One Day
A romantic comedy centered on Dexter and Emma, who first meet during their graduation in 1988 and proceed to keep in touch regularly. The film follows what they do on July 15 annually, usually doing something together.
Despite a respectable budget of $15.0M, One Day became a box office success, earning $59.4M worldwide—a 296% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
One Day (2011) demonstrates strategically placed dramatic framework, characteristic of Lone Scherfig's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 47 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.7, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes July 15, 1988: Emma and Dexter on graduation night at Edinburgh University. Emma is idealistic, working-class, wants to make the world better. Dexter is privileged, charming, unfocused. They spend the night talking, establishing they are from different worlds but share a connection.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when July 15, 1991: Dexter returns from traveling and gets a job as a TV presenter. His life takes off professionally while Emma is still struggling. The disruption is the divergence of their paths - their friendship is tested by different life trajectories and Dexter's growing fame and ego.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to July 15, 1995: Emma and Dexter finally sleep together in Paris. But instead of bringing them together, it creates awkwardness and distance. Dexter is still with his girlfriend. Emma feels used. This is the active choice to cross the friendship line - but it backfires, pushing them apart for years., moving from reaction to action.
At 54 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat July 15, 2001: Dexter's mother is dying. Emma comes to the hospital to support him. They reconnect deeply. Dexter's mother tells Emma she's always loved her. False victory: it seems like this tragedy will finally bring them together, but they're both still in wrong relationships. Stakes raised - they're running out of time., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 80 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, July 15, 2006: Emma is killed in a bicycle accident. Literal death - the ultimate "whiff of death." Dexter loses Emma just as they've finally built a life together (married, expecting a child was implied earlier). Everything collapses. The love story ends in tragedy., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Dexter climbs Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh with his daughter Jasmine (the place he first went with Emma on July 15, 1988). He realizes Emma lives on through their daughter, through their memories, through who he became because of her. Synthesis: combining grief with gratitude, past with present., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
One Day's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping One Day against these established plot points, we can identify how Lone Scherfig utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish One Day within the drama genre.
Lone Scherfig's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Lone Scherfig films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.5, reflecting strong command of classical structure. One Day represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Lone Scherfig filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Lone Scherfig analyses, see An Education.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
July 15, 1988: Emma and Dexter on graduation night at Edinburgh University. Emma is idealistic, working-class, wants to make the world better. Dexter is privileged, charming, unfocused. They spend the night talking, establishing they are from different worlds but share a connection.
Theme
Emma tells Dexter: "I love you, but I don't like you anymore." (This is shown in flash-forward, then the story returns to their beginning - establishing the theme: love vs. timing, and whether loving someone is enough if you can't be together at the right time.)
Worldbuilding
Establishing Emma and Dexter's different worlds and goals. Emma wants to write and change the world; Dexter wants to travel and be famous. They agree to be friends. We see them navigate post-university life: Emma in a dead-end restaurant job, Dexter traveling the world. July 15, 1989-1990: Their friendship develops despite distance.
Disruption
July 15, 1991: Dexter returns from traveling and gets a job as a TV presenter. His life takes off professionally while Emma is still struggling. The disruption is the divergence of their paths - their friendship is tested by different life trajectories and Dexter's growing fame and ego.
Resistance
July 15, 1992-1994: Emma and Dexter struggle to maintain friendship as their lives diverge. Emma becomes a teacher, writes on the side. Dexter becomes more famous, more shallow, dates beautiful but vapid women. They debate whether their friendship can survive. Near-romantic moments occur but timing is always wrong.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
July 15, 1995: Emma and Dexter finally sleep together in Paris. But instead of bringing them together, it creates awkwardness and distance. Dexter is still with his girlfriend. Emma feels used. This is the active choice to cross the friendship line - but it backfires, pushing them apart for years.
Mirror World
July 15, 1996-1997: Emma begins relationship with Ian, a failed comedian. Dexter marries Sylvie. The Mirror World is their separate romantic relationships that show them what they DON'T want - Emma with boring Ian, Dexter with shallow Sylvie. These relationships carry the theme: wrong person, wrong time.
Premise
July 15, 1997-2000: The "promise of the premise" - watching two people who belong together live separate lives. Emma finds success as an author. Dexter's career declines, marriage fails, he battles addiction. They drift apart. The audience experiences the bittersweet fun of their annual check-ins, knowing they're meant to be together.
Midpoint
July 15, 2001: Dexter's mother is dying. Emma comes to the hospital to support him. They reconnect deeply. Dexter's mother tells Emma she's always loved her. False victory: it seems like this tragedy will finally bring them together, but they're both still in wrong relationships. Stakes raised - they're running out of time.
Opposition
July 15, 2002-2004: Emma leaves Ian, focuses on her writing career. Dexter's life falls apart - divorce, drug problems, career over. They finally start dating but years of baggage create conflict. Dexter's selfishness and Emma's resentment surface. The opposition is internal: their own flaws and history threaten the relationship they've finally begun.
Collapse
July 15, 2006: Emma is killed in a bicycle accident. Literal death - the ultimate "whiff of death." Dexter loses Emma just as they've finally built a life together (married, expecting a child was implied earlier). Everything collapses. The love story ends in tragedy.
Crisis
Dexter spirals into grief and darkness. He pushes everyone away, including their daughter Jasmine. He returns to the places they shared, haunted by memories. Dark night of the soul - he must process not just Emma's death, but all the wasted years they spent apart.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Dexter climbs Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh with his daughter Jasmine (the place he first went with Emma on July 15, 1988). He realizes Emma lives on through their daughter, through their memories, through who he became because of her. Synthesis: combining grief with gratitude, past with present.
Synthesis
Dexter reconnects with Jasmine and rebuilds his life. The finale shows flashbacks of Emma and Dexter's best moments, revealing how they eventually got together after years of near-misses. We see their wedding, their happiness. The story resolves by showing that despite the tragedy, their love was real and transformative.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening: Dexter and Emma in bed on July 15, 1988, after their first night together. Young, full of possibility, with their whole future ahead. The transformation is Dexter's understanding that even though Emma is gone, the love they shared made him who he is. Bittersweet but hopeful.