‘Finding My Daughter’ Review: LMN's gripping thriller has a big shocker that’s worth waiting till end
Spoilers for ‘Finding My Daughter’
Ashley (Cristina Rosato) gets separated from her daughter soon after her birth as her parents do not allow her to keep the child. The 16-year-old had no choice but to give her child up for adoption as her parents dreaded the societal opinion about their teenage daughter getting pregnant. While her preacher father worries about what the church would say, Ashley, decides to live with her aunt in a far off city and never return to Plain Rivers.
18 years later, Ashley receives a letter at her office. It is sent by her birth daughter Brittany (Megan Best), asking her biological mother if she would like to meet. Ashley, who has been waiting for years to hear about her daughter, couldn’t be happier with the letter. She soon puts all her work on hold and boards the next plane to her hometown. Meanwhile, Brittany reaches Plain Rivers with her best friend way ahead of her mother and welcomes herself in her mother’s childhood home. While looking around the house, Brittany follows an identified figure into a garage and gets trapped there along with her friend.
Extremely thrilled and overwhelmed about meeting her daughter for the first time, Ashley waits at the restaurant where Britanny had called her to meet. However, when Ashley realizes there were no signs of Brittany, she starts to inquire about her whereabouts. While she is frantically looking for any clue about her missing daughter, she runs into her high school boyfriend Jake (Jesse Hutch), who is serving as an officer in Brittany’s case. The movie doesn’t take too long to establish the awkwardness between Jake and Ashley which traces back to their romantic history.
Jake, who is clearly devastated by what Ashley did to him years ago, confronts her about his feelings and asks for answers, including why she vanished on him one day and never returned. Despite trying her best to keep it a secret from Jake, Ashley tells him the truth about her teenage pregnancy and her relationship with Brittany. Now that Ashley’s secret is out, will Jake be able to save Brittany? And who is the creepy human holding Brittany hostage and what are his intentions? Well, here’s where ‘Finding My Daughter’ waits with its biggest revelation and you ought to watch the movie to know it.
Unlike many thriller movies that try to draw your attention to exaggerated crime sequence or never-ending suspense, 'Finding My Daughter’ is finely balanced. The drama side of the story keeps you occupied as much as the thriller and suspense. Nearly every character that appears in the film stands out and their contribution has defined the overall movie. Having said that, a creepy hotel receptionist is one character you need to look out for.
‘Finding my Daughter’ premieres on Saturday, November 28, on LMN at 8 pm ET.