Happiness is fleeting, coming and going as it pleases. We all strive for it and look for it in places where sometimes we shouldn’t. It drives most of us, for better or for worse. The pursuit of happiness is a theme that films tackle time and time again. This fleeting feeling is in every film. There is this moment in a film that is called the low point, often happening towards the backend of the film before everything gets resolved, where the hero loses everything for a moment. Films take that low point to an extreme, but it could be described as the perfect example of our pursuit of happiness, the fleeting moment of joy that we lose and want to get back. Films might be our way to escape reality, but they are also grounded in what we know, and that pursuit of happiness is a human desire that films never forget.
Brett Haley’s Hearts Beat Loud, starring Kiersey Clemmons (Dope) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), premiered in 2018 and hit me like a brick wall. The perfect blend of comedy, drama, and music created a final product that stayed with me. The soundtrack played over and over again in my household. But years later, having revisited the film multiple times, it is clear to me that this film understands the human need for happiness and how we all strive to find it, even if it does it in the subtlest way.
Single dad and record store owner Frank (Offerman) is preparing to send his hard-working daughter Sam (Clemmons) off to college while having to close his vintage shop because of low demand. Hoping to stay connected through their shared musical passions, Frank urges Sam to turn their weekly jam sessions into a father-daughter live act. After their first song becomes an internet breakout hit, the two embark on a journey of love, growing up, and musical discovery.
Finding an emotional balance in films is important, at least to me, because it helps to recreate our journey in this world. The world is difficult, and fleeting moments of happiness in films recreate this world that we know all too well. Hearts Beat Loud understands that. Even when Frank and Sam are happy, the backdrop of sadness is always there, lurking behind, waiting for its moment to come and strike.
Sam gets the girl, Rose (Sasha Lane); her love and happiness drive her towards a moment in time where she finally finds her solace. Yet, in the back of her mind, the idea of leaving is always there, as her ambitions and imminent departure for college loom over her relationship and happiness. The same can be said of her father, Frank. His happiness comes from music and Sam. Their newfound act brings him joy that it seems he has not felt since the passing of his wife. But the backdrop of sadness lies in Frank losing his store and having a tumultuous relationship with Leslie (Toni Collette), the landlord of his shop with whom he starts a romantic relationship.
The film contrasts the two relationships: the idealism of Sam and Rose and the dysfunctionality of Frank and Leslie. The two being such clear opposites helps the film portray how relationships can be extreme. On one hand, you have the young and innocent love of Sam and Rose, full of love and hope and dreams that are still achievable. Leslie and Frank represent the opposite end of the spectrum: two lost souls trying to find their way, make themselves happy, and grasp onto something that might be there…but it just doesn’t work. The two opposites bring such highs and such lows, subtly showcasing the best and worst of every relationship.
In the end, Hearts Beat Loud is about the love between a daughter and a father. Their common love of music, even if Sam is so reluctant to it, is what brings them together. Their happiness is always at its highest when they are together. Even in conflict, the two always find a way to come back together. Even a moment as sad as the last day at the store is a happy moment, with the two finally performing to a live audience. This is the happiness we see: both finally getting to their happy place. Frank finally achieves his dream of being in a band with his daughter, reminding him of when he was in one with his late wife, while Sam gets to perform her love song to Rose, leaving herself exposed and showing how much she means to her.
The emotional balance of everything makes this feature stand out from others. Films love to go to extremes and while, at times, this one does too, it is the balance of these emotions that makes it different. Hearts Beat Loud is a slice of life film that drops us into Sam and Frank’s lives, where we witness a simple moment in their story and understand by the end that their lives continue beyond the final scene. Because the film never falls into the trap of trying to be overdramatic, its moments feel earned. The happiness and sadness feel real.
Hearts Beat Loud uses the highs and lows of life to create its story. Sam might be leaving to go to college, but her love for Rose is real. Frank might be losing the store, but Sam gives him the best gift he could ever have gotten. It’s those moments that make it special, that prove that life is not all or nothing; sometimes, even at your lowest, you can get the best moments of your life if you simply look for them.
This flickering sense of happiness is brought to them and remains even when it’s taken away. Life is hard; it hits us like a tsunami, bringing us down, but human nature is to continue and soldier on even when everything in us tells us to do the opposite. There are moments in life where despair takes you over, where you don’t think you can succeed; where the adversity is greater than everything. But even in those moments, flickering moments of happiness show themselves.
It’s those little moments that make everything special in life, make living worth it, even if it’s for a brief period of time.
