Find Me Falling is a 2024 romantic comedy film written and directed by Stelana Kliris. It stars Harry Connick Jr. as an American rock star who takes a break from his career to live in a remote house near a cliff in Cyprus, which he discovers is a suicide hotspot. The cast also includes Agni Scott, Ali Fumiko Whitney, and Clarence Smith.
| Find Me Falling | |
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| Directed by | Stelana Kliris |
| Written by | Stelana Kliris |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Stephan Metzner |
| Edited by | Emilios Avraam |
| Music by | Carlos José Alvarez |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
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| Languages | English Greek (Cypriot) |
The film was released by Netflix on July 19, 2024.[1] It received mixed reviews.
Plot
editAfter his latest album is poorly received, American rock star John Allman spontaneously moves to Cyprus and buys a remote house on a cliff. A few days later, he witnesses a man commit suicide by jumping off the cliff.
Local police captain Manoli explains to John that the cliff is a well-known suicide hotspot, leading John to realize why the house was so inexpensive. John is warned that the suicide rate can be very high and is given Manoli's phone number to report future instances.
John goes into town and asks for home grocery delivery, surprising the shop owner when he tells her which house he lives in. The next day, Melina, a shop girl, delivers John's food. She recognizes him as a famous musician, and he explains that he has moved to Cyprus to escape his life. He later calls his manager Jimmy to explain where he is.
When the mother of the man who jumped comes to the cliff, John calls Manoli. The woman is helped and Manoli invites him to the tavern in town, where they hear Melina sing. Manoli suggests John would be a good match for his sister. John is then introduced to a table of locals, including Sia, a woman he'd met in Cyprus many years ago, although they both pretend not to know the other. The others recognize that John is a rock star and mention his most famous song, which is about falling in love; although the song was about Sia, he insists it was not inspired by a real person and leaves.
Sia follows John out, and he confronts her about pretending not to know him. She asks him why he's back in Cyprus, but he doesn't know how to answer, and they suddenly share a passionate kiss. Sia spends the night at John's house, sneaking out in the morning.
John calls Sia and convinces her to return for dinner that evening. Melina delivers John's groceries and he asks her to help cook dinner. Sia arrives early and finds John getting dressed while a woman is in the kitchen. Sia believes John is cheating on her, but when Melina walks out, it is revealed that Melina is Sia's daughter. When Manoli's sister arrives unexpectedly for a date, Sia believes he's cheating on her with two women, one her daughter, and storms out.
It is revealed that John and Sia wanted to be together, but she was scared off by his fame. She was pregnant with Melina at the time, but decided to raise her to believe her father was a passing tourist when it was in fact John, who did not know of the pregnancy.
Later at the tavern, Melina invites John to sing his song with her. He drunkenly announces that he is Melina's dad and that Sia never told him about her. Melina storms out, angry at her mom, and Sia follows, angry at John. Melina is later persuaded by her grandmother to forgive Sia.
John shares a new song of his with Jimmy, who insists he can mount a comeback with it. He sees a girl named Anna near the cliff edge, convinces her not to jump, and discovers she is pregnant. He allows her to stay on his sofa that night. In the morning, he takes Anna to tell her parents about the pregnancy, discovering that Manoli is her father. Manoli lashes out at John.
Later that day, Anna goes into labour. At the hospital, John runs into Sia who believes he is there to see her and tells him off. He explains he is there to see Anna and that his departure from Cyprus is imminent.
Melina later teaches John to sing a song in their language so he may serenade Sia at her window. She watches from her window but does not go outside.
John gives the new song he wrote to Melina so she may start her singing career. Melina tells Sia, who promptly finds John and forgives him.
Some time later, Melina successfully launches her musical career with Jimmy as her manager, while John is happily living with Sia in his cliffside home and spending time with the locals he has befriended.
Cast
edit- Harry Connick Jr. as John[2]
- Agni Scott as Sia
- Ali Fumiko Whitney as Melina
- Tony Demetriou as Captain Manoli
- Angeliki Philippidou as Marikou
- Lea Maleni as Koula
- Athina Roditou as Anna
- Clarence Smith as Jimmy
Production
editThe film had the working title of The Islander. Filming ran in Cyprus from May to November 2022,[3][4] taking place in Pegeia and Nicosia.[5]
Release
editFind Me Falling was released on Netflix on July 19, 2024.[6]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 33% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Find Me Falling (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (April 28, 2022). "Harry Connick Jr., Mira Sorvino & Newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney Board Rom-Com 'The Islander'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ FNE Staff (May 4, 2022). "PRODUCTION: Harry Connick Jr. and Mira Sorvino Shoot US/Cypriot RomCom The Islander". Filmneweurope.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ FNE Staff (November 21, 2022). "Production: Cyprus/USA Coproduction The Islander Enters Final Stage of Production in Cyprus". Film New Europe Association. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ ""The Islander" filmed in Cyprus enters last stage of production". Cyprus Weekly. November 17, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ De La Paz, Maggie (March 6, 2024). "Find Me Falling Photos Set Release Date for Netflix Rom-Com". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "Find Me Falling". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "Find Me Falling". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
