Frank Fisher’s (Nick Offerman) record store in Brooklyn is failing after 17 years. His daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) is soon to be heading to California for college. But they still have the summer to do what they love the most, make music together.

Hearts Beat Loud received a very small release in 2018 and has been sitting on my Netflix playlist for quite a while waiting for me to commit my time to it. And now that I have I can not believe I waited so long. It is an absolute joy. When Frank and Sam are discussing a song that she has written not making lyrical sense, Frank says that some songs are about creating a mood. And that is what this film does. It’s melancholy, low key, uplifting and hopeful all at the same time.

At its centre there is the father daughter relationship. The loss of Sam’s mother in an accident when she was young has clearly brought them together. Frank is proud of his daughter, but the inspiration of creating a song together with her stirs the possibility of two things. Reinvigorating his dream of being a musician and postponing his daughters leaving. The film uses the metaphor of Frank needing to come to terms with letting his record store go (there is no coincidence he has owned it for 17 years) as a way for him to realise his daughter must do too.

Elsewhere both Frank and Sam are tentatively setting out into the world of love. One for the first time and the other for the first time in a long time. Toni Collette and Sasha Lane play the romantic leads to perfection. One tentative and unsure whilst the other is filled with passion. The talent on display in this small film doesn’t stop there though, as we also have Ted Danson proving his comedy chops again as Frank’s best friend and Blythe Danner as his mother.

A film so heavily about music also needs to have great music and composer and original song writer Keegan DeWitt of Wild Cub ably delivers. The title track is infectious and the musical sequences are fantastic. With Offerman and Clemons showing real talent vocally.

A feel good movie at its best.