The Only One sounds like it is going to try too hard to impress the audience. Tom (Caitlin Stasey) has just turned thirty. After a life spent trying to satisfy her wanderlust, she finds herself in the south of France to revisit the only man that has ever considered settling down with. For his part, David (Jon Beavers) has been in love with Tom since he first met her. Will David give up everything for her, or will Tom just suddenly leave like she did six years ago?
The film is unsurprisingly gorgeous to look at. Effortlessly beautiful, it is less about first time director Noah Gilbert getting the right shot and more about not messing things up. This is not to downplay the beauty of The Only One. Anyone watching will immediately be drawn into the world instead of just simply admiring how good it looks.
The Only One is a variation on “the one that got away” story. Tom has come back in David’s life and it seems there is genuine interest to pick up where they left off. The mystery is not in whether she means it or not; the question is whether either are willing to make the changes necessary in order to have a successful relationship.
The film never strays too far from this central premise, even going so far as to completely drop one of its subplots. Even the main conflict does not come off as strongly as it should. How much a person enjoys The Only One depends on how much they like a story about finding love and sharing wine.
This is a story that should be about panic inducing conflict due to the life altering decisions that may need to be made. This would add more emotional heft to The Only One. The story is an easy one to get caught up in, it is just missing that additional push to make it something special.
The Only One opens in select theaters and on demand December 10
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