AllMovie

The urban encounter between two lost souls always runs the risk of descending into maudlin observations about the essential loneliness of the human condition. Director Jonathan Nossiter and James Lasdun's script manages to avoid that trap, in part because it adds the elements of mistaken identity and wishful fantasy thinking to the mix. David Suchet, who reportedly gained 49 pounds to play the role of Oliver, a homeless former corporate manager, and Lisa Harrow, the estimable Australian actress who looks like she put on considerable weight to play Madeleine, the delusional actress, are not what you'd call the sleekest romantic pairing in screen history. But what the writers have concocted for them -- Oliver playing along with Madeleine's befuddlement to get some measure of comfort on a cold day in New York, Madeleine desperately reaching out to anyone who can pull her failing career together -- is absorbing material and well played. Less effective are the protracted sequences in the men's shelter where Oliver stays (the players are a mix of professional actors like Jared Harris and real homeless men) and Larry Pine's role as Ben, Madeleine's loony husband. The film's other strength is capturing the feel of its title day in a big bad cold city; for a man out of work and with no home, Sunday, says Oliver, is a day "when you get up in the morning you can't wait till it's time to go to bed."