In a Day (2006) User Reviews

Quite strange....but also quite likable.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 20 February 2012]

I think for the sake of you and all the others who might read this review, I'll be a bit sketchy about the plot of this film. That's because there are some VERY strange twists and I'd hate to ruin the surprise. Suffice to say that it's a very strange and quirky sort of film but it's also quite likable and one I recommend you try.

"In a Day" is a film where most of the film takes place in one day. The leading lady (Lorraine Pilkington) works at a sandwich shop and sees the leading man (Finlay Robertson) regularly in the shop. One day, she is assaulted by a weirdo and it looks like a horrible day. However, when this customer finds her and sees she's very upset, he insists that he needs to stay with her and make her have a wonderful day. Again and again, he seems bent on doing anything to make her happy....then comes the twist.

I admire the film most because the plot took me off guard. After over 11,000 reviews to my credit, most films remind me of other films I've seen and plots are so seldom original. This one, however, is very original....and weird. But by the end, it's a good sort of weird. A nice effort all around and a decent romantic indie film.

Indie film with a message and heart

[napierslogs · 7/10 · 16 October 2010]

"In a Day" is a character drama disguised as a romantic comedy. The poster, reviews and other advertisements market this film as a romantic comedy. That's the easy way out as there is more to it.

Our heroine is Ashley, a struggling musician working at a sandwich café. When she has a bad day, a generous stranger Michael is there to sweep her off her feet and fill her with indulgences and confessions. It certainly sounds like a romantic comedy but instead of playing it out with comedy and romance, we get character development. We slowly learn more about Michael and Ashley, their past and what they want out of life.

It's not dark or menacing but it's also not light weight. It has a message; the film-makers have something they want to say. I'm not entirely sure I agree, but I appreciate their venture. "In a Day" took similar avenues that "You Again" (2010) tried, but this film did it with so much more intelligence that I had to knock "You Again" down a star.

If you like indie films with a message and heart, then I recommend "In a Day".

A melodious flow of conversation between two people

[ck4045 · 8/10 · 24 March 2010]

This movie is amazingly wow. It is beautiful combination of keeping the positive perspective of life and the usual life's ups and downs. The director has conveyed an inspiring message that a good deed never gets wasted. What we do in life comes back to us, sooner or later. There is always a way back to be harmonious with the nature. Live the life with whatever it offers you. The movie goes at a constant rhythm. The conversation is yet so normal but one feels it something new. It is a rare movie of its own kind. Apparently two ordinary persons run into each other and start off a conversation that takes the day revealing very slowly the different shades of the personalities. The beauty of the movie is that it shows purity. We humans are very strange beings. The more we explore the beauty inside the more we get it and it never ends. In the end I would say that love overcomes all the hardships or for that matter anything. Bravo the director.

A deft experience of both sides of bullying

[lovetheunique · 30 July 2011]

It's rare to find such an original, delightful movie. It truly invites us to engage in the experience as it might be our own, with a realistic rhythm and subtlety that are easy to identify with. We're also pulled in by an ongoing, unanswered question.

In a Day invites us to consider themes of maturity, intimidation, bullying and hurt, both as children and adults, and the effects on us. It's remarkable how the subtle tone makes this more powerful than the usual overkill movie.

I love the character and integrity of this lovely work of art, I've recommended it often.

A Charming Little Movie

[makiprettywoman3 · 7/10 · 22 May 2013]

I was looking at movies you can stream on Netflix. I see this movie "In A Day" and it keeps staring in my face. I don't know if I would like the movie but there was something out there telling me to watch this movie. You have Lorraine Pilkington who plays Ashely. Ashley works at a local sandwich shop. She is waiting at a bus stop and someone throws hot coffee on her. Why would this person do this? I don't know. She runs into a man who frequents this sandwich shop who offers to clean her up and cheer her up.

This ends up being a charming little movie. This movie has the elements of a Romantic Comedy in it mixed in with some more serious dialog and content. This movie does deal with some more serious issues such as bullying. I noticed a few people didn't like this movie. I'm guessing they were expecting this be a romantic comedy and these more serious elements changed how they felt about this movie. I don't think there were any serious problems with this movie. This movie is fairly straightforward. Most of this movie deals with this guy trying to cheer up this woman who so far has had a bad day. I would say this is a good movie to watch.

Clever with some insight. Subtle and unsettling.

[Safetylight · 7/10 · 12 April 2010]

This movie is NOT a date flick. It's NOT a romantic comedy.

This film is a very deliberate exploration of the subject of bullying.

The two primary characters, Ashley and Michael travel through four distinct and rather excruciating stories about bullying, and the psychological results and personal reactions extending from each case.

