Hearts Beat Loud will pull on your heart strings

I can totally understand why this film was so adored at both Sundance and SXSW film festivals. It’s a great family film with a great cast and a great soundtrack. Hearts Beat Loud is about a father (Nick Offerman) and his daughter (Kiersey Clemons) as they spend their last summer together in their charming hipster NYC home town before she embarks on her career path of becoming a doctor at a university on the other side of the country. Frank Fisher (Offerman) owns the vintage record store in town and brings a musical background to the story. The father-daughter duo record a song during one of their weekly jam sessions and Frank sends it out to Spotify where it becomes an indie hit. Sam Fisher (Kiersey Clemons) delicately navigates a new romance with Rose (Sasha Lane) as well as her relationships with both her father and music all while taking summer courses online and preparing for her big move at the end of summer.

I was so impressed with Nick Offerman’s (Parks and Recreation) performance in this film. He showed real vulnerability in so many scenes and I was captivated by the color of his eyes and how well he portrayed a loving single dad. I really enjoyed the simplicity of how this film was shot. Most of the scenes were only two characters at a time. We see Frank with his daughter Sam together hanging out, having heart to heart conversations, arguing, and making music together. We also see him attempt to maneuver through an undeniably confusing relationship with his “landlady” Leslie played by indie darling Toni Collette. We also enjoy a not so subtle nod to the 80’s TV hit show Cheers as Ted Danson is cast as Dave, the local bar owner and Frank’s best bud.

Sasha Lane (American Honey) lights up the screen as artist and Sam’s love interest Rose. I was most enchanted by Kiersey Clemons’s performance. She is absolutely beautiful and does such an incredible job portraying Frank’s daughter. She effortlessly dances from rolling her eyes at her goofy dad to expressing her love and admiration for him. She sings throughout the film and her voice is so sweet and so soulful that it will give you goosebumps. In the Q&A session after the film, co-star Sasha Lane admitted that she cried every time she heard Kiersey sing. I absolutely loved the music throughout the film and I especially enjoyed Kiersey’s performance.

With a running time of just 97 minutes, this is a quick watch for any film buff. At times I did feel it was a little slow, however the audience was intended to enjoy the music during these slower and more drawn out scenes. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys music and light and easy heartwarming films. Hearts Beat Loud is unquestionably delightful.

Check out the trailer below