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" They get together at the end. But that&amp;#039;s not giving anything away about this romantic comedy (or even most others). What keeps you glued is an almost morbid fascination with how many times over the course of twenty years these soul mates can foul things up before they give in to what is obvious.  The charming interplay between Anne Hathaway (doing a passable British accent) and Jim Sturgess (doing a plummy one) keeps you from chucking popcorn at the screen, though fans of David Nicholls may feel the agony isn&amp;#039;t drawn out enough, given the epic scale of his book. Danish helmer Lone Scherfig (Bad Education) doesn&amp;#039;t even attempt to condense all of the private musings and overt push-and-pulling that shapes the relationship between Emma (Hathaway) and Dexter (Sturgess) in the novel.  She takes, instead, an impressionistic view, picking on key moments around the 15th July to mark the anniversary of their first intimate encounter on university graduation day, 1988. At this point, they seem ill-matched. Dex is a spoiled little rich boy looking for kicks, and Emma is studious with a strong work ethic, determined to make a difference. What connects them initially is the banter, brilliantly written by Nicholls (adapting his own book) and sweetly delivered by Hathaway and Sturgess to lend the film an old-time screwball comedy vibe - except with modern pop culture references.  Sturgess is especially funny in the &amp;#039;90s when he throws himself into hosting a &amp;quot;yoof&amp;quot; show - akin to The Word - going as far as to affect a Mockney accent and gesticulating at bemused bad boy rappers. Meanwhile, Hathaway is serving tacos at a dingy London restaurant while she ponders writing a book. The friendship has survived after that first awkward stab at romance because Emma is able to see beyond his bravado. Still, Em is made to suffer in ways that are perversely funny and heart-rending; mostly Dex pawing other women and occasionally making passes at her whilst either coked up or drunk. In later years he marries ridiculously posh tottie (gamely played by Romola Garai) and has a child while Em struggles to raise a smile for her live-in stand-up comic boyfriend (a touchingly goofy Rafe Spall).  And yet, it isn&amp;#039;t as easy to empathise with Em onscreen as it is on the page. The scene changes are too quick to fully appreciate the inner strength, which means she isn&amp;#039;t just a doormat but a rock for a man who is full of self-loathing and bent on a path of self-destruction. Though it&amp;#039;s framed as a romance, this is really Dex&amp;#039;s story of self-improvement. Em is, largely, unchanging; albeit, this is why Dex needs her. Credit is due to Sturgess (and to Scherfig in precious moments of stillness) for drawing out the vulnerability of a man who behaves so badly it would make Martin Clunes shake his head.  But still, the breathless angst elicited by Dex&amp;#039;s wary procrastination over love comes mixed with slight frustration at the way Em is reduced to his emotional crutch. Hathaway is full of fighting spirit - armed with a sharp tongue - but, in the end, the question of whether she picked the right battle lingers more than the nostalgia for the old days.   Does One Day live up to David Nicholls&amp;#039; book? Leave your comments in the space below. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a334811/one-day-review/>