know what tomorrow brings--is well delivered.