Alicia MacDonald’s Finding Emily follows musician Owen (Spike Fearn), who works at the student union bar in the University of Manchester. When he bumps into Emily (Sadie Soverall), Owen is completely love-struck. There is one major issue, though. Emily gave him the wrong number. Owen eventually finds Emily, but not the Emily he expected: he finds a determined psychology student, Emily Raine (Angourie Rice), who agrees to help him find his Emily.
On paper, the premise sounds very convoluted because most of the audience would assume that Emily from the bar probably ghosted him, and it’s getting a bit creepy that he is still trying to find her. This never brought the film down for me, though. The premise is used to create humor, with the search becoming so deranged that Owen appears on a podcast with a song for Emily after emailing 318 different Emilys at the university.
Owen’s awkward, embarrassing humor mixes well with the film’s interest in Gen Z social media, with posts like “It’s like Ed Sheeran on Crimewatch” or #ratboysummer. The mixing works because any simple story can now become a sensation on social media from a viewer’s perspective. You really want Owen to stop, or Emily Raine to intervene, because how much more embarrassing can this get?
The performances of Fearn and Rice are strong, and you never dislike the duo, even when they’re incredibly selfish. Fearn presents Owen as a working-class lad who wears his heart on his sleeve to his detriment, making the audience want to tell Owen to take a breath and slow down. Meanwhile, Rice, as Emily Raine, is constantly reading people as any psychology student does. But when it comes to reading herself, she won’t face up to very obvious feelings.
Together, the duo falls into classic rom-com tropes — like will they or won’t they get together in the end — but both are likable enough to keep those tropes from being a drag.
Another romance in Finding Emily is with the city of Manchester itself, similar to the very underappreciated Rye Lane (2023). If there is one thing our romantic leads love for sure, it’s their city. Manchester, in turn, becomes a character through the film, from its vibrant nightclub scene to Oasis references everywhere. Even Owen’s wardrobe gives a young Noel Gallagher vibe. The film turns Manchester into something special, elevating it from just the background.
The wider supporting cast deserves mention as well, each of them adding more vibrancy to the film. Names include Pervy Martin (Phil Wang), somehow still employed by the university; Emily Thewlis (Kat Ronney), a student union president who overestimates the power of her position; Professor Westlake (Prassanna Puwanarajah), who has no passion for teaching; and Matt (Jack Riddiford), Owen’s older brother. Although they fight constantly, Matt does care for his little brother.
Once you get past the slightly awkward premise of Finding Emily, you can find a charming old-fashioned rom-com with some new flavor in it. That’s the best of both worlds.
Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan
Feature Image Credit to Parkville Pictures, Working Title Films, Focus Features