Story

After being rejected by the New York Music Conservatory, violinist Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid) abruptly decides to follow in her dead brother’s footsteps and go on an exchange to Ireland. She hopes to find some of the magic that her brother discovered and also improve her playing, so she can audition for the Conservatory again.

On the plane to Ireland, Finley is seated next to Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), a famous movie star who’s shooting a movie near where Finley is staying. Unimpressed by Beckett’s arrogance and the little she knows of him, Finley is more than happy to say goodbye at the end of the trip. But it turns out that Beckett is staying at the B&B run by Finley’s host family.

After Finley helps Beckett learn his lines and improve his performance, Beckett helps Finley win over the bitter and angry Cathleen Sweeney (Vanessa Redgrave). Cathleen is the elderly companion that Finley is matched with, and she becomes integral to Finley’s Irish studies. As Finley and Beckett become friends, they begin to have stronger feelings for each other. But Beckett’s father/manager (Tom Everett Scott) sees Finley as a dangerous distraction, and Taylor (Katherine McNamara), Beckett’s co-star, sees Beckett as her boyfriend.

Finley must search for the meaning of a message left by her brother, mend the rift between Catherine and her estranged sister, and try to capture the magic of Ireland in her music. Meanwhile Beckett must find the courage to face his father and stand up for what he truly wants and who he truly wishes to be.

Themes

Rejection; death of a family member; the drawbacks of fame; family dysfunction; the dangers and power of social media; grudges; the hardships faced by child actors; town gossip; and mild themes of domestic abuse.

Violence

Finding You has some violence. For example:

• A man is said to have drunk himself to death.
• Cathleen tells Finley how she married a man to save her sister from family violence. She explains in detail how the man used to hit her.
• The scenes in the movie Beckett is making largely involve escaping from and battling aggressive, fire-breathing dragons, which are intent on destroying a castle. There is punching, kicking and sword-fighting. Men with bows and arrows battle the dragons, which hurl fireballs at walls and people.
• Finley tells Beckett how her brother was killed helping refugees in the Middle East.

Sexual references

Finding You has no sexual references.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Finding You shows some use of substances. For example:

• There are magazine photos of Beckett partying. The photos subtly suggest drinking and partying is a good thing to do.
• A well-respected fiddler is often drunk, drinking or incapacitated. He also turns out to be very wise and a wonderful teacher.
• People drink in pubs on several occasions.

Nudity and sexual activity

Finding You has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

• Beckett is shirtless in a scene for his movie.
• Finley and Beckett kiss a couple of times.
• Beckett and Taylor kiss passionately while filming a scene.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Finding You:

• Aer Lingus is clearly displayed a couple of times.
• Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is shown and read aloud, as is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight.

Coarse language

Finding You has some coarse language, including ‘twit’, ‘shite’, ‘hell of a ...’, ‘You don’t even have the balls’ and ‘wanker’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Finding You is an innocent, romantic movie that focuses not so much on finding love as it does on finding yourself. Based on the novel There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones, the movie offers an excellent role model for girls, with a lead character who’s resilient, responsible, kind, courageous in the face of defeat and unimpressed by social standing, fame or money. This is a movie for families with older children, and it’s likely to be enjoyed by adults, tweens and teens.

These are the main messages from Finding You:

• Don’t be discouraged by life’s changes and chances, because you don’t have to face them alone.
• You should always look deeper, because things aren’t always as they first appear.

Values in Finding You that you could reinforce with your children include honesty, integrity, compassion, dedication, determination, empathy, love, forgiveness and understanding.