Find Me Falling (2024) Review: Despite Harry Connick Jr.’s Charming Presence and the Scene-Stealing Ali Fumiko Whitney, This Netflix Rom-Com Lacks Spark

Find Me Falling marks the first time a Cypriot feature film to stream worldwide on Netflix. The movie, of course, is shot on location in Cyprus — a quaint, charming old town populated by a close-knit community and credits go to cinematographer Stephan Metzner for capturing its idyllic beauty. It certainly has the wonderful look and feel of a travelogue since the movie not only promotes its place but the locals and their way of life, warm hospitality and the overall carefree atmosphere.

But as a rom-com, writer-director Stelana Kliris’s second feature after 2014’s Committed is a hit-and-miss affair. Harry Connick Jr., no stranger to romantic comedies seen in New in Town and Life Without Dick, plays John Allman, a has-been rock star who used to be famous for his hit single “Girl on the Beach”. He has since lived in solitude in a remote home that he bought near the cliffs of Cyprus. But unbeknownst to him, his place happens to be a “suicide hotspot” as the local police captain Manoli (Tony Demetriou) would describe it after John witnesses a man jumping off the cliffs.

The suicide part is uncomfortably played for laughs and frankly, it feels awkwardly out of place for a supposedly lighthearted rom-com. Kliris even goes as far as including a surprisingly depressing subplot, which involves a distraught pregnant girl and John tries to talk her out of it. Again, it was a misplaced moment that could have been omitted from the movie altogether. Throughout the movie, it got me thinking that it would be wise for the director not to include the suicide theme at all since it’s not a major part of this rom-com.

Back to the rom-com part, John gets to know a chirpy young girl named Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney), a local tavern singer by night and a delivery girl by day, who handles his groceries. The story also involves John’s ex-lover, Sia (Agni Scott) and they happen to meet again under the unlikely circumstances. Agni Scott is lovely but her chemistry with Harry Connick Jr. doesn’t work as well as I thought. It’s hard to root for their predicament on why they broke up in the first place and even though it was verbally mentioned, it’s clearly not enough to justify the conflicts in their relationship. Perhaps a backstory would do the movie and the emotional strength of their chemistry a huge favour.

There’s a part where John and Melina spend time together from singing on the couch to the latter’s responsible for cooking him dinner, I find their chemistry clicks better. Except Kliris chooses to go for another route instead, offering a twist halfway that you may or may not guess what it’s all about.

Harry Connick Jr. displays a charming leading-man presence and he’s a natural fit for appearing in the rom-com genre. Given her role as a singer, it comes as no surprise that the actor’s real-life singing career is put to good use by crooning the title song during the end credits. But it was the up-and-coming Ali Fumiko Whitney in her scene-stealing supporting turn as the feisty and rebellious Melina.  I haven’t seen her previous movies but here, she proves to possess a great voice singing in both Greek and English. She reportedly learns the former’s language and even masters the Cypriot dialect for this movie.

The movie also features other delightful supporting roles, notably Tony Demetriou as the police captain Manoli and Lea Maleni as the grocery store owner Koula. Shame that the romance lacks enough passion while the comedy feels too lightweight for its own good.

Find Me Falling is currently streaming on Netflix.