''Finding You'' is a 2021 American

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

, Christian-based film written and directed by Brian Baugh, based on the 2011 young adult novel ''There You'll Find Me'' by Jenny B. Jones. It stars Rose Reid,

Jedidiah Goodacre ''Descendants'' is an American musical fantasy adventure-comedy television film directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega. The film stars Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce as the teenage children of Maleficent, ...

and

Katherine McNamara Katherine Grace McNamara (born November 22, 1995) is an American actress, known for playing Clary Fray on the 2016–2019 supernatural drama television series ''Shadowhunters'', and Mia Smoak in the superhero series ''Arrow''. She has also sta ...

. It was released theatrically in the United States by

Roadside Attractions Roadside Attractions is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, specializing largely in independent films. Lionsgate Lions Gate ...

on May 14, 2021.

Plot

After an ill-fated audition at a prestigious New York music school, Finley Sinclair travels to a coastal village in Ireland to begin a semester studying abroad. There she meets heartthrob movie star Beckett Rush, who is shooting the latest installment of his medieval fantasy-adventure franchise. They begin an unlikely romance, but when forces surrounding Beckett's stardom threaten to crush their dreams, Finley must decide what she will risk for love.

Cast

* Rose Reid as Finley Sinclair * Jedidiah Goodacre as Beckett Rush *

as Taylor Risdale *

Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer perhaps best known for his leading role opposite Julia Roberts in ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' (1991), the title character in Robin Hood (1991 film), terrorist Kevin O ...

as Seamus *

Saoirse-Monica Jackson Saoirse-Monica Jackson (born November 1993) is an Irish actress, best known for portraying Erin Quinn on the Channel 4 sitcom ''Derry Girls'' between 2018 and 2022. Early life Jackson was born in Derry in November 1993. She split her time grow ...

as Emma Callaghan * Judith Hoag as Jennifer Sinclair *

Tom Everett Scott Thomas Everett Scott (born September 7, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film ''That Thing You Do!'', the protagonist in ''An American Werewolf in Paris'', and notable roles in ...

as Montgomery Rush *

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

as Cathleen Sweeney * Natalie Britton as Gemma Quinlan *

Fiona Bell Fiona Bell is a British actress, known for her role as Sergeant Angela McLeod in the ITV drama series ''Soldier Soldier'' (1997-1998), as Donna Killick in the BBC One crime drama series ''Shetland'' (2018) and as Hilary in the ''BBC One'' drama ...

as Nora * Marion O'Dwyer as Molly * Anabel Sweeney as Keeva * Helen Roche as Fiona Doyle

Production

Filming was in Ireland, in and around

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

, Cooley and Carlingford, Co. Louth; and also in New York City, Los Angeles and Nashville. In September 2020, it was announced that

had acquired the film's US theatrical distribution rights from Red Sky Studios, Nook Lane Entertainment and MK1 Studios. The film's initial title, ''There You'll Find Me'', was renamed to ''Finding You''.

Release

The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 14, 2021, by Roadside Attractions.

Reception

Box office

''Finding You'' was projected to gross $532,000-$1 million in its opening weekend. It made $323,000 from 1,314 theaters on its first day, and $954,000 over its opening weekend.

Critical response

According to review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 53% of 38 critics reviewed the film positively, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Although ''Finding You'' manages to fit every contrivance possible into its story, its charming fluff and sharp humor may be enough to win the hearts of romance fans." Audiences surveyed by

PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film a ...

gave the film a 71% positive score, with 46% saying they would definitely recommend it. Giving the film 2.5/4 stars, Michael O'Sullivan positively reviewed the film for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', writing that although it contained "no real surprises... ''Finding You'' kinda, sorta orks" ''

Plugged In Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations t ...

'' reviewer Paul Asay opined that while the story is "fairly predictable", it illustrated well "that sex and romance aren't synonymous; that kindness matters; and that even in moments of disappointment, God may be operating behind the scenes." Tara McNamara of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

also commented on the film's religious themes, writing that "the movie's faith-based elements has a mic-drop moment, but it happens without a single line of dialogue and isn't jarring or forced." McNamara gave the film 3/5 stars, praising the well-assembled cast and the setting in the Irish countryside, noting that the film was more a

story than a romance. In a mixed review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Michael Ordoña praised many of the cast members but criticized the film's determination "to be PG-clean" and Finley's character, saying she lacked personality. Giving the film a grade of "C", Adam Graham of the ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'' opined that the film was heavily clichéd and lacked anything of substance "except for the exquisite greenery of Ireland." Kate Erbland of ''

Indie Wire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' gave it a "C−" grade, deriding it for its predictability, but noting that it contained "brief moments of magic":

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, finding_you, Finding You 2021 films 2020s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2021 comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films Films based on young adult literature Roadside Attractions films Films shot in Ireland 2020s English-language films 2020s American films