This was interesting enough on its own, but each case was cut and dried in a sense, because the villains and reactions were logical and easy to see. It was the fifth case of bullying comprising the entire story structure which truly made this film fascinating.

That fifth case is that of the male protagonist (the character of Michael), pushing Ashley into the day's relationship. Despite his clearly positive intentions, it was all achieved through deception, pushiness and repeated attempts to violate free will. Michael would not take "No" for an answer despite Ashley's constant protestations throughout their day together. The overall effect was to keep the viewer feeling disturbed and on edge, eliciting the very physiological and psychological reactions a victim suffers during a case of bullying.

All in all, this was a rather unsettling film exploring in a mature and heartfelt manner a very ugly subject which we all must face in our lives. It offered many observations and suggests some solutions which, while all of them carry questionable wisdom, will nonetheless remain in the viewer's mind to become grist for further thought. Perhaps some real insights and real solutions to the problem of bullying will come to light in the viewer as a result of watching this film.

I recommend this film as a tool to better understand and live in our world. But it's not a nice film. There is a fun component to it, and it might even be mistaken by some for the romantic date film it is patterned after, but there is a lot more going on which, even if you don't recognize it, will leave you feeling somewhat stressed and unpleasant afterwords.

To have been a better film, some actual psychology of bullying might have been discussed and explored by the characters. As it stands, there was no truly useful information offered, but rather an intelligent albeit very tentative probing of the director into a subject about which he obviously has many strong feelings, but about which he failed to offer the insight required to form accurate opinions.

How many viewers are going to go away and look up psychology books on such subjects as psychopathy, narcissism or social vampirism? Very few, I suspect. As such, it is important, I think, for the director to do that foot work on behalf of the audience and offer perhaps two or three gems of real wisdom along with such immaculate illustrations of the problem itself.

Wonderful Rom Com

[ridewiththevines · 9/10 · 8 March 2006]

I saw this movie at a film festival in San Jose today and it was very lovely. The film has some great characters and situations and dialog. It reminds me of an early Woody Allen film. The movie is about a struggling musician named Ahsley who has a very horrible encounter with a man at a bus stop just to have another great one a few minutes later. The second encounter is with a man named Michael who takes Ashley out for one of the grandest day she's ever had. Michael however has a secret he's afraid might change Ashley's impression of him. Overall i would highly recommend checking this indie film out. Also, it had an ending that could has been over the top because of the build up but it ends up being very satisfying, like the rest of the film.

Not your usual romance story

[marrco · 9/10 · 5 June 2007]

I really had a good time watching this movie. The story is simple. A young woman called Ashley who had a bad day meets a stranger, Michael, who decides to cheer her up.

Progressively, you learn more about each character. At first glance, Michael seems to be a merry guy with no worries in his life. He is good looking and cheerful. Just like the kind of friend (or lover) you would like to have. But he is far from perfect and he has problems on his own like everybody. Ashley is the opposite. At the beginning, she looks like a very plain girl with plain clothes. She works in a sandwich shop and she doesn't seem happy about her job. Actually, you may think there isn't anything interesting about her. But she reveals herself to be more fascinating. A good moment is when we hear her playing music.

There is a kind of suspense regarding Michael's true intentions. Throughout the entire film, the story keeps you wondering whether Michael is really a charming and generous stranger or whether he has some darker motives. That constant doubt makes the film interesting to watch. It's only at the end, when all secrets are revealed, that we find out whether this was a romantic film or a darker drama.

Ending ruined a movie that could've been a great tale about the consequences of harassment, bullying, manipulation and lying.

[mjmazza · 4/10 · 17 March 2013]

4 stars from me. I really wanted to like this movie. I wish I could've given it more. The two leads had really good chemistry, but the premise of the movie is unsettling to me. I read in another review on Netflix that the movie addressed street harassment and bullying therefore the harassment scene in the first 10 minutes, while clearly disturbing, was actually very realistic in nature. It's something I have experienced myself and it's not talked about often enough, so I was OK with it showing how scary a scenario like that really is to women. And I was really hoping to see a movie that further addressed this aspect of society.

********SPOILERS BELOW********

But the problem is, she goes directly from that incident, visibly shaken, into a store to get some paper towels, when the other lead in the movie recognizes her and calls after her. She is so distressed she CLEARLY doesn't want to talk to anyone. So what does he do? He follows her, persists in asking her what's wrong and what happened. And frankly I feel he takes advantage of the situation manipulating her into having breakfast with him. Claiming he can make her feel better. Others might not see it as manipulative, but it bothered me how that whole scene (and later ones too) played out. The whole opening 20 minutes was frankly distressing to ME to watch.

