FIND ME FALLING

Another day, another straight to streaming Rom-Com. But does Find Me Falling reach the heights of The Idea of You, or does it plummet to the depths of Mother of the Bride and A Family Affair.

The first thing to say about Find Me Falling  is that right from the off it is beautiful to look at. Cyprus is a beautiful setting and cinematographer Stephan Metzner does an excellent job of showcasing it.

Secondly, the opening act does have a certain level of charm as we follow John Allman (Harry Connick Jr.) - a rock star of fading significance - escaping to Cyprus and setting up a new home at what turns out to be a famous suicide hotspot. 

As he explores the town and gets to know his new neighbours Find Me Falling takes on a breezy tone - a tone that reminded me a little of Mamma Mia - that is incredibly easy to warm to, and I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I would ever have expected to.

The relationships he builds with local police captain Manoli (Tony Demetriou) and young singer Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney) are genuinely quite sweet, and his run ins with former love Sia (Agni Scott) show potential as the central romance.

Unfortunately, as the film progresses the problems start to become apparent.

The plot becomes driven by farcical moments that could easily be resolved by two people having a conversation. Instead John seems to stand wide mouthed and just let these misunderstanding pile up on top of one another. Looking incredulous as they do, but doing absolutely nothing to stop them.

When farce is done well it’s because the mechanisms of it make sense in the world of the film. The decisions the characters make, make sense in the world of the film.

But here they don’t. John instantaneously turns from a charming wordsmith into a tongue-tied buffoon. Characters who have been previously shown as reasonable and likeable fly of the handle at the smallest of things without bothering to ask for an explanation.

And from this the characters themselves become more unlikeable as the film goes on, behaving abominably to each other in ways that have never been suggested before. 

So much so that by the time the films climax roles around, and they set about giving us the predictably uplifting and heartwarming finale I had all but stopped caring about any of them.

Which is a shame, as in the opening moments it had a lot of promise.  

Ultimately though, Find Me Falling is beautifully shot, and has some charm in its first act, but its second act is increasingly intolerable, meaning by the time it reaches its climax I had all but stopped caring what happened.