Movie Review, Video, and SXSW Interviews for Hearts Beat Loud Starring Nick Offerman, In Theaters June 8.

Genre: Dramedy
Director: Brett Haley
Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, and Sasha Lane, with Blythe Danner and Toni Collette
Studio: Gunpowder & Sky
Runtime: 93 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2018

Rated: TV-MA

Rating: ★★★★★

Frank (Nick Offerman), a record shop owner in Red Hook, Brooklyn, relishes sharing his love of music with his daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) during their private jam sessions. With Sam preparing to head to UCLA for college, the single father realizes his dream of forming a band and performing with his daughter is likely never to come true. That is, until he uploads a song they recorded called “Hearts Beat Loud” to a music streaming site and it becomes an unexpected hit. Now, father and daughter are left to wonder what to do next.

One thing that makes South by Southwest (SXSW) enjoyable for me is the films shown are often weeks, if not months, away from their first trailer being released. It’s a rare chance to have zero influence from any kind of studio marketing and allows one to view a film in a pure form. Upon entering the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas last month, all I really knew about Hearts Beat Loud was the brief synopsis attached to the SXSW schedule.

“In Red Hook, Brooklyn, a father and daughter become an unlikely songwriting duo in the last summer before she leaves for college. Through their music they begin to connect in new ways and, in turn, both learn about growing up, letting go, and the power of music.” – SXSW synopsis.

I really enjoyed the heartfelt father-daughter story portrayed in Hearts Beat Loud. Filmed over the course of 19 days, the indy film doesn’t bite off more than it can chew and keeps the story fairly simple. Instead of trying to be the Starbucks of music themed films, Hearts Beat Loud is the small coffee shop around the corner, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While the drama is predictable at times, I never felt cheated because the overall narrative is held together with a strong story and interesting characters. Offerman and Clemons have great chemistry and you see a real bond develop, especially around their music. The scenes between Frank and Sam are compelling because much like any relationship, theirs isn’t perfect. There’s a real journey taken by the two protagonists and the conflicts they face come across authentically.

Co-written by Marc Basch and Brett Haley, who also directed the film, Hearts Beat Loud is a touching story about chasing your dreams and living vicariously through your kids. Haley does a wonderful job creating a story that feels real and characters you find yourself caring about. Rounding out the cast is Toni Collette as Frank’s landlady Leslie; Sasha Lane, who plays Sam’s friend Rose; the talented Blythe Danner portrays Frank’s mother Marianne; and Ted Danson plays Frank’s best friend Dave.

Hearts Beat Loud includes original songs written by Keegan DeWitt and performed by Clemons and Offerman. The music tells as much of the story as the dialogue does as the father and daughter are able to express themselves to each other through their songs. One of the things that sets Hearts Beat Loud apart from other musically themed films is while Clemons has a musical background, Offerman is the first to admit he isn’t necessarily a talented singer.

During Hearts Beat Loud’s red carpet premiere at SXSW, I asked Offerman about tackling a role that involves singing and I was surprised by his confession about his vocal skills. I also spoke with Haley about finding the right actor to portray Frank and his approach to the music in the film.

Check out my talk with Offerman and Haley and the trailer to Hearts Beat Loud below.

Hearts Beat Loud arrives in theaters June 8.

For more on the film, go to https://www.heartsbeatloudmovie.com

Follow Hearts Beat Loud on Twitter.

Like Hearts Beat Loud on Facebook.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.