THEN SHE FOUND ME

THEN SHE FOUND ME is a moving story centering on April, a woman played by Helen Hunt who must face abandonment by her husband Ben (played by Matthew Broderick), a new boyfriend named Frank (played by Colin Firth) and the discovery of her birth mother, Bernice (played by Bette Midler). The writing is superb, and the acting is very honest. The issues raised are complex and are dealt with intelligently.

April was adopted into an orthodox Jewish home. While she deals with betrayal by her husband and birth mother, she also copes with what she believes to be a betrayal by God. April gets peace about God, but in a slightly mixed way. She “understands” God a little more when she considers that God is “difficult” and “complicated” and “awful” just like she is. She then elects to pray at a difficult moment, showing that she does have trust in God. However, it’s still a mixed message, in that she is making God in her image instead of the other way around. However, the scene is moving nonetheless, and, in the character’s mind, she is expressing belief in God.

The value of family is highlighted and Ben walking out on the marriage because he “doesn’t want this life anymore” is properly depicted as being wrong. Ben is a negative character who refuses to grow up. April’s desire to have a baby is central to the plot. A key conflict is that April does not want to adopt a child since she herself was adopted and always felt to be less of a child to her mom than her mom’s own biological son. Adoption is shown ultimately in a positive light. The audience witnesses an orthodox Jewish marriage, funeral and a number of Shabbat celebrations. April prays traditional prayers in Hebrew before eating. While discussion of God is not pervasive, it is a central element to the underpinnings of the story.

This is not to say that there are no negative elements in the film. There is plenty of foul language, and there are number of sex scenes, though with nearly no nudity involved. Moments from a TV talk show, which Bernice hosts, discuss the pros of gay marriage. There is drinking of wine and other alcohol. While April looks to God, the other characters do not, and Bernice openly states that she doesn’t believe in God.

A central theme of the movie is adoption versus biological children. It serves to remind us, as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1:5, that God has adopted us as his children. That alone shows the dignity and value of adoption. With extreme caution, this movie is an intelligent, moving drama about important issues.