Rye Lane is a British romantic comedy film directed by Raine Allen-Miller in her feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia. It was released on March 17, 2023.
Plot[]
In South London, Yas encounters Dom crying in a gender-neutral toilet at an art exhibition about mouths organized by their mutual friend Nathan. They meet again in the exhibition, and walk through the Rye Lane Market together, bonding immediately over their shared connection. Dom was recently cheated on by Gia, his girlfriend of six years, with his best friend Eric and has moved back in with his parents. Dom meets with Gia and Eric at a restaurant for the first time since the breakup; Yas joins them, posing as Dom's new lover. They pretend to have met while singing karaoke, and leave Gia bewildered.
Dom and Yas have lunch at a tortilla shop. Yas reveals she has recently broken up with her boyfriend Jules, with his propensity to not wave at tourists on boats being a red flag for her. When Yas recounts that she has forgotten her copy of A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory at Jules's flat, Dom proposes that they steal her record back. They visit Jules's mothers' house in order to retrieve a key to his flat, but when Dom is caught going through a panty drawer by Jules's mothers, he is kicked out. Outside, Yas admits she started hanging out with Dom at first because she felt sorry for him, but came to enjoy their time together and even turned down a job interview that afternoon.
After one of Jules's mothers lends her moped to Yas, she and Dom go to Mona's karaoke bar for Jules's key. In exchange for the key, they must sing karaoke. They sing "Shoop" and Yas kisses Dom afterwards. Breaking into Jules's flat, Yas is furious that Jules's new girlfriend can leave her menstrual cup out when she was not allowed. Dom and Yas get caught by Jules and his girlfriend, and accidentally break Jules's art on their way out. Jules reveals that he was actually the one who broke up with Yas, and Dom is upset that she lied to him. The two fight and Yas throws away her record.
Months go by, with the two going on dates with other people and struggling to forget each other. Yas finally lands a job as a costume designer on a film set while Dom moves out of his parents' house. While attending Nathan's next art exhibition about anuses, Dom receives a phone call from Yas, who makes a grand romantic gesture by waving to Dom from a boat on River Thames. He waves back at her through the window and runs to meet her. After waiting for the boat to land, the two embrace and passionately kiss.
Cast[]
- David Jonsson as Dom
- Vivian Oparah as Yas
- Simon Manyonda as Nathan
- Karene Peter as Gia
- Benjamin Sarpong-Broni as Eric
- Malcolm Atobrah as Jules
- Alice Hewkin as Tabby
- Poppy Allen-Quarmby as Cass
- Marva Alexander as Janet
- Llewella Gideon as Tanice
- Gary Beadle as Peter
- Andrew Francis as Dom's dad
- Sandra Daley as Dom's mom
- Omari Douglas as Mona
- Colin Firth as Tortilla Chef (uncredited cameo)
Production[]
Principal photography was underway in London in April 2021, when it was revealed that Nathan Bryon had written his first feature film script with Tom Melia, under the working title Vibes & Stuff. Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo of DJ Films and Damian Jones of Turnover Films produced the film, with assistance and funding from BBC Film, the British Film Institute (BFI) and Searchlight Pictures.[1]
Jones sent Raine Allen-Miller an invitation to direct the film as suggested by Eva Yates, a BBC Films executive producer who knew Allen-Miller through her 2018 short film Jerk. After boarding the project, Allen-Miller helped to develop the script with Bryon, Melia, and script editor and executive producer Sophie Meyer. Other executive producers include Rose Garnett, Kristin Irving, Paul Grindey and Charles Moore.[2]
