Movie: One Night Only

Finding a new setting for a traditional romcom movie is no doubt one of the challenges for any movie maker given the number of offerings in this field.

Director Will Gluck’s new movie One Night Only combines the traditional with the futuristic.

The movie is set in an America where single people can only have sex one night each year as a result of a Government law known as The Mandate.

That law, passed three years earlier, is strictly policed through tattoos on singles’ arms which change colour from 7pm to 7am on that one night.

One Night Only tells of the adventures of New York couple Allie (Monica Barbaro) and Owen (Callum Turner) on the night.

Allie is a talented singer whose stage fright has kept her from a public singing career. Instead, she records vocals for pharmaceutical commercials, turning familiar pop songs into jingles for medications. Owen (Callum Turner) is a hardworking New York pizza shop owner.

Being romantics at heart, both are looking for more than just sex on the night.

Owen thought he had it with his girlfriend, Malika (Maya Hawke) who he was planning to ask to marry him. She however decides her night is better spent sleeping with a neighbour.

Allie and Owen’s initial meeting by accident in the street doesn’t end well; however their paths end up crossing a number of times during the 12 hours including in a convenience store searching for a condom, at a police station and in a nightclub.

Both also have plenty of interactions with other people. Owen gets a major surprise when he visits his mother Linda (Molly Ringwald) and her partner Rick (LeVar Burton). Allie believes she has found a real connection with singer Ezra Strong (Charlie Gillespie).

Although One Night Only is built around an alternate reality, Gluck said he never wanted the film to feel futuristic or removed from the world audiences recognise.

“I tried hard to create a world that is not sci-fi,” he explains.

“It is not dystopian. It feels like today in New York City, except that three years ago a Mandate was passed that outlaws premarital sex.”

Gluck said the movie’s premise also gave him an innovative way to approach the most persistent challenge in romantic films: how to keep two people apart, authentically, without relying on cliché missed connections or miscommunication.

“A lot of romantic movies, some that I have done, hinge on contrivances,” added Gluck, whose movies include Anyone But You, and Easy A.

“If they had only said ‘I didn’t mean this’ or ‘It was a misunderstanding,’ the movie would end after 25 minutes. The Mandate is a way of getting rid of that because this entire twelve-hour event is a contrivance. It is like New Year’s Eve, the idea of, ‘Who are you going to kiss?’

Needless to say, the concept has divided audiences and critics; however most agree both of the leads work hard to create the chemistry needed for the movie to succeed. And there are some rather humorous scenes ensuring One Day Only falls into your typical romcom movie category.

One Night Only opens in Australian cinemas on August 13.

© Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.