How do ‘One Day’ (the series) and ‘One Day’ (the film) compare?

Adapted from the popular novel by David Nicholls (2009), ‘One Day’ is a beautiful, meaningful story told in two contrasting ways on screen, first in the film (2011) and then in the TV show (2024). Much more than your average Rom Com, the storyline follows the lives of its two main characters each year on the anniversary of the day they met – an intriguing premise. From pace to lighting, comedy to chemistry, I assess and reveal how these two versions differ.

Why watch ‘One Day’, the series? When my Nanna recommended the show to me, I didn’t watch it straight away. Peeling myself away from rewatching my go-to comfort show can be about as difficult as going a day in the height of summer without whining about all the wasps. It often requires a level of courage and determination I just don’t have. But when I watched and enjoyed the show ‘Us’ and realised that this and the ‘One Day’ series were both adapted from novels by the same author, this recommendation ascended out of the abyss of recommended shows I’ve not gotten around to watching yet (or forgotten about entirely). 

Soon after braving the ‘play’ button on Netflix, I realised that this was a show that I wanted to watch properly. I didn’t want it to be on in the background acting as a podcast while I drifted in and out of listening. But during the first episode, I found it tricky to put my finger on what I liked about it so much. In some ways, not a lot was really happening. 

I’d never seen the lead actors in anything before but you might know Ambika Mod from ‘This is Going to Hurt’ or ‘Pet Name’ and Leo Woodall from ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ or ‘The White Lotus.’ Their interactions as Emma and Dexter were truly gripping. They shared a convincing chemistry that pervaded the air between and around them. 

By the end of the series, I was struck by how beautiful the story was. The show’s attention-to-detail was striking and I found myself thinking about all the ways that things could have happened differently within the story. I’d laughed, I’d cried and it is safe to say I’d swiftly broken my family’s agreement to watch episodes 2-14 together. 

As a spoiler-avoidant viewer, I had diligently avoided Googling the actors, reviews or fan edits until the series came to a close. But when I finally opened this chapter, the second article that I read said something that intrigued me. It praised the series but said that while the book was well-loved, ‘the film that followed was weirdly awful’. There’s a film of ‘One Day’ too? I felt a mixture of emotions. I didn’t click the link that this article had on the words ‘weirdly awful’ but it set my mind racing about how the film might have been so apparently different to the series that had so much charm and emotional significance. Part of me wanted to leave it there and keep the story and series preserved in my mind in such a glorious form. But I was also curious to watch the film for myself to see how I felt. And if I’m honest, I also just wanted to sit with the characters for a little longer and didn’t want to move on from the story just yet.

So, how did the film actually compare? Well, luckily for you I made some notes! One of the very first things I wrote was, ‘it all feels so fast’ and by the end of the 1 hour 47 minutes, I still felt the exact same way.

Then, there was the accent. Anne Hathaway played Emma in the film version and her voice surprised me. Now, I don’t know about you but I absolutely adored Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ ‘The Intern,’ ‘The Princess Diaries,’ and ‘Bride Wars’ – all of which I’ve seen multiple times and are unforgettable classics to me. More recently, I found her performance in ‘The Idea of You’ compelling and moving. But in ‘One Day,’ her accent confused and distracted me. I wasn’t sure what accent it was supposed to be as it seemed to sound posh at times, but not at others. Unable to resist not knowing, I searched it up on my phone while watching and was shocked to find out it was meant to be a Yorkshire accent, which I then saw there had been an avalanche of criticism towards. I couldn’t do the accent any better myself and felt sorry for Hathaway for getting such a negative response for this. Sometimes I love a film or series only to discover that it has been pulled apart on social media or by critics. I think people have a tendency to jump on the bandwagon and look for things to fault, forgetting those involved are still human. 

But, as the film progressed, I couldn’t help but continue to feel that Emma’s accent was taking too much of my attention away from the intended emotions of the story. Maybe I’d have enjoyed the film more if I was American (like Hathaway herself) rather than English. I kept noticing that words like ‘fun’ and ‘bloody’ sounded as if they were being said in a stereotypical Yorkshire accent, despite the surrounding words sounding posh. Mod’s portrayal of Emma was captivating, relatable and quirky; she felt real. But Emma in the film felt serious and a bit too stereotypically nerdy. Jim Sturgess, an actor and singer-songwriter, played Dexter in the film and I didn’t find him as believable or charismatic as Woodall’s Dexter. 

What were the strengths of the film adaptation? Well, first of all, the story really is beautiful and unique so whichever format it is in on screen, this shines through. The comedic elements of the film often had me laughing out loud. There are multiple moments that have continued to make me chuckle whenever I remember them, including while I write this review for the gazette. I found many of the scenes with Ian (an aspiring stand-up comic character) hilarious and I kept rewinding a conversation between Dexter and his agent to watch it again. 

I eventually realised that my favourite four or five scenes in the film didn’t actually involve the lead actors interacting with each other. While that doesn’t take away from how brilliant those parts were, it was the opposite to how I felt watching the series – gripped by every morsel of an interaction between the two leads. In the film, I didn’t feel that same chemistry – that same warmth. The colours of the film felt cold and dull (and for some reason, seemed to have a bit of a blue tint) – a stark contrast to the warm, inviting tones of the series. Now, I’m no expert in visuals, media studies or anything like that and I certainly wouldn’t know the jargon to use to describe the differences but for me, the film’s lighting just didn’t live up to that of the series. It felt flat and a bit boring and sad to look at. 

In summary, the two screen adaptations of ‘One Day’ had their strengths and were built on a wonderful narrative. While I much preferred the series, I wonder if my verdict would be any different if I watched them the other way round. Would I have enjoyed the film more if the series didn’t exist? Ultimately, I believe that in the series, the pacing was better suited to the way the story unfolds and the characters evolve. I didn’t think the film was bad but it did feel rushed and I kept thinking “already!?” when previously powerful scenes seemed to begin without the important gradual build up over time to make the scenes mean more. Hathaway’s acting career is impressive and although I love much of her work, I couldn’t help but feel distracted by Emma’s unusual accent in the film. I felt more convinced by the leads’ connection and chemistry in the series than the film. 

The film was released first and had a cast that was more well-known to me. While I knew it had been criticised, I didn’t really know why and still had relatively high expectations and was looking forward to watching it. But, for me, the series was absolutely sensational; it had heart, intricacy and warmth in buckets. I haven’t always been a fan of slow-paced stories (often not getting past the first episode) and I couldn’t initially put my finger on why it was drawing me in but in the end, this slow and steady version won the race for me. 

But what do you think? Here at the gazette, we encourage you to watch both for yourself to see which you prefer! Maybe you could read the book to see how it compares to the series and film? 

My Ratings: 

Film: 6 or 6.5/10 

Series: 10/10

Image courtesy of The Guardian.