Hearts Beat Loud

PAST FILM SCREENING

January 23 – 2PM + 7:30PM

USA, 2018 – Rated: PG – 97 minutes
English
Directed by Brett Haley
Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Toni Collette, Blythe Danner, Sasha Lane

Frank (Nick Offerman, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; Danny Collins) owns a record shop in Brooklyn, where his passion for music is still felt through the torn posters on the wall and makeshift record crates. A widower, Frank has raised his daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons, The Only Living Boy in New York), alone for the last 11 years, and he’s having trouble coming to terms with her imminent departure for university.

While Sam is taking summer school in preparation, Frank convinces her to take a study break for a jam session, where they create their first original song, “Hearts Beat Loud.” Realizing the song’s potential, Frank uploads it to the internet. When he hears their song playing in a coffee shop, he wants to pursue the band and Sam’s talents as a musician and songwriter. While Sam discourages him, she struggles with leaving in her own ways: her discovery of her passion for music and her relationship with her girlfriend Rose (Sasha Lane, American Honey; The Miseducation of Cameron Post) create emotional turmoil that serve as fodder for her songwriting talents.

Director Brett Haley (I’ll See You in My Dreams; The Hero) moves the audience through emotionally charged moments with beautiful original music written by his longtime collaborator Keegan DeWitt. At the heart of the film is a story about family, saying goodbye, and making way for new beginnings.

“Music is the tie that binds a Brooklyn father and daughter in a film that refuses to go sappy on us thanks to the tough core of intelligence and wit that Nick Offerman brings to the party.”

– Peter Travers, Rolling Stone