A brand new romantic comedy from Working Title, set in Manchester? He’s our review of Finding Emily, doing battle with Star Wars in UK cinemas. Not seen one of these for a while. The Working Title romantic comedy, in tandem with whatever Guy Ritchie and his imitators were pumping out in the early 2000s, was ... Finding Emily review | Hang on, they’re making romcoms for cinemas again?
A brand new romantic comedy from Working Title, set in Manchester? He’s our review of Finding Emily, doing battle with Star Wars in UK cinemas.
Not seen one of these for a while.
The Working Title romantic comedy, in tandem with whatever Guy Ritchie and his imitators were pumping out in the early 2000s, was something of a foundation for the British film industry, and happily kept Hugh Grant in hair care products too (although even Hugh has crossed to the Guy Ritchie side now).
Still, I suspect we have to get past introductions to reviews of cinema-released romantic comedies acknowledging each time how rare such things have become. Rest assured I’ll make sure I’m on that this time.
Finding Emily, then, is an intriguing mix of what used to work with what its makers hope will work now.
Set in Manchester, we quickly meet a woman trying to piddle into a urinal – oh for the 4DX screening – as a bunch of student-y types are having a nice night out. Well, Spike Fearn’s Owen isn’t. He’s got the job of standing in a club and making sure the music doesn’t get too loud, and that makes him about as popular as you might expect.
Still, things take a turn as he spends the back-end of his night dancing with a woman he’s never seen before. He fully intends to see her again though, and she taps her number into his phone. And she misses a digit off.
Ordinarily, that’d be that. However, in the land of Finding Emily – penned by Rachel Hirons, previously behind The Guide To Second Date Sex – it’s just the beginning. All Spike knows is he’s looking for a student called Emily, and he heads to the campus of the local university, determined to find her.
Just writing all that out, there’s evidently a more sinister, Hannibal Lecter-y version of this film that could play out. Yet Finding Emily takes the rom-com route, and enjoys a success there.
A few reasons why.
Firstly, the film is terrifically cast. Spike Fearn as Owen and Angourie Rice as not the right Emily are the main characters we spend time with, and I found myself easily rooting for them.
Secondly, this is a very anti-cynical romantic comedy. Clearly contemporary, it’s witty and has edges – heck, Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test pops up – but Hiron’s script never loses sight of just what Finding Emily actually is and wants to be. There’s a slightly off-kilter marriage of kitchen sink drama and glossy rom com, and it really does work.
Then, taking all of this and setting it in Manchester is very much in its favour too.
Debut director Alicia MacDonald and cinematographer Rachel Clark really soak in the area. When posh critics were reviewing, say, Die Hard With A Vengeance, they made note of how that film turned New York into a character. I always wonder if it’s a tiny bit pretentious to say that, but undoubtedly, the unusual cinema journey around Manchester plays a role in Finding Emily’s success.
With some terrific one-liners, a bursting collection of tunes, and actors like Anthony J Abraham able to come in and quickly steal a moment, there’s a lot to reward a second viewing, let alone a first.
The final act is where the film is at its weakest, the tramlines of genre fully coming into view for perhaps the only time, as matters are wrapped up quickly and less smoothly. It reminded me of one of The Amazing Spider-Man films, where the correct clip is waiting on the right computer in the exact place, or the necessary documentation is conveniently laid out for one character to see. I get it’s the nature of trying to get the audience and characters through a particular moment or two with efficiency, but it ripped me out of the movie’s world. It’s the only time this happened.
The rest? I really enjoyed it. A lively cast, an entertaining film, one where I’d imagine where every resource afforded to the production has been stretched. It’s both an evolution and reminder of the Working Title formula, from a fresh director whose second film I’m already looking forward to.
Finding Emily is in UK cinemas from the 22nd May.
