Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Frank (Nick Offerman) is on the verge of closing the record store he has called home for seventeen years and is about to lose his daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) as she enters medical school in the fall. When he convinces Sam to participate in their weekly musical jam session, Frank is just intending to spend time with his daughter. But instead, they create a song together – a song that starts gaining traction after Frank uploads it to Spotify.
Hearts Beat Loud is a cutesy crowd-pleaser filled with wonderful music and even better performances. Offerman is terrific as Frank, acting completely genuine no matter the circumstance. The young Clemons is practically revelatory, giving a performance that demands to be noticed (in a way that her mainstream work in the likes of Flatliners and Neighbors 2 never provided her). Supporting turns from Ted Danson, Toni Collette, Blythe Danner and American Honey’s Sasha Lane all are delightful, providing both humour and emotional resonance.
If I hold anything against Hearts Beat Loud, it is that it seems almost too content-mining this atypical Indie plot line. When we are not watching the musical stylings of Frank and Sam, the Film hints at some deeper, darker moments of introspection, but never attempts to dive any deeper than it has to. It manages to still be a heart-warming and genuinely enjoyable melodrama, but it could have been so much more.
Heart Beats Loud premiered at the 2018 INSIDE OUT LGBT FILM FESTIVAL.
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