Film

Hearts Beat Loud

Name: Hearts Beat Loud
Genre: Music, Drama, Comedy, Family
Released: 2018
Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Blythe Danner, Toni Collette, Sasha Lane

Musical
Drama
Light-hearted

A father-and-daughter story about a record store owner and his teenage daughter who unexpectedly become a viral musical act. Warm and unironic, it's about connection across generations and the terrifying beauty of letting people go. For anyone who's ever loved music as a language, or worried that growing up meant growing apart.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love small, warm stories about music as a way families talk to each other, with a loose, easygoing feel and songs that matter more than plot mechanics.

Skip it if you want a tight, plot-driven comedy; this one wanders at its own relaxed pace and leans on sentiment about a parent letting go of a child.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety-seven minutes and moves unhurriedly, so it rewards patience with mood and conversation rather than sharp turns or big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Hunt for the Wilderpeople2016

A gruff older man and a young person form an unlikely bond through shared adventure. Like Hearts Beat Loud, it's about love expressed sideways, found family, and how humour and tenderness aren't opposite things.

But New Zealand humour has its own cadence. If deadpan comedy feels like a foreign language, this won't convert you, though it might try.

Lady Bird2017

Another film about a difficult-but-loving parent-child relationship on the edge of goodbye. It understands that growing up is beautiful and heartbreaking simultaneously, with no neat resolution.

But It's deliberately unglamorous and doesn't provide the catharsis you might expect from a coming-of-age story. The ache lingers.

About a Boy2002

An adult and child teach each other what matters through music and connection. It's funny without punching down, and genuinely interested in how people change each other across age differences.

But The early-2000s indie rock references date it. If that aesthetic makes you wince, the film wears it like a badge.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Hearts Beat Loud

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Phantom Thread2017

Both explore how two people speak to each other through art rather than dialogue, and how that vulnerability is its own kind of intimacy.

A relationship film disguised as a period piece about a fashion designer and his muse. The connection: both are about people who love through their craft, speaking through creation rather than words. Utterly absorbing.

But It's baroque and slow, occasionally icy. Paul Thomas Anderson's register is nothing like Hearts Beat Loud, and that's the point—very different film entirely.

The Florida Project2017

A film about precarious lives and real affection, how people create lightness within genuine constraint. Beautifully shot and never sentimental, even when your heart is breaking.

But It's set in poverty and offers no rescue. If you need films to resolve neatly or uplift, this isn't a match.

Godless2017

A western TV miniseries about a woman-run town and the relationships within it—unconventional people finding family and purpose. Six episodes of genuine warmth without saccharine impulse.

But It's deliberately paced. Some find it meditative; others find it slow. The genre mashup won't appeal to purists.

Paddleton2019

Two men—one dying, one terrified—navigate the end of a friendship through small moments, humour, and video games. Achingly tender about what it means to show up for someone.

But It's about mortality and grief. The traumas aren't resolved, only survived. Heavy, even at 86 minutes.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always2020

A film about two young women where the real story is in what isn't said—gesture, glance, presence. Elliptical and deeply human, about showing up for people without fanfare.

But Minimal dialogue and plot. If you prefer narrative propulsion to emotional atmosphere, you'll be restless.

The Farewell2019

Family bonds across culture and language. It finds comedy and tragedy in the same moments, never choosing one feeling over another, the way real life actually works.

But Much of the humour and warmth relies on understanding or empathizing with cultural contexts that may feel unfamiliar.

Beginners2011

A man processes his father's death and new life through memory, animation, and small truths. Formally inventive, genuinely moving, about how we misunderstand the people closest to us.

But Formally scattered and melancholic. If you want a clear emotional arc, the fragmented structure might frustrate you.

Minari2021

Both are about generational love expressed through small moments rather than grand gestures, and about the specific loneliness of being between worlds.

A Korean-American family farming in rural Arkansas. Quietly searching for home and belonging. The relationship between the grandmother and grandson is the heart—unshowy, deeply earned affection.

But Subtitled (half the film is in Korean). If you're not comfortable with reading, it's a barrier, though the film rewards it completely.

Manchester by the Sea2016

Like Hearts Beat Loud, it's about an adult and young person bound by love and geography, but where that connection is tested by real damage rather than circumstance—the darker possible version of the same story.

A man forced into guardianship of his teenage nephew after tragedy. Grief-stricken and unable to perform, he loves through presence rather than performance. Raw and devastating in its specificity.

But It's unrelenting about trauma and doesn't offer reconciliation. The cold Massachusetts landscape matches the interior weather. This is a film about surviving, not thriving.