Find Me Falling

{{Short description|2024 film by Stelana Kliris}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox film

| image = Find me falling film poster.jpg

| caption = Release poster

| director = Stelana Kliris

| producer = {{Plainlist|

  • Steven Shapiro
  • Keith Arnold
  • Stelana Kliris

}}

| writer = Stelana Kliris

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Carlos José Alvarez

| cinematography = Stephan Metzner

| editing = Emilios Avraam

| studio = {{Plainlist|

  • Jupiter Peak Productions
  • Meraki Films

}}

| distributor = Netflix

| released = {{Film date|2024|7|19}}

| runtime = 94 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

  • Cyprus
  • United States

}}

| language = English
Greek (Cypriot)

| budget =

| gross =

}}

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.

The film was released by Netflix on July 19, 2024.{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2024|title=Find Me Falling (15) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/find-me-falling-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdiyotcy|access-date=July 19, 2024 |website=British Board of Film Classification}} It received mixed reviews.

Plot

After 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 Greek 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

  • Harry Connick Jr. as John{{cite web|last=Grobar|first=Matt|title=Harry Connick Jr., Mira Sorvino & Newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney Board Rom-Com 'The Islander'|date=April 28, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/harry-connick-jr-mira-sorvino-to-star-in-rom-com-the-islander-1235012161/|accessdate=May 4, 2022}}
  • 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

The film had the working title of The Islander, and Mira Sorvino was attached to star opposite Connick. Filming ran in Cyprus from May to November 2022,{{cite web|author=FNE Staff|title=PRODUCTION: Harry Connick Jr. and Mira Sorvino Shoot US/Cypriot RomCom The Islander|date=May 4, 2022|website=Filmneweurope.com|url=https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/cyprus-news/item/123267-production-harry-connick-jr-and-mira-sorvino-shoot-us-cypriot-romcom-the-islander|accessdate=April 28, 2023}}{{cite web|author=FNE Staff|title=Production: Cyprus/USA Coproduction The Islander Enters Final Stage of Production in Cyprus|date=November 21, 2022|website=Film New Europe Association|url=https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/cyprus-news/item/124204-production-cyprus-usa-coproduction-the-islander-enters-final-stage-of-production-in-cyprus|accessdate=April 28, 2023}} taking place in Pegeia and Nicosia.{{cite news|title="The Islander" filmed in Cyprus enters last stage of production|date=November 17, 2022|newspaper=Cyprus Weekly|url=https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/news/local/the-islander-filmed-in-cyprus-enters-last-stage-of-production/|accessdate=April 28, 2023}}

Release

Find Me Falling was released on Netflix on July 19, 2024.{{cite web|last=De La Paz|first=Maggie|title=Find Me Falling Photos Set Release Date for Netflix Rom-Com|date=March 6, 2024|website=Comingsoon.net|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1586613-find-me-falling-photos-set-release-date-for-netflix-rom-com|accessdate=March 30, 2024}}

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|33|4.8|18|consensus=|access-date=July 20, 2024|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|50|5|ref=yes|access-date=July 19, 2024}}

References

{{reflist}}