When some of us think about a holiday in the Mediterranean, we would rather dream of the beautiful blue-green transparent waters that it boasts, the idyllic coastal towns and the kind of sea food you can walk to. That might be what led lead singer John Allman (Harry Connick Jr.) into a delightful rest in Cyprus. However, Find Me Falling his joy is short-lived when he finds out that he lives on a suicide cliff. While seeking assistance from other local people on how to stop such an activity, John meets Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney) who has aspirations of singing and her mother Sia (Agni Scott), one of the most respected doctors on the island and once had a long-term relationship with John back – but now has another chance for love again.
Employing certain tropes commonly associated with romantic comedies dotted throughout “Committed”, writer-director Stelana Kliris follows a well-trodden path with her sophomore movie “Find Me Falling” released in 2014. In this way, she does not startle viewers too much because what she actually presents is nothing but an ordinary story about lovers’ reunion after years featuring two beautiful main actors.
Though there’s something terribly light-hearted about this rom-com that deals with suicide right outside its protagonist’s house: after all, it is called “Find Me Falling”. At times like these it feels as if all this was being played just for laughs — when exasperated John tells someone walking dejectedly towards the cliff edge ‘Not today please!’ The embarrassed man then turns around and John continues talking emotionally to Sia. On the other hand, there are scenes where you feel more sympathy like when he begs or coaxes a scared lady away from death promising to help her later; however these moments are tonal whiplashes from nights spent drinking at music-filled bars, getting sunburnt by the shore or rekindling an old flame.
Harry Connick Jr. as a jaded musician trying to escape the noise of everyday life looks a tad bit too groomed and plays tired right out of the box for small town insanity. He is ashamed that people recognize him, and he is perhaps one of the most down-to-earth rock stars ever written into a film.
Agni Scott’s portrayal of Sia as an accomplished woman who juggles career with single motherhood is commendable; she walks around the movie with a stylish nonchalant attitude. However, her performance is quite chill in terms of style so that while their characters might be saying “I love you”, there doesn’t appear to be much visible physical chemistry between them, making their lovemaking even less thrilling than some arguments they had.
However, Kliris doesn’t narrow his script to focusing only on the two young lovers. Sia’s relationship with daughter Melina is expanded; her worried sister Koula (Lea Maleni), who seems suspicious of this dashing stranger that has come back to Cyprus for likely more than just a change in scenery and Marikou (Aggeliki Filippidou) the family matriarch, always available when needed as an ear for listening, her wisdom to be shared within her family and cool tempers among members of it.
This loving familial dynamic develops alongside the romance that also anchors the story within culture and place rather than using it purely as backdrop to narrative. In addition, Captain Manoli (Tony Demetriou) plays a significant part by taking John on a sightseeing trip around town and brings him to where John finds Sia again after years at a taverna before he has another problem that he helps him out with along with his own family later.
In the end, “Find Me Falling” settles not so much on even ground. It seems like this fluffy romantic comedy is interrupted suddenly by serious music breaks in the plotline together with uninspired pop music and lyrics (John’s big hit is called “Girl on the Beach” because it sounds no better than its title). It is strange though; may put off viewers who were expecting some fling kind of romance as if you added lime instead of lemon to your Greek dish. The movie will never be seen in the same light again leaving an odd taste just like how something tastes off in one’s mouth after having had good food generally.
Also, Read On Fmovies