One Night Only (2026)

A decent film in which sex between unmarried people is allowed only one day a year. A sort of rom-com version of The Purge. A bit fragmented at the beginning and repetitive at times, but enough happens and there are quite a few laughs here and there. However, more could have been made of this premise, as it all remains rather superficial. There are a few nice cameos, though. A solid 3.0 stars.

Translated from Dutch · View original

A film with an interesting premise that unfortunately chooses to be a simple rom-com that mainly tries to be fun but offers no surprises and treads all the safe paths. That is a shame. In any case, I didn't find that world entirely believable, and the film never really manages to show how people can accept it like that. The whole cheerfulness surrounding that one evening clashes too much with the entire legal system. Barbaro is otherwise fine; I find Turner just slightly less convincing – with him, you see too much of an actor at work. The many supporting roles are enjoyable, and the film is varied enough and often looks reasonably atmospheric.

I do wonder what the message actually is. This filmmaker doesn't strike me, given his oeuvre, as someone who is very conservative, but the fact that Barbaro and Turner still want to wait a year for sex at the end suggests that he actually thinks people are too casual about sex these days? 2.5*.

Translated from Dutch · View original