South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
‘Paradise Highway’ director says 13-year-old Finley ‘a born star’
Hala Finley might be only 13 years old, but she is a Hollywood veteran and an emerging movie star — even if few people in her hometown realize it.
The Kansas City area native has a major role in the film “Paradise Highway,” which stars Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche. In fact, she gets third billing in the credits — ahead of Freeman. “Paradise Highway” is now playing in select theaters and is available digitally and on demand.
Anna Gutto, the film’s writer and director, said via email that Finley’s performance “blew everyone on set away.”
“She’s a born star, like one of those new stars discovered by the James Webb telescope, a star just so enthralling that you can’t stop watching and you just want to see what she’ll be up to next.”
After moving with her family to Los Angeles when she was 6 years old, Finley quickly broke into the business, playing the youngest daughter of Matt LeBlanc’s Adam Burns for all four seasons of the CBS series “Man With a Plan.”
Her character in “Paradise Highway,” which was filmed and is set in Mississippi, is a far cry from her sitcom days.
Finley plays a victim of human trafficking who goes through harrowing experiences, highlighted by blasting a man with a shotgun in the film’s first 15 minutes. The role includes a Southern accent and a foul mouth.
“I had a lot of fun doing a Southern accent,” she said. “I was trying to talk to people even in public in my accent.”
As for the generous dose of four-letter words, she said, “Yeah, it was a little different, but I just sort of got used to it for the movie.”
The title “Paradise Highway” is ironic in what is essentially a buddy road trip movie with a very dark side and a strong message about human trafficking. Binoche’s character, a truck driver in an unlikely role for the Paris-born actor, transports and protects Finley’s Leila. Freeman is on their trail as a crusty old consultant to a green FBI agent.
Binoche, who won the supporting actress Oscar for the 1996 film “The English Patient,” was impressed with her young co-star.
“I’ve rarely seen an actress engage so fully,” she said in an email. “She knows how to prepare; she puts her heart into every single moment.”
Finley says Binoche looked after her on and off camera during filming of “Paradise Highway.”
“Whenever I was on set, she was always making sure I was OK and seemed like she was protecting me at times,” Finley said. “I was really close to Juliette, had a lot of fun with her.”
Up next for Finley is “Hypnotic,” which is a much bigger production than “Paradise Highway.”
The mystery/thriller stars Ben Affleck, another Oscar winner, and Alice Braga, and it was directed by Robert Rodriguez of “Sin City” and “Desperado” fame. Filming is complete, but no release date has been announced.
Rodriguez also directed Finley in “We Can Be Heroes,” a Netflix flick in which the children of superheroes must save the planet.
Finley, who plays Affleck’s daughter in “Hypnotic,” said she wasn’t intimidated working with all those Oscar winners.
“I bonded with them and had a lot of fun with them,” she said.
Gutto expects more great things from Finley. “Just meeting her in the hall, she’s not who you necessarily think is going to blow you away, but as soon as the camera rolls, you can see her focused, you can see that she knows exactly what she’s doing. What happened with Jodie Foster, with Jennifer Lawrence, Hala Finley is one of those talents.”