Spoilers ahead!

A couple months ago I was scrolling through Facebook and an ad popped up on my feed for this new indie movie starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons. I watched the trailer and was immediately hooked on a movie that I knew very little about.

What I was able to gather from the trailer was that it's titled Hearts Beat Loud and is about a father and daughter who make music together. The father, Frank Fisher, played by Nick Offerman, is an owner of a record shop that is going out of business so he can focus on putting his daughter Sam, played by Kiersey Clemons, through college at UCLA. The two have a "jam sesh" one night in which they create a song that lands them on a Spotify playlist. Throughout the trailer new relationships begin to take form while some older friendships ebbe and flow. Frank and Sam play their first show together at the end of the trailer, with a huge smile on both of their faces.

The element that drew me in was the music. Not many movies showcase original music in the way this one did, and it was done with expertise, not to mention the music is genuinely good. I knew that I had to go and see it as soon as it came out. So last Tuesday a friend and I saw it in New York and let me just say it did not disappoint.

The three standout songs of the movie "Hearts Beat Loud", "Blink (One Million Miles)", and "Everything Must Go" are just that, standouts. "Blink (One Million Miles)" is a love song that when performed at the end may make you shed a tear or two. The other really cool thing about the music in this movie is that it didn't appear to be pre-recorded and then played back while the actors lip-synced. Nick Offerman learned how to play guitar for this role and it seemed as though Kiersey was always singing live which made the music all the more genuine.

Nick Offerman truly plays such a lovable dad and person. The audience is made to feel all of his triumphs and tribulations right along side him. Kiersey Clemons is a marvel. First off her voice is amazing in addition to her acting. The other character, Rose, that was seen in the trailer, played by Sasha Lane, becomes Sam's girlfriend throughout the movie. As an audience member I knew the best decision for Sam was to go to UCLA, but that didn't stop me from wanting her to stay to keep making music with her dad and continue her relationship with Rose. The story holds much more than I've described, but you'll have to go see it to grasp it fully.

Between the perfect casting of the actors, the genuine original music, and the representation of the LGBTQ+ community, Hearts Beat Loud is a must see.