Confessions of a Streamaholic

We really are entering a new era of rom-coms and it’s truly refreshing ‘Finding Emily’ starts with a posing question of ‘Love is a state of temporary psychosis’ – Sigmund Freud. The film really gives a flip on the the whole norms of a rom-com, usually it’s the girl who has all these positive outlooks of love but not in this case Owen (Spike Fearn) is a hopeless romantic. Whereas, Emily (Angourie Rice) is doing studies on how love is a modern hangover, that at one point in time it was fundamental but now doesn’t feel like it’s needed as much, not sure if this opinion stems from the guy who’s been leading her on the whole time she’s been at university.

Owen (Fearn) meets a girl at the Student Union who he feels a connection with, she gives her number as she leaves but when he goes to text it’s told there’s a digit missing from her number. After looking for Emily, he’s introduced to another Emily (Rice) who then uses him as a case study for her thesis on love. They work together to even with Rice thinking he is delusional to track down the Emily and as rom-coms go they end up realising who they thought they wanted isn’t meant for them.

Emily (Rice) is a relatively normal girl, smart, opinionated and has one panic when Owen decides he’s given up. Owen on the other hand is cheeky but an overthinker, he spirals talking fast and really showing his emotions which you don’t often see from men in films. He is grieving as well and I resonated with that as a viewer and even those without the same experience can see the vulnerability from him. This connection between them makes for so many humorous times, like when they argue and sweet moments when he eats the coleslaw and chips even when you can see on his face he hates it but he doesn’t want her to take the criticism from the other guy or when he helps her cause she got her lip busted in the crowd. I was captivated by their connection, so many small moments you could tell they were starting to fall for each other, it was done in such a striking way.

Not only does it flip the norms of rom-coms but the humor is fantastic, with such good chemistry between the protagonists and the main supporting actors you are left with sharp wit and laugh-out-loud moments. There was no holding back with a girl peeing in a urinal just a couple of minutes in, Owen and his brother’s relationship with back and forth banter and Emily’s friend and her sarcasm. However, the part that had me giggling the most was when Emily (Rice) is apologising to her friend with a cake after they had a falling out and what she does to the cake, if you know, you know, I won’t spoil it.

Something I really enjoyed was how they showed that the email has been sent to all the Emily’s collectively rather than a blind copied email, Owen (Fearn) walking through his house with all these Emily’s commenting on how they feel about the email. The other Emily’s make a good addition to the film with the president of them being a Scottish girl advocating for the intrusion on their privacy with the email addresses being leaked and this community that forms due to situation. Social media plays a big part of it all blowing up, everyone’s talking about it making assumptions so I respected Owen was adamant to go on the podcast and clear his name, which parallels to later in the film when Emily (Rice) uses it to reach out to him as he won’t answer her calls.

I have to give a standing ovation, hands of applause to the people who decided what music was getting used in this film as it was perfection from the get go. ‘Blue Monday’ New Order started us off strong, ‘Let’s Have a Kiki’ was in there, ‘There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)’, Carly Rae Jepsen popped up, I just felt like the music was all so intentional and well placed. Then you had the moments if was brought in involving the characters like when Owen wrote a song for the Emily he was trying to find – which you actually find out eventually her name was Amelie and that’s why he couldn’t find her – he’s an amazing singer, also him and his brother having a sing along in the car. Then you had Emily and her friend dancing it out to Nia Archive’s ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz‘, safe to say these songs will all be on repeat for me for the foreseeable.

This film for me has really started the new wave of rom-coms I feel like we are getting, a flip of the normal gender roles in a movie but still the same classic ending of them getting together and it felt only fitting that even when admitting that they like each other they made a joke out of it. From beginning to end it had me hooked and it’s not to skip over if you enjoy a a lot of the classic rom-coms.