A Heartbeat Away

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Audience Member Nice inspirational movie Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member OMG, eu só sei que esse filme não saiu do fundo do baú da "Sessão da Tarde" porque ele teria que ser melhor que isso. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member What's missing from these reviews is 'what market is it suitable for?' Everyone is acting as if it was aimed at an informed adult audience, when it's a PG rated film. None of them mention that it is a well shot, harmless dramatic vehicle suitable for families with pre-teens, with an opportunity to see some great Australian actors at work. On that basis I'm giving it 3 stars Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member A Heartbeat Away wants to be this generation's Strictly Ballroom or an Aussie rendition of Brassed Off. As the story of a boy who wants to break with custom and do things his own way against the wishes of his staunchly traditional bandleader father, perhaps it wants to be both. But the truth is it has less heart and is less fun than either of those. The films two young stars are clearly chosen for their "look", he (Sebastian Gregory) for his doe-eyed Frodo Baggins innocence and her (Isabel Lucas) for her high "Bo Derek" (or is that Pippa Grandison?) cheekbones. Sure, they're both very attractive leads but in this small town setting, it comes across as just a little bit twee. Similarly, the band leader father (William Zappa) seems clearly casted for his stoic ruggedness echoing that of Pete Postlethwaite. Colin Friels hams it up effectively as the can't-stop-progress mayor (Muriel's Wedding anyone?) though given that his snide offsider is Tiffany Lamb, perhaps the part ought to have been played by Greg Evans (he would no doubt have been hammier). This is probably the movies core failing: that it acts as a constant reminder of other, better films (TV's Perfect Match notwithstanding). Simplistic storytelling simply told with screen wipes and fades, aided and abetted by clichà (C)d dialogue delivered with unjustified earnestness prevents the film from firing on any level. Indeed the intelligence quotient of the script is nicely summarised when He⢠is met with the revelation that She⢠is leaving Smalltown⢠to go to university and his reply is (with a straight face): "You're a dancer, not a lawyer." That nice little objectification of women there says it all really. And, as if there were any doubt, the film proves beyond all argument that actually, yes, marching band and Nirvana grunge are indeed mutually exclusive musical styles. Their brass rendition of MacArthur Park thankfully (and unsurprisingly) fares much better. While it's nice to see an Aussie film (and a locally made one at that) that seeks merely to entertain, it won't be this movie which stems the contemporary tide of wrist slitters and hardcore reality flicks. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw A Heartbeat Away and Griff the Inivisible yesterday and loved both of them. For a change Aust has made some films you can actually take your kids to, don't have to think too much about and just be entertained. Heartbeat is easy to watch, although Isabel Lucas made a pretty poor effort which is to its detriment, but the rest is fabulous. The music is great and the audience was clapping to some good light hearted entertainment. Griff is great and not a hard watch with some very good performances. Please Australia, make some more of these films. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrible - like a 90 min episode of Neighbours. Suspect it won't last in cinemas very long. There were only two other people in my session tonight. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Heartbeat Away

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