Time Travel, Romance, and Music Collide in The Greatest Hits
After the loss of her long term boyfriend (David Corenswet), Harriet (Lucy Boynton) discovers that certain songs can transport her back in time in The Greatest Hits. As she relives memories of her former boyfriend, her past begins to collide with a budding new love in the present (Justin H. Min). As she journeys through time with a connection between music and memory, she wonders, even if she could change the past… would she? Should she?
It would’ve been so easy for this movie to be cheesy and poorly executed, but they nailed it. Time travel can often feel overdramatic and visually overwhelming, but The Greatest Hits keeps it simple. Utilizing quick transitions and an absolutely killer soundtrack, the time travel aspects never felt redundant or silly. The makeup in this movie is also incredibly executed both in terms of visuals, but also as a mechanism to assist in the dual-timeline clarity.
Lucy Boynton plays the elitist indie music fan to a T, preferring to listen to her favorite songs via vinyl. The music choices were perfect. Not too mainstream, but also not super obscure. This soundtrack features a plethora of hits including “To Turn You On” (Disco Pusher Remix) by Roxy, “Loud Places” by Jamie xx featuring Romy, “Say Yes To Heaven” by Lana Del Ray, “I’m Like A Bird” by Nelly Furtado, and a Phoebe Bridgers cover of “Friday I’m In Love.” It’s an eclectic mix that would undoubtedly read as odd on paper, but works flawlessly on screen. Boynton is charismatic, emotional, and likable all at once. As a protagonist you equally empathize and root for her. Music haunts Harriet in a way that we are all too familiar, but only this new love interest could pull her out of it.
It’s clear as soon as Harriet meets this new potential love interest that we are rooting for him far more than the seemingly arrogant piece of eye candy from her past. Justin H. Min’s charming yet shy character shows compassion, understanding, and connection from the very start, making it hard for you not to fall in love with him. Though Harriet has a connection to this ex, the flashbacks give no indication of why, as viewers, we should be rooting for a present with them together. Some may attempt to dump this into the rom-com bucket, which dilutes the main point of the film: music holds more power than we give it credit.
This film at its core is an homage to the power of music through the lens of romantic relationships. Everyone has a certain level of nostalgia for a specific song, genre, or time period of music and this movie portrays that in such a relatable way. Songs can stick with you for years, if not your entire life, tied to a unique memory in your mind. Hearing that one melody can transport you back in time mentally, and Harriet’s story is an exacerbated version of that universal experience.
See The Greatest Hits in theaters April 5 and streaming on Hulu April 12.
