Review of Hearts Beat Loud (2018) by Adam M — 06 Sep 2018

This is sort of the first time I've given a movie a ten out of ten since I started writing these thoughts out, so I feel I should clarify: a ten does not mean the movie is perfect, it just means it's one of my favourite movies. There's no such thing as a perfect film, but if I see a movie that I know I am going to come back to again and again, or one that changes me on some level, then it's a ten. Other ten out of ten movies for me include Hot Fuzz, Room, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Wayne's World, and Birdman.

Hearts Beat Loud is my favourite movie of the year so far. I could probably criticize it for the stakes being a bit low, or for the lack of conflict through most of the runtime, or romances feeling a little rushed at the beginning. But I don't want to. Because I love this movie to pieces. I saw it three times in three days, and I've seen it five times as of posting this. It's such a feel-good, inspiring experience, and does the fake band within the movie thing extremely well. Every time Nick Offerman gets all excited it fills my heart with joy, and I had a dumb grin plastered across my face through the whole concert bit at the end of the movie. The music is great, the father-daughter dynamic is great, I just really loved it. After watching it on Friday, I went home and bought the soundtrack. Then I was having a crummy Saturday so I went to go see it again and it cheered me right up. It's just so fucking wholesome and I adore it.

It's a simple movie, it's not really saying anything big or groundbreaking like other amazing films this year, it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's one of those. It's kind of corny, but it's really sweet. Sam and Rose are super cute and fun to watch. I love the offhanded way that Sam being gay is handled in the movie. Frank notices that his daughter has written a love song and asks, "Do you have a girlfriend?" We don't need to rehash the coming out story, this is a conversation they had ages ago. When Sam doesn't answer, Frank looks confused and says, "Boyfriend?" to which Sam replies "Dad. Stop." This scene could have played out the exact same way if Sam was a boy, it would have gotten the same laugh. The fact that she is a queer woman of colour is never a plot point, it's normal. It's sort of sad that it feels unique, but it does. It's kinda generically fresh.

There is an odd cameo near the end that I didn't understand the first two times I saw the movie. It's just obviously a cameo but I didn't recognize the person. Turns out it's Jeff Tweedy, who Frank is listening to at the beginning of the movie. Tweedy is also in a band with his kid, who's mother died tragically. It's an odd cameo, but I get why it's significant. There is a lot of good music in the movie though. I brought a notebook to my second viewing to write down all the recommendations and references. I like the mix of older and newer music in the movie, the old and the new is a nice consistent theme. The dynamic between Frank and Sam. The conflict of their actual ages and their personalities. The juxtaposition of Frank's record store going out of business while he finds musical success on Spotify. Frank's desire for new equipment for a new era. The way Frank's mom had to earn success in music versus how jobs are earned now through emails and streaming services.

Ted Dansen is really great in this. He's really funny and charming. His connection to the bar is interesting. We never see him in scenes outside of the bar, even the concert at the end. So he kind of acts as Frank's spirit animal, and the camera perspective of the bar shifts when Dansen's character goes from confidant to being an actual resource for Frank to improve as a person. Hearts Beat Loud has some really subtle but specific camerawork like that that I like. As another example; when Frank and Sam are at odds near the end of the movie, they are always either framed separately or if they are in the same shot there is significant physical distance between them.

I like the way they show the characters making music. The montage at the beginning shows each element of the music as they make the song and it reminds me of YouTube videos by people like Andrew Huang, except with narrative weight. The movie also has trust in it's audience to just sit through someone playing a song, which is really nice. Especially at the climax of the film, which is basically just three consecutive songs that the characters have worked on over the course of the movie. I feel like normally you wouldn't see the full concert like that, but as an audience, we've fallen for the characters at this point and we want to see the whole show. We get to join in on the concert of a band we really like. I love that.

It's a heartwarming movie about love, family, moving on, and finding the inspiration to make and share art even when it doesn't really fit into your life at the moment. It's filled with charm and catchy tunes and great actors and I love it.

Good quotes: "When life hands you conundrums you turn them into art." "You've gotta be brave before you can be good." "And as great as Samwich und Frank could have been...".