Set in a mid-80s Manchester (culturally-rich and unmistakably British), Finding Emily follows love-sick sound engineer Owen as he attempts to track down his dream girl, Emily, after misplacing her phone number on a night out at the SU. Owen enlists the help of another Emily, an American psychology student, to help reunite with his campus crush. Unknown to Owen, Emily uses his pursuit as a case study to prove that love catalyses self-destruction.
Spike Fearn (Ella McCay) and Angourie Rice (Spider-Man: Far From Home) star as romantic leads Owen and Emily (not to be confused with dream-girl, fairy costume, SU Emily). Fearn’s quintessential Britishness complements Rice’s typical Americanisms, and the two young actors are an overwhelmingly endearing and likeable pair.
Fearn and Rice’s chemistry is classically high-school sweetheart sweet and addictive, and blossoms with the strength of the film’s script. Written by Rachel Hirons (A Guide to Second Date Sex), Finding Emily is a foil of rudimentary rom-com clichés, but its comedic and emotional intricacies make the film feel new, exciting and relatable. The Mancunian representation is expansive and refreshingly authentic, the film showcases familiar areas such as Gay Village (iconic) and the Sackville Street Building, but also places our lovestruck protagonists in Northern Quarter alleyways, a kebab shop on Curry Mile and Fallowfield house parties. It envelopes Manchester in a warm street-light glow and invites audiences to embrace a city famously rough around the edges.
Confident in its delivery, Finding Emily advocates for and unashamedly embraces the universal and fundamental cringe that comes with being a young adult. Radical feminist societies, sweaty SUs and familiar friends backdrop Owen and Emily’s romantic pursuits, enlivened by an eclectic and charismatic ensemble. Stand-out performances include Cora Kirk (Your Christmas or Mine?) and Anthony J. Abraham (The Acolyte), whose respective characterisations of sub-plot healthy-attachment love- birds Anna and Kyle are comedic and endlessly lovable — audiences are sure to swoon and holler, I know mine did.
Yes, Finding Emily is predictable, but who cares! It is constructed with so much love, understanding of the YA demographic and soundtracked by legends including New Order, Scissor Sisters and Nia Archives that you can’t help but grin like a fool its entire runtime. Endless flowers should be given to director Alicia MacDonald and co. because Finding Emily is a remarkable, charismatic and timeless debut which completely reinvigorates the rom-com genre.
★★★★★
In cinemas on May 22nd / Angourie Rice, Spike Fearn, Amber Grappy, Cora Kirk, Anthony J. Abraham / Dir. Alicia MacDonald / Focus Features, Working Title Films / 12A
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