Find Me Falling movie review: A rather Tepid Half-baked romcom

Writer-director Stelana Kliris offers a breezy vacation in a sun-kissed paradise - a romantic comedy about middle-aged singletons rekindling their age-old love for each other in the Mediterranean

Film: Find Me Falling
Cast: Harry Connic Jr., Agni Scott, Ali Fumiko Whitney, Tony Demetriou, Aggeliki Filippidou, Lea Maleni, Athina Roditou, Clarence Smith, Viola Kleitou, Antonis Katsaris, Andreas Phylactou, Ioanna Kamenou
Director: Stelana Kliris
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 91 min

Writer-director Stelana Kliris offers a breezy vacation in a sun-kissed paradise - a romantic comedy about middle-aged singletons rekindling their age-old love for each other in the Mediterranean. Emmy and Grammy winner Harry Connick Jr. plays the main lead of the not-so-rocking rocker who serenades us with a few of his wistful tunes. It’s a pleasant entertainer that highlights greek culture and food habits while telling the cross-cultural love story. This attempt to mimic the success of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ is not without a few merits.  

This film set in Cypress is about an ageing rock star John Allman ( Harry Connick Jr.) who returns to the island where he first fell in love - in search of seclusion and inspiration. He purchases a home on a cliff, dirt cheap, and begins living there only to find that the spot close to the cliff where his house stands, is notorious for luring people to commit suicide. As he spends his days trying to dissuade the suicidal from the extreme step off the cliff, he meets up with his old girl-friend, Sia (Agni Scott), now a doctor, on whom he based his all-time hit song ‘The girl on the Beach.’ They rekindle their affair and eventually, he discovers a secret that shocks him into realigning his priorities.

While the subplot about the suicide point just outside John’s doorstep lends the narrative depth, the treatment of it seems a bit glib and not so reverent. The dialogues don’t score many laughs but the attempt to tickle the funny bone is made even when John is faced with people on the verge of suicide. We see an exasperated John scold a man looking downcast and heading to the cliff - “Now is not a good day to die,” he shouts out taking time out from an ongoing contretemps with Sia. John also has the wherewithal to show his empathetic side - he coaxes a heavily pregnant scared young girl off the edge and promises to help her. The problem though is that there’s no real consistency in this telling. The tone varies and the humour is distinctly lacking.

As a tired rockstar looking to get away from it all, Harry Connick Jr. Doesn’t exactly look or sing the part. Agni Scott as Sia, is confident but fails to infuse emotion in her portrayal. The quaint village setting in Cypress with its pristine beach and blue-green waters are quite alluring. “ Find Me Falling” has inveigling cinematography and decent performances but the music really fails the film. The choice of songs and their genre feel inappropriate for a story about a fading rockstar. This film is at best a pleasant interlude with amorous intent!

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