THE STORY – After a failed comeback album, a rock star retreats to a cliffside home on Cyprus, only to find his new life complicated by visitors, and an old flame.
THE CAST – Harry Connick Jr., Agni Scott, Ali Fumiko Whitney, Clarence Smith, Tony Demetriou, Aggeliki Filippidou, Lea Maleni & Athina Roditou
THE TEAM – Stelana Kliris (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 93 Minutes
“Find Me Falling” is the latest Netflix original to be released on the streaming service, and it will probably (and deservedly) get lost in the shuffle. The film is writer-director Stelana Kliris’s follow-up to her first narrative feature – 2014’s “Committed” – and takes place on the beautiful island of Cyprus, the third largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. Kliris clearly has an affection for the island’s culture, food, people, etc., but none of this is enough to make the film memorable. Viewers may remember very little about the film besides its beautiful landscapes (which were filmed on location). What begins as a fairly predictable story about a disgruntled singer becomes an even more predictable story about former lovers reuniting, albeit all in a stunning location. “Find Me Falling” (originally called “The Islander”), may seem like the ideal summer movie, but it is nothing special.
When we first meet rock star John Allman (Harry Connick Jr.), he has moved into a secluded house by a cliff in Cyprus. After the flop of his most recent album, the singer/songwriter has decided to live there, hoping to reclaim his musical spark. John is a stereotypical aging musician: he’s seemingly a mess, is having trouble settling into his new environment, and frequently drinks and smokes. John’s isolation is interrupted by the presence of numerous colorful characters, including an overly friendly police chief (Tony Demetriou), a talented young local singer (Ali Fumiko Whitney), and an old lover (Agni Scott). You can see where this is going. What’s a bit different, though, is that his new cliffside abode is apparently a “suicide hotspot.” This aspect of the story adds a layer of tension and mystery, as it suggests that John’s new home might have a darker history than he initially realized, which certainly interrupts his intended solitude.
Connick Jr. is best known for 1990s films like “Hope Floats” and “Independence Day.” And, while it’s great to see him back on screen and in a leading role, his presence here is underwhelming, and his performance is fairly bland – just like the rest of the movie. He’s not a bad actor, per se, but because his character is fairly standard and poorly written, he doesn’t get to show us anything exciting. Sure, he does get to sing, but that’s the only interesting thing he does. Scott, for her part, nicely fits the beautiful, exotic former flame role, but she’s given little personality beyond her relationships with John and her family. Whitney also suits the role of the talented young singer, but her delightful presence is not enough to make a dent. While it’s great to see local Greek actors get roles in a film like this, they’re pretty much all stuck with relatively boring, rote characters who aren’t given much in terms of personality.
We’ve all seen stories of disgruntled, aging musicians or artists who try to get away in order to improve themselves in some way. Unfortunately, “Find Me Falling” does little to differentiate itself – aside from the location – and it’s far less interesting than it intended to be. So much of the narrative is predictable, and the story is riddled with cliches not helped by the mediocre [at best] dialogue. Kliris’ script is neither heartwarming when it wants to be nor funny when trying to elicit laughs. There are a handful of chuckles sprinkled through, but those are few and far between, and there are even some jokes and bits that are in poor taste; for example, John calling Scott’s character “Euthanasia” because he can’t pronounce her full Greek name is cringe-worthy.
The movie would’ve been at least semi-interesting if it had focused more on the “suicide hotspot” aspect of John’s new residence. Instead, it quickly leans into romantic cliches, including John having written a song about his old love, and then he quickly – too quickly – reconnects with her. It’s an incredibly stale, predictable romance not helped by the minimal chemistry between Connick Jr. and Scott. There’s also a terrible twist about halfway through the film that changes the tone and narrative, not in a good way. The twist, which involves a sudden revelation about one of the characters, is poorly executed because it feels forced and doesn’t add any depth to the story. The film seems to care very little about its characters, putting them in situations that don’t necessarily make sense for them (in a narrative sense) while leaving viewers underwhelmed. While much of the dialogue is in Greek, especially when the locals are talking to one another, after some time – with no explanation – they switch to speaking English, even though no English native speakers are present. It’s one of numerous head-scratching moments in “Find Me Falling.”
Ultimately, the only thing that works in the film’s favor is the beautiful landscape. “Find Me Falling” marks the first time a Netflix movie was produced in Cyprus, so it’s fascinating to learn about the Greek island’s culture, including its food, the locals, and the like. Despite the story’s dullness and rampant predictability, reveling in the beauty of the film’s surroundings is comfortable. As one character so plainly says, “Who needs therapy when you have nature?” And yet, while it’s easy to see the appeal of a focus on family, friendship, and love, the film goes about in such hackneyed ways that even the short runtime is a bit of a chore to get through. It’s essentially a Cyprus-set Hallmark movie, which is not a good thing.
