| You know what is a good underrated romantic drama? Hope Floats. This isn’t Hope Floats, but there is a comfort level whenever Harry Connick Jr appears on screen in a romance. Here he’s an aging former rock star who has just moved to Cyprus, where he wants to be alone, unknown and retire in peace. Or so he says. And then he finds out that the house he just bought is a suicide hotspot. | | 2024
Directed by: Stelana Kliris
Screenplay by: Stelana Kliris
Starring: Harry Connick Jr
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A man in his own throes of depression is finding himself as a watch-keeper of sorts over people coming to the cliff to jump. The local police chief has a great line, “Sometimes their sadness leaves them, sometimes they leave with it.” There are a number of really good lines sprinkled throughout the movie which shows it’s a better written movie than would normally be expected.
On the surface Find Me Falling looks like all of the many Netflix rom-coms where the heroine just packs up her life and moves to a foreign country (Falling Inn Love, A Perfect Pairing, Love and Gelato, etc…). John Allman (Connick Jr) has given up on his music career and without telling anybody, buys a house in Cyprus, where he meets multiple beautiful women. But allow me to remind you that this is a better movie than it first appears. John picked Cyprus for a reason and most of the beautiful single women he meets are not love interests.
The film could have spent more time on the beautiful beaches and countryside of Cyprus. It is a Cyprus-produced movie, primarily made by and starring locals, so there is an authenticity that shines through (especially with the natural switching back and forth between Greek and English where everyone is multi-lingual and knows the foreigner only speaks English). The reason we don’t just meander and watch the island weather is because the movie presents us with a plot. This is not just a romance. There are two intersecting stories about why John came back to Cyprus and what he didn’t know and then when he becomes a father-figure to a young girl overwhelmed by unexpected news and family compounding the problem.
There’s enough comedy to keep the film moving and keep it light. Find Me Falling is a tender portrait of over-coming depression, perhaps it doesn’t go as deep as the subject matter suggests, but it’s a lovely and gentle story with a gorgeous setting, and fitting music - original songs provided by the two stars Harry Connick Jr and Ali Fumiko Whitney, including the title song Find Me Falling and the opening song Girl on the Beach. The short run time keeps it slight, but it’s not an empty viewing experience. It’s worth watching for fans of romantic dramas and especially fans of Harry Connick Jr.
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