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Finding Emily
A warm, sincere Manchester romcom with a charming pair of leads, and a premise that splits critics: a student quietly turns a lovesick stranger into her thesis. Finding Emily has real spring in its step, but the plotting is clunky and the satire thin.
Worth a night in if you want warmth over bite.
Dir. Alicia MacDonald · 2026 · 110 min · on Peacock in the US, in cinemas earlier this year
The setup
Owen (Spike Fearn) is a sound engineer at a Manchester university venue. One night he dances with a woman in a fairy costume who tells him her name is Emily and types her number into his phone. By morning a digit is missing, the text bounces, and the only lead he has is a first name. He goes looking across campus, and the search sends him to a different Emily: Emily Raine (Angourie Rice), a psychology student who sees in his lovesick quest a handy case study for her thesis. That is the engine of the film, and it is as far as this review goes.
It is Alicia MacDonald's first feature, from a script by Rachel Hirons, with Minnie Driver in a supporting role and a Manchester that the film is plainly proud of: the Focus Features production notes list local pubs, student streets, music venues and Canal Street, and a soundtrack that draws on the city's own artists alongside Morgan Kibby's score.
What the critics say
This is a film critics split on, and the split is the interesting thing about it. On the warm side, Film Stories calls it "a very anti-cynical romantic comedy" and says of the rest, "I really enjoyed it"; Pajiba's Dustin Rowles loves its old-fashioned sincerity; DVDfever gives it 7/10 as a well-meaning romcom that runs a little long. CinemaBlend's round-up has the AP and Variety on the positive side too.
they have a spring-fresh charm that remains pleasing throughout.
Donald Clarke, The Irish Times, on the two leads
Even the Irish Times, though, found the machinery clunky. On the other side, the A.V. Club's Natalia Keogan calls it "utterly lost searching for itself", and Looper's Alistair Ryder (4/10) argues that the thesis premise is manipulative enough that it makes viewers root against the couple. According to the same CinemaBlend round-up, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and the New York Times were also unconvinced. So the score here sits in the middle: the performances and the setting get most of the credit, the premise and the plotting most of the doubt.
What works
Almost everyone, including the unimpressed, praises the leads. Fearn and Rice are described as charming, and a romcom lives or dies on whether you want the two of them in the same room. The film is also pitched as a genre throwback made by people who like the genre: Film Stories reads it as a fresh turn on the Working Title formula, and the director has talked about keeping the couple in one frame rather than cutting to close-ups in emotional scenes. Manchester helps too. The city is a character rather than a postcard, even if the Irish Times thought it tried a little too hard to make us fall for it.
What doesn't
The central trick is also the central problem. A student quietly using a stranger as a research subject is a premise that some critics find sweet and quirky and others find uncomfortable, and the second group is loud. Several reviews also object to supporting characters drawn as types, and to the film's Gen Z social-media satire, which Looper says falls flat. Film Stories, a fan, still says the final act feels rushed and contrived. And at 110 minutes it is a little long for something this light.
Is this for you?
Tick what applies. This is a rough guide built from the reviews above, not a verdict on your taste.
Where to watch
Finding Emily reached Peacock in the US on 23 October, according to Tom's Guide's weekly streaming round-up, and Peacock's own page lists it as included with a subscription. It was in UK and Irish cinemas in May. Availability varies by country, so check what your local services offer.