Hearts Beat Loud

Hearts Beat Loud – In the last summer before leaving for med school, a father and daughter reconnect over a shared love of music. But when Frank uploads the song written by his daughter, Sam, to Spotify and it starts to gain in popularity, will his desire to keep his daughter close drive her further away?

Hearts Beat Loud (2018) – Director: Brett Haley

Rating: 12

Running Length: 97 mins

Starring: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Blythe Danner

Genre: Drama

REVIEW: ‘HEARTS BEAT LOUD’

When your movie puts the long song-writing montage within the first 15 minutes rather than the end of the second act, you can tell that director Brett Haley knows exactly what the draw of his characters are. Frank (Offerman) is an aging music lover who runs a failing record store. After the loss of his wife, he has drifted apart from his more mature daughter (Clemons), who is preparing to leave for med school after the summer. Frank’s childish insistence that she leave her studies so she can have a ‘jam session’ with him immediately shows that the parent / child dynamic is in many ways reversed between the two.

There are sub-plots sprinkled throughout but aren’t given any screen time to breathe. So despite hints at other goings on (Frank’s mother’s kleptomania; Sam’s girlfriend’s burgeoning art career) these moments simply add more to the tapestry of the movie’s two leads. Given a bit more oxygen is the romantic ‘will they won’t they’ between Frank and his landlord (Collette) where the tentative nature of adult dating adds another element. It’s well done, but really it’s the scenes between both Offerman and Clemons that shine out. Their conversations are less about what is being said and so much more about what is left unsaid. Frank’s increasing desperation to hold on to what is left of his family unit after the death of the love of his life is strongly played, as is Sam’s desire to leave mixed up with feelings of guilt and regret.

Throw into the mix a superb score and three stand out songs that form the musical backbone both of the movie and of the plot itself, and what you have is a quiet and understated gem. Hearts Beat Loud has strong performances which stand out through a movie full of softly spoken dialogue and slow paced scenes. The movie exudes so much warmth that you can forgive that it struggles to keep enough plot even for its short run time. Come the finale you will walk away feeling like you have been hugged by your TV, which is something always praiseworthy.

CONTENT: IS ‘HEARTS BEAT LOUD’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

There is so little unsuitable content in Hearts Beat Loud that we have taken the unusual step of researching why it was rated 12 as opposed to PG. On investigation with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) we note that the 12 rating was due to the drug references which, despite being rare and indirect, are enough to bump up the rating.

Frank is dismissive to a customer who comes into his record store. The man goes outside and returns to gloat that he has made a purchase using an online retailer instead. Frank rudely ignores him.

There is occasional mild bad language used throughout the movie and curse word insults are infrequently used.

Most times the character of Dave (played by Ted Danson) is on screen he makes veiled references to smoking marijuana, such as talking about a recent vacation he had in order to indulge in this. The language is not explicit but would be clear to anyone who knew the context.

Frank drinks at a bar when upset or depressed.

Although it’s never said directly on-screen, it becomes apparent that Sam’s mother was killed in a bike accident. When Sam talks with her girlfriend about not being able to ride a bike she is affectionately mocked for a second, before the character realises the implication of what she said and apologises immediately. Sam is quietly upset for a few seconds.

Sam and Frank get into an argument about whether or not to record more music and go on a tour. As part of this argument Frank gets frustrated and claims it is what her mother would have wanted. Sam is upset at her mother being brought into the argument and leaves, angry and in tears.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘HEARTS BEAT LOUD’ FOR KIDS?

Hearts Beat Loud isn’t a movie you will throw on to keep the kids entertained. Despite very little unsuitable content, this is a movie aimed at adults as is apparent from it being dialogue heavy, slow paced, and dealing with mature emotions. Although there is little to interest younger viewers, if you child is aged 10 and up and has an interest in movies with more grown up themes, then Hearts Beat Loud is a warm feel-good movie with a superb soundtrack. We recommend it on that basis!

• Violence: 0/5
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (the death of a parent is occasionally brought up)
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (Sam’s relationship is loving and there are some kisses)
• Bad Language: 1/5 (infrequent and mild)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (When Frank performs a song to Sam written about the end of an era she is moved to tears)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of the death of a parent, empty nest syndrome, wanting to break free of parental influence, fighting what you want with what you need, a parent being less mature than their child, running a business, paying bills, and connecting through the power of music.

Words by Mike Record