Then She Found Me

Some films are made to bring in money, while some films are created simply because someone has a story that they believe needs to be told. “Then She Found Me” would fall into the latter movie type. In an interview recently, Helen Hunt spoke about devoting roughly sixteen years to this project. Between the screenplay and finding a studio to create in the film, it was a tumultuous journey with a beautifully-moving result.

April Epner (Helen Hunt) is a 39 year old year old Jewish woman, fearing she’s missed her chance to bear a child. Having been adopted as an infant, she finds herself desperate for that biological connection. Emphatically against adoption being an option for her, April and her husband of 10 months, find themselves deep within attempting to conceive. Things change, however, early on in the film when April’s husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) tells her he is leaving her. He’s decided their life isn’t one he desires. Promising her a “best friends” scenario, he walks out of their marriage, leaving her life in shambles. What Ben couldn’t predict would be that her adoptive mother would die the following day, and her birth mother Bernice (Bette Midler) would surface, and create further chaos, and April’s life seemingly continues to unravel… Along the way, she forms a friendship which blossoms into an unexpected romance with a divorced father to one of her students (Colin Firth).

Just as April seems to believe she is emerging from the mess her life had suddenly become, she finds out that she is pregnant with her husband’s baby.

April was raised Jewish and makes no attempt to hide that her faith is very important to her. For the greater part of the film, she is faithful to pray, honor Jewish observances and place her God at the head of her life. At one point, a conversation around her sudden doubt in God’s goodness is had. It’s an emotional moment which could be found offensive.

From a Christian standpoint, there are many offenses in this one hour and forty minute film. There are repetitive uses of strong language, an intense sex scene, crass sexual dialogue between Bernice and April, and several other scenes which may cause some viewers to cringe…

HOWEVER, that being said, I truly loved this film. For anyone whose life has been, even minutely, touched by adoption—there is so much to be gleaned from this story. The script and performances show so much depth, and the humanity woven throughout the dialogue makes it completely relatable. We see characters whose lives are far from perfect, and sometimes they do the best they can. Then there are the other times, when they just mess up. This movie makes it easy to feel their agonies and heartaches, along with their triumphs. Each complicated scenario is worked out in ways which exemplify realistic possibilities, love, forgiveness, growth, God’s goodness and work together to create a truly beautiful ending.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.