As one other reviewer pointed out elsewhere, he spends the rest of the day asking her to do things, favors, etc the *he* thinks will make her feel better, not really asking her what she wants except for once.

The scene with the sister was awkward on so many levels. Not only because how of how emotionally abusive she is towards Michael, but also just awkward for Ashley. I felt like it was crappy for Michael ti knowingly walk her into that kind of situation with his sister. It reeks of emotional manipulation is his part trying to get sympathy from Ashley. But that's not surprising given the plot twist showing he's got a deeper ulterior motive. And don't get me started on that plot twist.

I'd have been happy with the ending had it ended when she walked out of the café. I'd have even been happy if it had ended with her confused phone call to her friend because she'd felt her trust and emotions had been so thoroughly violated and she was confused. Hell I'd have even been OK if she'd decided to forgive him on her own. But the way it ends with him showing up to the sandwich shop claiming she needed to listen to his explanation, stop being so sensitive and be mature and try and see why he did what he did. If she couldn't he would come back day after day (can we say STALKING??) until she forgave him? Nope that was the nail in the coffin there. The ending was horrible on top of an already manipulative and selfish premise.

I almost wish now he were an angel. That would've actually been an interesting story

wonderful movie

[jonnyss · 10/10 · 5 December 2010]

first of all, this movie is just so much fun. it made me smile all the way through.

then, the acting is wonderful - both the 2 leads and the minor characters.

the story is diverse: easy conversation and traveling about London, several intense scenes all related in some way to bullying. some good lessons on how to stand up to bullies. a plot twist, a satisfying ending.

then, the soundtrack is just great. and the cinematography is beautiful.

it's a movie i can recommend to anyone and expect they'll love it too. a perfect 10.

Disturbing and sad...

[Franklie · 4/10 · 30 March 2017]

Possible spoilers:

If you enjoy watching men manipulate women, then this is the movie for you. It's supposedly a Pigmalian-save-the-day-type romance with a message about manipulative people, but the "hero" turns out to be one of the worst bullies of the lot.

The supposed good guy does nothing but scheme to get this distressed girl to do everything HE thinks she should do and look the way HE thinks she should look so that he can feel better. He's meant to be a white knight of sorts, but he has zero empathy or listening skills or any clues about women. Among the bigger issues are smaller ones like: How in the world is hiking in a skirt and heels, especially when you're a having a bad day, a good idea? How is meeting someone else's family baggage an upper?

Liking her as she was, lending a listening ear, letting her choose the activities, and letting her initiate change would have been the true heroic thing to do. His character was so unattractive that we couldn't invest any care in him. And she was so willing to be controlled, that we had a difficult time caring about her too.

The crude vocabulary also tainted everything. We have a beautiful language! Let's be clever with it!

.. these are easy to like.. with characters you want to know more about

[bjarias · 8/10 · 29 October 2014]

In this exceptionally touching romantic-comedy, there is but one kiss, at the very end of the movie. But it's as sincere and heartfelt as any you'll find in many other intensely romantic films. This is a production that you'd like to believe the characters are real somewhere in life. Lorraine Pilkington.. bit.ly/1cNd8Mq .. is a favorite UK actor, and she is absolutely wonderful in this role. There's little complication in the script.. it's a film you'll either find charming, or maybe just too simple. But for those that enjoy this kind of film making, this is an exceptionally good and well enacted story. It meanders through time at a pace that is soothing.

Just an all around lovely film about a nice but awkward man who courts a diamond in the rough woman

[missraze · 10/10 · 22 May 2016]

I totally disagree with mjmazza on the male lead being selfish!? First of all he comes to her aid, he's not a stranger; she knows him, he's a regular at her shop where she works. So seeing him wasn't going to be disturbing, he's basically a friendly familiar stranger.

And then he offers to buy her clothes, that SHE wants. She keeps humbly declining and he insists. I mean he's asking her out. So he'll suggest or implore where they go, and he likes her so he'll insist.

Then he tells her to order anything off the menu, he buys expensive gourmet meals and desserts for her! Then he buys her friend a gift, he introduces her to his albeit quirky family, as families mostly will be...he's also going around with her all day, it's nice, I would love if someone did this. He didn't tell her who he is because they have a rocky history, unbeknownst to her.

Damn I wish I would make reviews right when the film comes out, hope their post didn't put anyone off it! It's such a great comedy, not a chick flick, a light but dark comedy. It's well acted, well written, nice summer vibe to it, I'm an Anglophile (even though the female lead at least is Irish) but when I 1st saw this in 2010 it was...like a gift that fell out the sky. It puts a smile on my face, it makes me feel warm inside like I'm drinking hot chocolate, it isn't unrealistic to me, just sweet and funny.

