| Release Date: May 14, 2021 (United States) Genre: Drama, Romance IMDb Rating: 6.5 Director: Brian Baugh Cast: Katherine McNamara, Vanessa Redgrave, Jedidiah Goodacrem, Tom Everett Scott, Judith Hoag, Rose Reid, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Patrick Bergin, Natalie Britton |
Based on the 2011 young adult novel written by Jenny B. Jones There You’ll Find Me the book has been adapted for the screen and written and directed by Brian Baugh. This coming-of-age emotional, romantic comedy Finding You is centered around an ambitious, tough, and talented 18-year-old violinist Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid) who travels to Ireland to study abroad after being rejected from a very reputable music academy. When she boards the plane she meets a handsome, famous movie star Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodcare) who is filming his latest movie and happens to have a room at the same bed and breakfast where Finley is staying. A romance begins to brew as they fall for each other. However, forces surrounding Beckett’s life and stardom threaten to crush their dreams as Finley is pressured to make a decision about what she will risk for love.
Reid is a star on the rise as she previously worked with Baugh in the 2019 film The World We Make starring alongside Caleb Castille. One of the reasons her character is on the path of self-discovery is her motivation to make the trip to Ireland as it is the same trip her brother made before his death. Clearly, Reid’s character is the most developed in the film, but her trip to Ireland helps her to have a change of heart. Her co-star Goodcare is a familiar face as audiences may recognize him as Dorian Gray from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and as Chad Charming from Descendants movies. Reid’s chemistry with Goodcare feels sincere and genuine. The couple does not like each other early on, but their romance blossoms as it seems like they are the perfect pair. Their characters feel straightforward and it’s their confident performances that make them stand out as one of the film’s messages to follow your own dreams.
The film also looks at how many celebrities are defined by the press. Goodcare’s character appears in the tabloids as they follow his on-again-off-again relationship with his co-star Taylor (Katherine McNamara) while his father Montogomery (Tom Everett Scott) wants to portray him as a bad boy to help Goodcare’s career. The film looks at young stars who feel trapped by their fame. Finding You has charm with many of the stars as the cast also includes Patrick Bergin and Vanessa Redgrave.
Sweeney guides her, helping her realize she needs to reexamine her life and be more mindful of who and what is the most important in the course of life.
Redgrave stands out starring as Mrs. Sweeney offering advice to Finley.
With the beautiful Irish scenery, there are times the film would be an excellent travel video to market to tourists with its rich green eye-catching landscapes.
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The film is rich with Celtic culture and folk music. However, Baugh’s is absolutely cliched and filled with tropes as the film has all of the checkmarks of romantic comedy yet it still manages to have simple laugh-out-loud moments. Most of the chessy comedic bits come from the family who owns the bed and breakfast where the film’s love interests stay.
If you loved films like Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant’s Notting Hill then Finding You is a must-watch. Down the road, this is sure to be a guilty pleasure for many audiences as it is an innocently sweet and lighted-hearted romance that feels like a fairytale yet has the confidence with its characters. I give the film a 7 out of 10.
