Finding Emily

One would be forgiven for thinking that Finding Emily is set in the late 2000s upon first glance. That is, until the smartphones and TikTok references start popping up in abundance. There’s something unmistakably old-school about the film, which sees a young man going to extremes in pursuit of true love.

Said young man is Owen (Spike Fearn), who works at Manchester University’s student bar. After spending mere minutes in the company of Emily (Yali Topol Margalith) at a party, he falls head over heels, but realises the number she gave him was a digit short. To help him track her down is another Emily (Angourie Rice), or “Raine”. But this is a throwback tale of young love with a twist: a psychology student, Raine, secretly uses Owen’s obsessive behaviour as the basis for her dissertation on the futility of true love.

In her directorial debut, MacDonald offers a misty-eyed view of Manchester and wonderfully captures the chaos and camaraderie of student life. Newcomer Fearn is utterly charming as the hapless Owen, a Mancunian who feels like an outsider in his own city due to the academic elitism of his work environment. Perfecting a US accent, Australian actor Rice is compelling as the flawed but endearing Raine.

In a post-MeToo climate, Owen’s quest leads to women protesting against him across campus. There’s accordingly some mixed messaging here, particularly since Owen is portrayed as an old-fashioned romantic who simply wants to woo the girl of his dreams, only to effectively get cancelled. A look at how the social niceties of an ordinary guy don’t fit into a culture in which inceldom reigns, this is undoubtedly an interesting concept.

However, even if Owen’s intentions are seemingly admirable, the ways he goes about them are extremely problematic. What should be a valid critique of his behaviour is satirised through the walking cliche of a colourful-haired feminist student union leader, who is somehow portrayed as a pantomime villain for wanting to keep women safe. It’s fitting that this was produced by the team behind Love Actually because it shows how, say, holding up cue cards outside a woman’s home is no longer seen as cute, but creepy.

With that in mind, Finding Emily is likely to appeal to Gen-Z, who are less familiar with the traditional romcom. Much like its lovesick protagonist, this is a heart-on-its-sleeve tale akin to a Gregory’s Girl for Zoomers.