Then She Found Me

I think that it is very sad that Colin Firth will take up any role as long as he is paid for it. For me his 1994 movie "The Playmaker" is an example of that. Now I can add another movie "Then she found me" to this list. Dialogue is strained and not flowing too well. There is no fire between him and Helen Hunt. Even with tons of makeup on her face, she looks older than the supposed age of mid forties. If you do not believe me, look at the movie ratings, it has not been out for 2 weeks and its sales rating is above 200.

I was pleasantly surprised. I found Hunt's directoral debut at least as wonderful as Sarah Polley's (and the critics swooned over her effort) and the acting in Then She Found Me just as good as in Away From Me - if not better. I like 'little films' that don't try to be more than they are and that 'stay in character' themselves(Gods and Monsters comes to mind) and here the directing was sweet and even(great mood music) and dialogue quite touching and very sharp in places, (expecially where April makes up with the Colin character.. Don't recall that in the book. Wonderful!) In the book, if I recall, Midler's part was 'over the top' but this actress was nicely restrained to suit the movie's mood, the love interest in the book, again, if I recall was homely, (Fred Gwynne came to mind when I read it) but Firth's more fun to look at than Mr. Munster and in this movie he's closer to his Fever Pitch character than the stuff upper class Brit one..... indeed, this movie shows a different side of him. I actually purchased this as soon as it was out on CD because a friend had seen the movie in the cinema and remarked on Firth's different turn. But what I was reminded of, most, watching this film is that Hunt is an amazing actress, and there are many unforgettable moments from her in this movie.

I enjoyed both Elinor Lipman's book and this movie but if you've just read the book, then don't watch the movie! The two are completely separate entities. In some ways, I think the movie makes the story more believable, especially in 2008. But in other ways, it's a bit too pat. I do wonder at the choices of making such radical changes to Lipman's storyline, but Helen Hunt, Bette Midler and Colin Firth make their characters completely real so I guess it worked, at least on one level. And, as Elinor Lipman says in her blog elsewhere on this amazon site, "Honey, if I don't mind the changes, why should you?" (lol!)
Enjoy!

I would have called this movie, "The Importance of Being Helen Hunt." When you incorporate everything on the DVD, including the commentary and interviews, I felt like the entire experience of "Then She Found Me" was more like watching a documentary on the talented actor, director, and artist. On this basis, I gladly awarded five stars, which I will expain in a minute.

Limiting my commentary to just the footage, I would have awarded four stars, taking one away for how things occasionally jumped ahead way too fast, for example, when Colin's character and Helen's character first meet. They seem to progress to intimacy almost immediately, which didn't make sense given their personalities. And we didn't get much (any?) background on him. Another example is at the end, when the film takes a huge leap forward without allowing the viewer to participate. I felt like we lost what could have been a solid 20 minutes of quality character development and lovely compromise. Instead, we have to guess how these two very likable characters arrived at the most important decisions of the film.

I felt like this experience was really referendum on Helen Hunt, the actor, the ambitious artist, and the graceful storyteller. First the actor. I'm sure Hollywood has amazing technology to improve someone's appearance. OK fine. To this 40ish reviewer, Ms. Hunt looked amazing, and like most beautiful women, she looked her best whenever she was exceedingly happy (several moments), and whenever she was very unhappy (most of the balance of the movie).

The unhappiness seemed to dominate, for example when men (or birth mothers) were letting her down, and when the lonliness seemed too much to bear. At these times, her appearance was striking. When Helen takes yet another deep breath or heavy sigh in weary resignation, its as if she's carrying the woes of the world on her shoulders. It makes you want to reach through the screen and give her a hug.

The ambitious artist - if there is any message on the DVD extras its that Helen Hunt worked long and hard financially, artistically, persuasively, and courageously to make this project a reality. Hollywood is becoming so "big budget/same old thing," I can imagine all of the stereotypes she had to overcome to get this film completed.

Finally, graceful story teller. There were alot of little things making this story very endearing. I liked the script and the camera work, and I thought the three other lead actors did a wonderful job projecting their personalities into their characters.

The alert viewer will recognize the song "Naked As We Came," from Iron and Wine's "Our Endless Numbered Days" album. Its a beautiful selection if not because it fits in with the movie (until perhaps the end), but because... well its just such a wonderful song!

Overall I enjoyed the experience, and it maintained my belief that anything involving Helen Hunt will probably be high quality.

Others have reviewed the plot and performances far better than I could but I can sum the message of this beautifully complex human film
WE DON'T LOVE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY'RE PERFECT BECAUSE IF WE DID WE'D HAVE NO ONE TO LOVE..