No genre has fallen from grace quite like the rom-com. Once a staple of the cineplex, that often ranked amongst the year’s highest-grossing in its glory days, has struggled to find a footing in the digital age, their grip on the zeitgeist weakening over time and now often relegated to straight-to-streaming release fodder. It is therefore worth sitting up and taking note when an original rom-com is granted a theatrical release, as is the case with Alicia MacDonald’s directorial debut: the warm and charming Finding Emily.
When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number from his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Starring Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice, Finding Emily both embraces and subverts the genre playbook, providing a sharp social commentary when bringing the rom-com into the digital age. A film that rejects cynicism is hard to find in the world's current landscape driven by self-deprecation, MacDonald’s greatest strength is ensuring Finding Emily wears its heart on its sleeve, empowering her debut to rom-com greatness.
Written by Rachel Hirons, Finding Emily is a remarkably assured effort. With characters that are deeply likeable and just a little frustrating, they are presented with a complexity that brings real charm to the film. While themes relating to social media can feel a little off-putting, it provides an interesting angle for Finding Emily to pass some surprisingly sharp commentary on both the positives and negatives of online culture. It does not quite manage to shed the narrative contrivances that weight down even some of our strongest entries in the sub-genre, but in remaining loyal to self, and breezing through with such an uncynical air to it, Emily manages to find the sweet spot between convention and reinvention, making for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.
With so many modern rom-coms sadly flattened by a Netflix sheen - therein, designed to play as internationally as possible, with little to differentiate it from the one before and the one after - it is with great joy that Finding Emily embraces its Manchester setting. Bursting with personality and charm, MacDonald’s direction demonstrates a wonderful sense of place, a creative clearly in love with the city and eager to celebrate all the culture that make it so. Combining that with cinematographer Rachel Clark's work which helps spotlight locations with true reverence, the film operates as a love letter to the city is is set in. With a soundtrack similarly packed with personality, a strong collection that helps establish the scrappy, underdog tone of the feature and its characters, Finding Emily is a film that thrives in its insistence of self.
Crucially, the chemistry between the two leads is fantastically believable. Spike Fearn is something of a revelation in the role, deeply charismatic as a somewhat awkward Northern lovesick lad who wears his emotions on his sleeve in a way many people his age could learn from. He possesses a scrappy charm that really endears himself to audiences, and could deservingly find himself a home in the sub-genre and beyond. Angourie Rice showcases both witty comedic sensibilities and the ability to carry some of the weightier drama, and together the pair develop a sparkling chemistry that makes this one of the most inspired pairings the rom-com has seen in years.
A blissfully uncynical endeavour, Finding Emily is a breath of fresh for our cineplexes. Tightly balancing the drama and the romance, with more than a sprinkling of comedy to really bringing the piece together, Finding Emily is proof we can still make good rom-coms if they can remember to step away from the cookie cutter template and find something unique to say. With the effervescent charm of Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice, Finding Emily could deservedly become a new rom-com staple for many movie nights.