Lorraine Pilkington + Script - Directing = OK Film

[joseph-jaeger · 4/10 · 11 November 2010]

Director and writer, Evan Richards, succeeded on two fronts. First, the script was witty and original. A definite breath of fresh air. The second, was the casting of Lorraine Pilkington, as Ashley. She was engaging and believable. Unfortunately the editing and directing felt forced. Rather than just maintain a fluid and steady camera, the director choose to try different techniques of close-ups and long shots and quick cutting throughout the film. When all put together, they did not help to propel the story, but rather caused a distraction to the viewer. That being said ... the film is worth seeing if you want to watch an excellent actress execute a great script!

Something rather refreshing...

[CrazyJo · 9/10 · 27 May 2007]

I hardly post comments, but I was compelled to do so because I only saw one other comment, and surely the film deserves much more than that. This is a film that took me by surprise and exceeded my expectations. The story is smart with a well-written script, and it's quite brilliant under the genre the film supposedly falls under - though calling it a "romantic comedy" would be a bit inadequate. Even a scene where a guy defends a girl in a bar is original...no profanity would've been more deserving than "coffee tosser". If you want to see a movie about romance but don't want to feel like you've been made a fool out of, then please do yourself a favor and see "In a Day".

Slow, endearing, thoughtful.

[suite92 · 8/10 · 14 January 2014]

Ashley's day starts badly with an extended interaction with a male aggressor whom she walks away from. He throws hot coffee on her. Michael intervenes.

Ashley and Michael are both out of work, and get to know each other over tea, then over clothes shopping for Michael's sister. This was at an haute couture establishment where they were the only customers. Michael pays for this. They have a decadent meal at his expense. Then he demonstrates his 'premonitions.'

They visit Michael's sister on her not-so-happy birthday. They hike through an arboretum of some size, during which Michael carried Ashley pick-a-back. They talk and visit an old site of Michael's graffiti writing.

Michael asks Ashley to decide the next thing that they together. She asks him to buy a used saxophone for her musician friend. They give the gift, and find out how her friend lost his earlier sax. Ashley sings and plays piano with her friend.

They go for a drink. The man who started Ashley's day badly by throwing coffee on her is in the bar. Ashley points him out, then Michael observes him. Michael faces him down in a very public way, then returns to Ashley. Turns out the bad guy is a solicitor for abused women.

Michael and Ashley have a beer, and Michael tells her why he wanted her to have a nice day. They had known each other as children. Michael had been rather bad to her then and was hoping to apologise to her now.

Will Ashley sort this out? Will Michael let it go?

------Scores-------

Cinematography: 8/10 A little fuzzy, but mostly good.

Sound: 8/10 A bit soft on conversations, but mostly good.

Acting: 8/10 Rather nice. The two principals were quite good.

Screenplay: 10/10 Lovely story, well told.

make more movies like this one!

[zushio-951-803342 · 9/10 · 16 January 2011]

the beginning was a bit slow and contrived. our hero is not immediately appealing and is, in fact, downright geeky.

but i stuck with it and was rewarded with a delightful, unfolding story.

rare to find a film with a watchable beginning, middle, and ending. and a theme to boot! OK, i thought the ending was hollywoodish, capra-esque. i might have preferred a lady or the tiger type of ending because true forgiveness and redemption does not come that easy imho.

i'm so critical but this is still the best movie i've seen in some time. view and enjoy!

2 strangers spend an interesting day together that deeply affects them both

[wth-7 · 9/10 · 22 August 2007]

I saw this movie last night at a preview showing in Claremont, CA and very much enjoyed it. The writer/director Evan Richards was there and answered questions afterward. He seems so young and unassuming to have the insight into life and relationships that his writing in this movie demonstrates, as well as the directing ability demonstrated by the fine acting. This man will go places! He introduced his mother who was in the audience and she seems like a delightful woman. He is from America but currently living in London, where the movie is set, and he commented that the city is like a character in the film. The vast majority of the audience stayed for the Q&A and seemed enthusiastic about the movie.

Terrific Story I saw 15 Years Too Late

[Dark_Lord_Mark · 10/10 · 20 March 2022]

If you like unique Romance stories, kind of like My Sassy Girl and Before Sunrise, this movie is for you.

It is unique. It's actually a mix between the above movies and those 80's Romance movies that were all so fun and fantastic and different.

This is about a man seeing a girl who has coffee thrown at her and decides to make his move.

That is all you need to know and enjoy.

9.5 out of 10. I wish I saw this while I was still in school...but it's more suited for adults anyway.