HEARTS BEAT LOUD

Nick Offerman     Kiercey Clemons     Toni Collette     Ted Danson     Sasha Lane     Blythe Danner

     Hearts do beat loud in this Indie gem about a different kind of father-daughter relationship from what we’re used to. After her mother is killed in a bicycle accident, Frank (Offerman) provides a home for their daughter Sam (Clemons).  They are close, but their most satisfying bond is playing music together.  He has a struggling record store (yes—vinyl LPs), and she is a senior in high school taking pre-med courses.  He is laid back; she is serious.  

     Frank has to wheedle his daughter away from her studies to jam with him, and she indulges him on occasion.  Once, she plays a riff on a song she has composed, and they make something of it.  Unbeknownst to her, he puts it on Spotify, and lo and behold he hears it on a mixed tape at the coffee store.  This is all he needs to spur him on and plead with his daughter to pursue a career in music.

     What plays out is unique in the world of cinema; it’s a true-to-life drama that is realistic and plausible.  I congratulate the director and co-writer Mark Basch on their accomplishment in creating a fiction that is gripping AND could very well be true. It could have been dramatized so differently in terms of Frank losing his business, his relationship with his landlady (Collette), his daughter getting involved in a relationship with Rose (Lane), etc.  But the filmmakers kept their feet on the ground and gave us a delightful story about one father and daughter.

     In addition to the script, the actors are superb—one of the best performances by Nick Offerman I’ve seen—complemented by Kiercey Clemons, a talent we will be sure to see more of.  Collette, Danson, and Danner have cameo roles that sync with their reputations, and Sasha Lane is a rising star with talent and charisma.  

     I appreciate the film for addressing the issue of going for the long-term basic value (pursuing a medical education) versus taking a chance on a music career with promise.  Another strength of the film is portraying a middle-aged man discovering his need to rely upon himself, and his social skills deficits.   Detracting from it are a few clichés like “You gotta be brave before you can be good.”  

     But fundamentally—and in all the important considerations—this is a good, soulful movie that empty nesters and well as others will enjoy.

An inspiration for father-daughter relationships.

Grade:  A-                               By Donna R. Copeland

I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS

--> Blythe Danner   Sam Elliott   Martin Starr   June Squibb   Rhea Perlman   Mary Kay Place

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I’ll See You in my Dreams is the kind of comedy many people like to see after a hard week.  It shines the spotlight on an older woman, Carol (Danner), who is widowed, enjoying her somewhat solitary life, but open to new experiences if someone else will take the lead.  She has three bridge/golf friends who are like family, and they all live close to one another in a retirement complex on a golf course.  Sally (Perlman) is always trying to fix Carol up with someone, and even hauls her off to a speed-dating event one evening. Rona (Place) is the more curious one, and unexpectedly stops by Carol’s house from time to time, creating a few awkward moments.  Georgina (Squibb) is a good sport and most like the typical older woman. 

     Carol, a singer and schoolteacher in her younger days, starts getting acquainted with a young man (Starr) who comes by to clean her pool.  Lloyd is an aspiring poet/singer, who ignores the age gap and likes to “hang out” with Carol.  He takes her to a karaoke bar one evening, and they clearly hit it off.  Enter a contemporary of Carol’s, Bill (Elliott), who likes her looks and smoothly gets her to go out with him.  He has a boat called “So What”, which says something about the man.  For the first time in 20 years, Carol is confronted with the possibility of getting married again. 

      With both men, the conversations turn to future plans and considerations about achieving a balance between living in the moment and working toward some future goal.  In talking with Lloyd, Carol observes that we wait our whole lives for something that we’re sure to get sooner or later.  It’s death, she says, with a bit of black humor.  The film does a good job in contrasting different perspectives about life between younger and older folks.

      Brett Haley, the young director and writer with Marc Basch, is well rounded in his acting, producing and editing experience. In Dreams, he has taken what could be light, even silly, entertainment and given it emotional depth and weightier subjects to think about.  The film draws laughter as well as some tears and joie de vivre.  He and his also young co-writer Marc Basch should be complimented for capturing the older years in life so well.

      Blythe Danner has a solid reputation as an actress in both film and television.  As Carol, her performance is engaging, but I think her character is written to be somewhat reserved and distant, which turned me off a bit.  I felt sorry for her daughter and her friends sometimes in situations where she could have shared more and been more warmly responsive, and looks unnecessarily withholding.  Both Sam Elliott and Martin Starr played characters as a study in contrasts, with each showing himself in naturalistic ways.  Starr as Lloyd is particularly moving when he sings a song for Carol towards the end of the film.

A loving comedy with soul.

Grade:  B By Donna R. Copeland