Film critic Ron Cerabona reviews Finding Emily, a romantic comedy directed by Alicia MacDonald and written by Rachel Hirons, arguing that the movie struggles to balance romance with behaviour that borders on stalking and manipulation.

The story follows Owen, played by Spike Fearn, a struggling musician and university sound engineer in Manchester who meets a woman named Emily at a student dance.

After discovering the phone number she gave him is incomplete, Owen becomes obsessed with finding her instead of accepting the rejection and moving on.

His increasingly questionable search methods include bribing bar staff, putting up posters around campus and attempting to access private student email records.During this search, he meets another Emily, portrayed by Australian actor Angourie Rice, who offers to help him.

However, she secretly uses Owen as the subject of her psychology dissertation on romantic love and emotional obsession, manipulating events to study his behaviour without his consent.

Cerabona notes that the film attempts to present Owen as sympathetic despite actions that many characters in the story — and viewers — may interpret as invasive or disturbing.

He praises the performances of both Fearn and Rice, saying their charm and likeability help make the characters more engaging, even when their actions become uncomfortable.The review also points out that the film contains a large supporting cast and multiple subplots, which make the narrative feel cluttered at times.Key emotional moments are described as underdeveloped, particularly when important truths are revealed.

While Cerabona believes the filmmakers intended to create a light romantic comedy, he argues the story unintentionally feels darker due to its themes of deception, obsession and emotional manipulation.Despite these criticisms, he acknowledges that the soundtrack and some humorous moments provide entertainment value.