USA 2017
Opening August 10, 2017
Directed by: Duane Adler
Writing credits: Duane Adler
Principal actors: Krystal Ellsworth; Amitash Pradhan; Justin Chon; Daphne Zuniga
Absorbing, entertaining, escapist, fun. When did you last hear those adjectives used to describe a movie? Well, they can all be applied to Heartbeats which will probably be the happiest most upbeat film you’ll see in a long time.
If only the dialogue matched the action! Still, there are only so many ways to tell the boy meets girl story and what the storyline lacks is more than made up by the action. An amazing blending of Eastern and Western dancing styles is performed by troupes of brilliant dancers. Almost all of the movie is taken up by dance routines and each one is more exhilarating than the one before.
As the movie opens Kelli (Ellsworth) tells us that her family is grappling with tragedy. She is studying law at university, as her parents want her to do, but all she wants to do is dance. Soon the family is whisked away to Mumbai to attend a wedding. There can’t be a more colourful wedding ceremony anywhere which can compare with an Indian one and director Duane Adler loses no opportunity in showing us one which is perfection. It is at a pre-wedding dance that Kelli meets Aseem (Pradhan) a dreamboat if ever there was one and the storyline is set.
This is an unashamedly romantic movie where a series of amazing dance sequences are held together by a light -hearted and most enjoyable plot. ()