OVERVIEW
Shy, hopelessly romantic sound engineer Owen meets a girl at a dance and, after an instant connection, works up the courage to ask for her number. The next day, he finds out there is one problem: when he tries to text her, he realizes the number she gave him is missing a digit. All he has is a first name, Emily, common enough that 318 students at the university share it. His search soon leads him to Emily Raine (Angourie Rice), a psychology student writing her thesis on the foolishness of love. Intrigued by Owen’s predicament, she tags along for the quest, pushing him toward increasingly ridiculous schemes to track down the mysterious Emily who might just be the love of his life.
BACKGROUND
Finding Emily marks the feature directorial debut of Alicia MacDonald, a former Mike Leigh assistant, working from an original screenplay by Rachel Hirons that was first announced under the title CC: Emily. More significantly, it comes from Working Title, the company behind British rom-com landmarks such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, and the Bridget Jones films, which is returning to the genre that once defined its identity. Much has changed since the early 2000s, when romantic comedies were box office hits and popular DVD rentals. Today, the genre has largely been reduced to generic imitations sent directly to streaming, where they spend a weekend in the Top 10 before seemingly disappearing forever. That is, except when an attempt to twist and subvert the formula backfires, as recently happened with One Night Only. Skeptical of what the genre had become, MacDonald approached Finding Emily inspired by its golden age, remaining faithful to genre conventions while striving to earn them through character motivations.
THE REVIEW
She largely succeeds. Finding Emily is charming and immensely likable, embracing the familiar conventions without ever seeming embarrassed by them. MacDonald understands that knowing what comes next has never been the problem with romantic comedies. The problem is when we do not care about the people getting there. By grounding those familiar beats in characters worth investing in, the film reminds us why the formula became so enduring in the first place, while delivering perhaps the best recent example of how to bring the genre into modern times without sacrificing its earnest heart.
The film is aided considerably by its two well-matched leads, Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice, whose opposing personalities play naturally off each other and make it crystal clear where the story is heading. Yet much of what makes their relationship work comes from how strongly MacDonald establishes them individually. Fearn’s Owen is far from the conventional rom-com lead: socially awkward, not particularly handsome, and so willing to wear his heart on his sleeve that his sincerity often becomes off-putting. Yet Fearn gradually reveals the pain and loneliness underneath that exterior. Owen has just lost his parents and, with few meaningful relationships around him, is desperately searching for a genuine connection, giving his seemingly ridiculous pursuit of Emily an emotional logic beyond simple infatuation. A great scene in the car with his brother Matt establishes a convincing bond between the two and becomes one of the film’s most affecting moments, even if it ends too quickly to realize its full potential.
Rice’s Emily has the harder job, but the actress pulls it off, making us empathize with a character who repeatedly comes dangerously close to losing our sympathy altogether. She is introduced with a confidence that gradually reveals itself as a shield for much deeper insecurities, and Rice is particularly good at letting those defenses crack without suddenly transforming the character. Like Owen, Emily is an outsider, in her case an American student striving for a work visa. This gives the two a shared loneliness underneath their very different personalities that the film could have explored even further. More importantly, investing us in both characters allows MacDonald to get away with some of the genre’s most predictable turns. [Mild spoilers ahead. Skip to the next paragraph if you haven’t seen the film.] We know that Emily’s deception will eventually be exposed, but by then, its inevitability hardly matters. We are far more concerned with what the truth will do to these characters once it surfaces. When Owen finally discovers Emily’s true motivation for helping him, his pain genuinely lands.
The film is filled with sweet moments, such as Owen singing his song, alongside funny and clever ones, from Owen and Rhea (a scene-stealing Amber Grappy) trying to pass themselves off as a couple while she wears a particularly incriminating shirt to the wonderfully assembled party montage. Minnie Driver and Prasanna Puwanarajah offer welcome supporting presences, while the rest of the young cast is uniformly great. Beyond these, Finding Emily also pays affectionate homage to what the genre once was through a soundtrack that includes the likes of “Ramalama (Bang Bang),” Sweet Female Attitude’s “Flowers,” and “Call Me Maybe,” songs capable of instantly transporting you back to easier times. Yet MacDonald also does a good job at making the story work in the present. Social media is incorporated organically into the story, while the university setting allows the film to have some fun with contemporary student politics and the more progressive environment, most enjoyably when the Emilys organize themselves into a support group to debate whether Owen is romantic or a stalker.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finding Emily is the best rom-com since Rye Lane in 2023, offering a clever setup, genuine sincerity, and a central relationship that will warm your heart. It is not earth-shattering in any way, and there is a lingering feeling that the film holds back from truly delving into its characters’ grief, which is constantly hinted at but never fully embraced. That, along with a somewhat underwhelming final scene, keeps the film from being truly great. Still, it remains charming and likable throughout. Sometimes, all you need is a good story told well, with strong protagonists at its center.
Still courtesy of Universal Pictures Canada
- 1Everytime
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- 3Tuner
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- 50Finding Emily#50 of 219
- Where to watch
- Rent or buy at Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
- Where to watch
- Out of Theaters
Play trailer
- Original title
- Finding Emily
- Director
- Alicia MacDonald
- Cast
- Spike Fearn, Angourie Rice, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Minnie Driver, Cora Kirk, Jack Riddiford, Isabella Laughland, Amber Grappy
- Rated
- PG-13
- Screenwriter
- Rachel Hirons
- Composer
- Morgan Kibby
- Cinematography
- Rachel Clark
- Editor
- Phil Hignett
- Country
- Language
- English
- Box office
- $3.129 million
- Distributor (CA)
- Universal Pictures Canada