Christian novelist Karen Kingsbury, a New York Times bestselling author, dives into filmmaking for the first time with Someone Like You, based on her novel of the same name. It’s a perfect story for Easter time when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the hope we have as his followers. The film comes to theaters through Fathom Events from April 2 – 11.
The Quinn family, together with 28-year-old, Dawson Gage (Jake Allyn), who is like a son to Louise (Lynn Collins) and Larry (Scott Reeves), suffers an immense loss when daughter London (Sarah Fisher) dies in an accident. However, that’s not the only emotional roller coaster in store for Dawson, who was secretly in love with London. Louise and Larry reveal to him that London was conceived through in vitro fertilization, the procedure producing two embryos. Louise’s pregnancy was so difficult that they donated the other embryo to a fertility doctor.
Obsessed with the possibility that London may have a sibling, Dawson embarks on a quest to find him or her, sure that they would want to know about London.
Meanwhile, life seems to be coming together for Andi Allen (also played by Sarah Fisher). She lands her dream job at the Nashville Zoo. When her boyfriend Matt (Austin Robert Russell), indicates to Andi’s father, Jim (Bart Johnson), that he’s about to pop the question, he and wife, Jenny (Robyn Lively) keep muttering to each other, “we have to tell her.” But they never seem to find the right moment.
Dawson gets to Andi first and tries to tell her about her unknown sibling. Convinced he has the wrong person, she tells her Mom about the encounter. The truth emerges: Jenny was implanted with the Quinn’s other embryo and Andi is London’s biological sister.
These revelations test the faith of all involved. Louise and Larry react differently to the news that Dawson has found their biological child. Andi flares up in anger at her parents for failing to tell her for all these years. When she shows up in Birmingham to see Dawson, he introduces her to Larry and Louise. Since Andi looks so much like London, Dawson struggles to see Andi for herself and not have her remind him of London every second.
Someone Like You puts the audience right alongside Dawson as he grapples with the conflicting feelings he’s having. As a person of faith, he questions why God took London from him and her family. When he meets and gets to know Andi, his hope is rekindled that Andi, although never a replacement for London, could be just the person he’s been waiting for.
The Paschal Mystery of Jesus’s death and resurrection, assure us that life can, indeed, come from death. Most of the time, our life-from-death experiences won’t be quite so literal as they are in Someone Like You, but they are still opportunities to place our hope and trust in God’s saving action.
For more information or tickets, go to www.someonelikeyou.movie.
