Rom-com film Rye Lane starring David Jonsson set in Peckham

Forget Hugh Grant and Notting Hill, the rom-com spotlight is now shining on a new London neighbourhood, and it is – shock, horror – south of the river.

Rye Lane, the hilarious, heart-warming and brilliantly observed directorial debut from Raine Allen-Miller, is set in Peckham and named after the bustling high street that runs through the South London area.

The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, follows twenty-somethings Dom and Yas, played by Industry’s David Jonsson and Class star Vivian Oparah, who meet by chance as they’re both reeling from horrible break-ups.

PA Photo/Searchlight (Image: PA Photo/Searchlight)

The couple connect over the course of a day in vibrant Peckham, exploring an undeniable instant chemistry while enjoying everything the area they call home has to offer, from art to film, food to family gatherings.

As the hours go by, we see Yas and Dom fall in love: not only with each other, but with Peckham as they see it through each other’s eyes.

“I saw Yas in the script, and immediately I was just like, you are so strange,” says star Vivian Oparah, 26, known for Doctor Who spin-off Class.

“But I was endeared towards her eccentricities. It felt like a challenge, and definitely something that I wanted to bring to life.

“But also, I secretly felt like it was gonna be quite cathartic to be someone who was that messy, that impulsive, everything in the world is fodder for Yas, she could play with everything. And that felt like it would be really fun.”

This, Allen-Miller says, is exactly what she wanted from her female lead.

“With rom-coms, there is this archetypal story arc – the funny guy who can rely on just being funny, and then the portrayal of the really attractive girl wandering around, who just exists to absorb his brilliance,” the director says.

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“With Rye Lane, I wanted to make the woman character truly funny, without the pressure of needing to be polished 24/7.”

Starring as Dom is David Jonsson, 29, best known for playing Gus in the BBC and HBO investment banking drama Industry.

We first meet Dom as he’s crying in a toilet cubicle over a break-up, and over the course of the film we see him begin to recover from his heartbreak and learn to love himself, and others, once again.

“As much as I love Gus from Industry, I really wanted to stretch myself,” says Jonsson of taking on the rom-com role.

“I don’t feel like anyone really even knows me at all. And I mean that in a way that’s like, it’s nice, but I’m just starting out. So while I’m doing that, I want to be able to switch the dial and do different things.

PA Photo/Searchlight (Image: PA Photo/Searchlight)

“Like, this is a romantic comedy set in Peckham – I don’t think I’m romantic or comedic at all! So to be able to do a role like that means that I’m stretching myself a little bit.

“And as a young actor, I think that’s what I should be doing.”

Watching the on-screen couple, it’s abundantly clear that Jonsson and Oparah, like Dom and Yas, have incredible chemistry.

“David is incredible, like, incredible, incredible, incredible, and I was throwing so much insane stuff, and you were batting it back,” says Oparah, smiling at her co-star.

“We just had this rapport.”

“Yeah, and just to give a true compliment back, Vivian is a craftsman,” adds Jonsson.

“She comes into a room and she’s already got so much stuff, and as an actor, you want that – you want to be able to play with someone. And we did.

“We just had a lot of fun doing this, which meant that we didn’t have to do too much work in terms of, like, chemistry. We had it because we knew our characters.”

Despite her directorial debut being a charming, hilarious romantic comedy, Allen-Miller says that she’s actually “not a big romcom fan”.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been inspired by any (romcoms),” she says.

“But I love Peep Show, and Peep Show is something that I directly reference, I’d say, with the sort of peep shots where you’re super close. You’re not quite breaking the fourth wall, but we’re in their heads. That was something that I really wanted to kind of play with.

“I obviously have directors that inspire me, but I don’t think any of them have ever made a romcom.

“Is She’s Gotta Have It a rom com? Maybe. The original, by the way. No offence to the new one!” she laughs.

In its original script, Rye Lane was written to be set in Camden, North London, but Allen-Miller felt it important that the film was set south of the river.

Originally from Manchester, the film’s director moved to south London when she was 12, and says that this part of the city remains important to her because of its history and multicultural identity.

“It’s definitely a love letter to south London,” she says, adding that “it feels great” to have led a film that represents the area and the communities that call it home.

“It was really important for me to represent an area that I moved to when I was 12 and basically grew up in.”

“As a Londoner, it feels nice to be able to represent a truth that you know to be true, but maybe haven’t seen on screen before,” adds Jonsson.

“How other people interpret it is up to them, but I love it. I think it’s awesome.”

Oparah agrees: “It’s such an honour to fly the flag.”

Rye Lane is in cinemas from Friday, March 17.