The Grain of Truth in ‘One Night Only’
The new film One Night Only by Will Gluck follows a bonkers premise: the U.S. government has outlawed premarital sex, and the only exception is during one 12-hour window every year. The movie captures something true about the anxieties and pressures of modern singlehood, …
Intelligence analysis by Llama
One Night Only is a film that captures the anxieties and pressures of modern singlehood, where the protagonists, Allie and Owen, navigate a society designed by and for couples, and are confronted with attempts to either penalize or cash in on their singlehood.
One Night Only is a movie about how hard it can be to find love and connection in a world where society is designed to make it hard for single people. The movie follows two main characters, Allie and Owen, as they navigate a world where they are constantly being judged and penalized for being single. The movie is like a big circus, with lots of characters and situations that are both funny and sad. It's a commentary on how hard it can be to be single in a world that doesn't seem to want you to be.
Analysis
The Fascist State of Modern Singlehood
The new film One Night Only by Will Gluck is a thought-provoking commentary on the anxieties and pressures of modern singlehood. The movie follows a bonkers premise: the U.S. government has outlawed premarital sex, and the only exception is during one 12-hour window every year. This setup allows the filmmakers to explore the complexities of modern dating and relationships, where the prospects can seem both abundant and unappealing.
The movie captures something true about the sense of loneliness that pervades modern singlehood. The protagonists, Allie and Owen, are always walking solo down the street or making their way through crowds who don’t register their existence. They are not isolated just because they’re looking for companionship; the sense of alienation is also from a society designed by and for couples.
In the real United States, single people tend to pay much more for essentials such as rent and groceries. They miss out on tax breaks, health-care benefits, and a bevy of other perks afforded to married couples. Meanwhile, they feel pressured to shell out on dating-app subscriptions, events, and fancy dinners if they ever want to stop paying the ‘singles tax.’ The movie’s alternate U.S. isn’t so different, in this way: again and again, the characters are confronted with attempts to either penalize or cash in on their singlehood.
The movie is suffused with a sense of sadness, a whiff of which is unmistakable. The screenwriter Travis Braun has said as much. ‘I set out to write a movie,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter, ‘about the circus that is modern dating.’ A circus is exactly what he depicts: a chaotic, ridiculous affair, full of amusing characters performing and vying for attention, never quite masking an unmistakable whiff of sadness.
One Night Only is one of a whole slate of pointedly unsexy sex comedies that have been released in recent years. These movies are not about the pleasures and disappointments of casual sex; they are more about the anxieties and pressures of modern singlehood. They are about the sense of loneliness that pervades modern dating, and the ways in which society is designed to exploit and penalize single people.
In the end, One Night Only doesn’t have much to say about a fascistic government’s overreach or the pleasures and disappointments of casual sex. It’s more of an abstract portrait—an evocation of how singlehood can feel. The movie is a commentary on the challenges and pressures faced by single people in modern society, and the ways in which society is designed to exploit and penalize them.
Key points
- The movie One Night Only is a commentary on the challenges and pressures faced by single people in modern society.
- The movie follows a bonkers premise: the U.S. government has outlawed premarital sex, and the only exception is during one 12-hour window every year.
- The movie captures something true about the sense of loneliness that pervades modern singlehood.
- The movie is suffused with a sense of sadness, a whiff of which is unmistakable.
- The movie is a commentary on the ways in which society is designed to exploit and penalize single people.
The movie suggests that even in a world that is designed to make it hard for single people, there is still hope for connection and love. The characters in the movie are able to find each other and form connections, despite the obstacles in their way. This suggests that even in a world that is hostile to single people, there is still a chance for love and connection.
The movie also suggests that the challenges and pressures faced by single people can be overwhelming. The characters in the movie are constantly being judged and penalized for being single, and they struggle to find connection and love in a world that doesn't seem to want them to be. This suggests that the challenges faced by single people can be too much to handle, and that it may be impossible to find love and connection in a world that is hostile to single people.
