Violinist Finley Sinclair travels to an Irish coastal village to begin her semester studying abroad. At the B&B run by her host family she encounters the gregarious and persistent heartthrob movie star, Beckett Rush.
As someone who was born and raised in Ireland, whenever I see a trailer for a new “Irish” film, I always immediately go on the defensive, especially when the movie is made by Hollywood and not Irish filmmakers. Writer and Director Brian Baugh is American and he adapted the screenplay from author Jenny B. Jones’ book, ‘There You’ll Find Me,’ who is also American. Why is this important I hear you ask? Because I want to know how two people, who are not Irish, were able to create a narrative and characters that I immediately fell in love with, a difficult achievement that not even Irish filmmakers have always been successful in accomplishing with their own movies, and for also avoiding the stereotypical tropes that saturate most Hollywood-themed “Oirish” films.
The story centers on Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid), an aspiring violinist who botches an audition to gain entrance to an elite New York conservatory. Disappointed in her failure to make a good impression on the judges, her mother recommends a semester studying abroad to help take her mind off her declination and then return to the States later in the year to try again. She agrees and sets her sights on Ireland, as her brother traveled there some years earlier and said it was the most amazing experience of his life. While on the plane, she ends up sitting next to Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), one of Hollywood’s hottest heartthrobs who is shooting his latest medieval fantasy adventure on the west coast of Ireland, and who is trying to fly incognito, to avoid any screaming fans. He tries to use his charm on Finley but it has no effect on her, much to Beckett’s surprise.
Finley stays with the Callaghan family in the small coastal town of Abbeyglen, father Sean (Ciaran McMahon), mother Nora (Fiona Bell), and their daughter Emma (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), the same family her brother stayed with when he visited years ago. They run a local B&B and one morning after an accident in the kitchen, Nora asks Finley if she will take a breakfast plate to one of the guests sitting in the dining room. She obliges but quickly discovers that the guest is Beckett, much to her dismay, and he informs her that because the paparazzi and press constantly hound him, his stay at the B&B is strictly confidential, which is confirmed by Nora and Sean. Finley states that she will tell nobody but during the following months, Beckett is drawn to her, and gradually, she allows him into her life. She agrees to become his study buddy, helping him read his lines and in return, he becomes her tour guide, showing her around the city and neighboring towns.
They form a relationship but every time she tries to get close to him, he pushes her away, claiming it’s for her own good and that he doesn’t want her thrust into the spotlight. Confused, she takes some time away from him and in the process, befriends a local homeless musician, Seamus (Patrick Bergin), a fiddle player who helps inspire her to play her violin with passion, not just with exquisite technical execution, and as part of her schooling, she is assigned to the local retirement home where she must get to know one of the residents, Cathleen Sweeney (Vanessa Redgrave), an embittered old lady who is dying of cancer and just wants to be left alone. Little by little, Finley works her way into Cathleen’s life and as they form a friendship, she discovers a terrible secret that Cathleen has kept hidden her whole life, one that had her shunned by the entire town, including her own sister Fiona (Helen Roche).
As Finley opens up her life to her new surroundings and the people living there, Nora gives her an old sketchbook her brother left behind before he passed away. While flipping through the pages, she comes across a drawing of an old Celtic cross with her name underneath, and convinced he wanted her to find it, she makes it her mission to search every local graveyard for it. As her semester draws to a close, Finley and Beckett’s feelings for each other intensify and they realize that they must come to a compromise if they are truly meant to be together, and Finley reaches out to Cathleen’s sister Fiona to tell her of the secret that had Cathleen scorned by the entire town, including Fiona before she succumbs to her cancer.
“Finding You” hits all the right notes and the characters are charmingly endearing. We all know, from the very beginning, how the story is going to unfold, and in conventional Hollywood manner, it follows through on its promise, but while the journey there is immensely enjoyable, it is occasionally unpredictable, which makes for a nice change of scenery. The fact that the film introduces additional characters who carry supplementary stories and character arcs, changes the entire narrative altogether, and appreciatively so. The acting by all involved is first-rate and the scenery of Ireland’s beautiful and rugged west coast is undoubtedly magnificent. Director Brian Baugh is to be commended for avoiding the stereotypical Irish tropes that have appeared in countless “Irish” movies over the years, choosing instead to focus on the story and the characters. Very highly recommended.
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