Finding You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Finding You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 30, 2021

Ireland's famous Blarney Stone is supposedly a magical piece of lime which, when kissed, gives those who kissed it the gift of "sweet talk", though kind of interestingly, colloquial use of the word "blarney" has often slightly morphed the meaning from "sweet talk" into "pure nonsense", which (in a manner of speaking, and, yes, pun unavoidable) is probably more or less the same thing. In that regard, it might be appropriate to say that screenwriter and director Brian Baugh may have had his own "interaction" with that famous outcropping in County Cork, since his Finding You is one of the most preposterous tales imaginable which emerges from a supposedly "realistic" milieu. This is the sort of film that suggests that a young violinist intent on pursuing an education at a tony school like Juilliard has her hopes dashed, only to accept a study abroad assignment where she magically sits next to a world famous movie star on the flight over, and then is further surprised to find the guy as a guest at the bed and breakfast being run by her host family. In the "but, wait, you also get" category, this young woman also starts getting mentored in Irish fiddle playing from a street person who just happens to be a virtuoso and just for good measure she manages to reunite two long estranged sisters. Happy endings abound and heartstrings are pulled (rather vigorously at times), but the film requires an almost herculean suspension of disbelief in order for its totally convenient plotting to really work.

Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid) is the girl in question, and the film quickly documents her (evidently second) failure at auditioning at a music school in New York, only to have her helpful mother tell her it might be time to start working on a Plan B. Finley decides to embark on a study abroad program to Ireland that her older brother had partaken of some years earlier, and without much further ado, the film segues to her flight to Ireland. A helpful stewardess tells Finley there's an empty seat in first class that she can have (when was the last time that happened to you?), and, rather incredibly (to put it mildly), she is seated next to Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), the reigning heartthrob for young girls everywhere who is embarking on a trip to the emerald isle in order to make the latest film in a franchise he's earned his fame from, which is a fantasy laden medieval tale with dragons and maidens. Suffice it to say that while not exactly at "classic" levels of banter, the two initially mix about as well as oil and water.

Finley mixes in with her host family easily, since they evidently hosted her brother before, and she's helped with her new "little sister" Emma Callaghan (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), who is probably even more surprised, and definitely more excited, than a slightly perturbed Finley is to discover Beckett rooming at the Callaghan abode. Suffice it to say that romantic sparks are of course kindled between Beckett and Finley, though Beckett's real girlfriend and co-star, actress Taylor Risdale (Katherine McNamara), is having none of it. Beckett's "handlers" aren't especially helpful, either, since online gossip about the relationship between "R&R" (Rush and Risdale) makes for good copy and tends to get keisters into theater seats.

Playing out alongside all of this pretty incredible plotting is another subplot that sees one of Finley's school assignments having the girl be tasked with acting as a companion to a crusty old woman named Cathleen Sweeney (Vanessa Redgrave) in a nursing facility. Finley discovers a huge stack of letters Cathleen has been sending to someone named Fiona which have been sent back with "return to sender" scrawled across the envelopes, and because this is a movie built on "feel good" moments, she of course begins investigating and ends up uncovering a sad estrangement that resulted from a kind of bizarre misunderstanding.

Have I mentioned Seamus (Patrick Bergin), the fiddle player who buskers around the charming streets of real town Carlingford? Well, he is of course the perfect person to help Finley find her musical voice. Finding You is patently absurd in terms of feeling like it's actually grounded in some semblance of reality, and yet, kind of like those gifted with gab from having kissed the Blarney Stone, it's often so full of sweet talk (and sweet sights and sounds) that the ridiculousness of it all may not matter.

The performances are genuinely winning throughout the film, even if Redgrave's brogue tends to come and go. And Baugh captures some really gorgeous scenery along the way, as well. It's frankly never even close to being believable, but this is the kind of "blarney" that I suspect female romance fans in particular will enjoy, despite its literally incredible aspects.

Finding You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Finding You is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The closing credits feature the Alexa logo, and I'm assuming the DI was finished at 2K. This is the rare Lionsgate release I've personally reviewed that has some noticeable banding, especially in some fade ins and fade outs, but aside from that occasionally distracting anomaly, this is a sharp and very nicely detailed presentation. There are a few moments of decreased clarity in some of the aerial shots, and I'm assuming perhaps a lower res drone camera may have been used for some of those, but all of the "earthbound" material tends to offer generally excellent fine detail levels and a nicely robust palette. Some of the outdoor material also features some excellent depth of field.

Finding You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Finding You features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that derives quite a bit of power from both underscore as well as tunes supposedly being performed by the actors in various scenes (my "Spidey Sense" tells me they're "finger syncing"). The film features a glut of outdoor material which also offers good placement of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Finding You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Look at Finding You (HD; 4:14) is a brief but decent EPK with some short interviews.


• Finding You Image Gallery (HD; 00:44)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:32)

Additionally, both a DVD copy and a digital copy are included, and the packaging features a slipcover.

Finding You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Just in case all of the foregoing strikes you as being perfectly believable, the film also has Beckett Rush forsaking his high powered movie career to go back to college and evidently become a construction worker. Right. In other words, prepare yourself for a bit of "blarney" with this film, but also prepare yourself for some nice performances and gorgeous scenery. Despite some noticeable banding, technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering making a purchase.