Change is in the air for the lead characters of Hearts Beat Loud as New York-residing music store manager Frank Fisher (Nick Offerman) prepares for his daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons), to head off to UCLA on the other side of the country. In one of their last weeks together, Frank convinces Sam to join him in a jam session that results in them creating a song that he proceeds to upload to Spotify under the band name We're Not A Band. Surprisingly, their tune actually gains some traction and Frank believes they can parlay that into a potential career as an actual father/daughter band, which directly clashes with Sam's separate academic ambitions. All the while, the two also juggle their own personal lives, which include Frank trying to keep his store afloat and Sam starting a relationship with Rose (Sasha Lane).
Hearts Beat Loud, much like the music its protagonists make, eschews loudness in favor of an endearing low-key vibe that carries a sense of thoughtfulness that lingers in your brain. Part of that thoughtfulness is found in how the script (penned by Marc Basch and the film's director Brett Haley) allows time for slower intimate character moments (a handful of which do away with dialogue entirely) and in the process allow us to become closer to the primary figures of this story. For instance, a brief scene showing Frank making the umpteenth visit to the spot where his wife perished in a biking accident depicts, in a subtle manner, just how entangled this guy still is by his past in a concise but no less impactful, manner.
There are all kinds of sequences like that in Hearts Beat Loud that prove to be both emotionally resonant and efficient at building up individual characters thanks to their quiet nature, most notably a conversation between Sam and Rose that eventually has Sam inadvertently revealing her inability to ride a bicycle as well as a later montage sequence where Rose tries to help Sam learn this skill. Just as the quiet section of Somebody to Love consisting of echoes of "Find...Me...Somebody To Love" is just as integral to the song as its far louder verses, Hearts Beat Loud totally gets how all these wonderful intimate character-centric scenes are as important as any of the other instrument at its disposal.
Director Brett Haley finds far more success with the low-key character-centric proceedings here than he did on his directorial effort from last year, the middle-of-the-road Sam Elliot vehicle The Hero. His writing with Marc Basch not only finds plenty of lovely intimate character-building sequences but also makes sure to inject distinct personality into each of the players into the story, particularly a loopy barttender played by Ted Danson that serves as a source for wisdom for Frank. One can also see flashes of how Haley is becoming more adventurous in his directing compared to The Hero from just last year in details like recurring meaningful uses of single takes, instances of the depth of field getting fiddled with and tasteful uses of camera movement.
This emotionally engaging story seems to have taken Haley's visual touches as a director to more adventurous levels and it's so exciting to see. His ability to get good performances out of his actors that was already present in The Hero is alive and well here with the standout supporting performer of that film, Nick Offerman, getting to shine in a lead role that's enjoyably different in certain respects from typical Offerman roles. The same sort of dry wit that Offerman has made his bread n' butter is certainly around here but there's also an unexpected but endearing level of dorkiness in his portrayal of Frank Fisher. Dorkiness certainly isn't a word I'd use to describe prior Offerman performances, but he takes to this guys personality like a duck to water and his natural performance provides some of the best moments of the entire movie.
Kiersey Clemons as our other lead character is similarly strong in depicting the various parts of Sam's personality from how joyful she feels around Rose to her conflicted emotions about her dad's plans for We're Not A Band. Clemons has a lot of different emotional territories to cover with this role and she handles it wonderfully all while revealing that she has an impressive singing voice that makes me want to see her headline a musical movie stat. This pair of heartwarming lead performances anchor a similarly touching motion picture that heavily evokes 2008's Be Kind Rewind in that Hearts Beat Loud is also an exceptional and humorous feature that explores how the art we make can end up bringing people together in a profound manner.
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