Currently streaming on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally, is the romantic fantasy, The Greatest Hits. Written and directed by Ned Benson, the film stars Lucy Boynton, David Corenswet, and Justin H. Min, and follows the story of a young woman who travels back through time in order to save her deceased ex-boyfriend.
In the film, it is almost two years since Harriet Gibbons’ boyfriend, Max passed away in a tragic car accident. Since the day of Max’s death, Harriet has been attending grief counselling sessions, but she is finding it difficult to move forward with her life.
On her most recent session, Harriet admits to her counsellor she avoids listening to certain songs which remind her of Max. However, what Harriet fails to mention is that she avoids these songs on purpose as they have an unusual effect.
When Harriet hears a song which she associates with Max, she finds her conscious mind transported back through time to a point when Max was still alive. The songs take her back to the exact moment the tunes played during their relationship, whether that was at a party, a gig, or in the car on the day of Max’s accident.
Using her ability to travel to the past, Harriet attempts to alter Max’s fate. However, when Harriet realises no matter what she does she can’t save Max, she uses music to travel back to other points in time to enjoy the highlights of their relationship.
But things become complicated when Harriet meets David. He is a nice guy, who Harriet could start a new life with, but her love for Max is getting in the way.
Can she move forward with David when she has such a unique connection to Max? And more importantly, should she give up on her goal of time travelling to save Max’s life, even though all attempts have proved unsuccessful?
If you’re reading this review there’s a good chance you know next-to-nothing about The Greatest Hits. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you’re not alone.
The good thing is, the point of reviews like this is to help you learn about things you didn’t know, so sit back and relax, you’re amongst friends. The bad thing is, you probably know very little about The Greatest Hits because Searchlight Pictures/Disney has done very little to promote this movie.
Outside of a premiere at South by Southwest back in March, and a limited theatrical release at the beginning of April, The Greatest Hits has essentially been ignored by the studio. The film was unceremoniously dropped onto Hulu/Disney+ last Friday, and it already appears to have fallen into the streaming void where it is destined to be lost within the algorithm.
Such a shame, because The Greatest Hits is a solid movie which deserves a bit of love. The Greatest Hits serves up a great premise, which presents a new way to look at love, loss, and grief, and it is all packaged up rather neatly and in an interesting and intriguing way.
I’ll start with the premise first, which is simple yet effective. We all know that music has a way of stirring up memories, and tunes can metaphorically can transport us back to the past, but The Greatest Hitsessentially takes this concept one step further.
It plays on the idea that we all have a greatest hits playlist swirling around in our lives, which we attach to significant or meaningful relationships. Every time we hear certain songs they take us back to a specific moment, and this in turn could actually transport us back in time.
But would this ability to time-hop make us happy? Sure, we could interact with lost loved ones, and maybe alter the course of events, but would this be the gift it appears to be?
The Greatest Hits reflects on this idea and then expands upon it. In the film, Harriet is given a unique opportunity, and she utilises it to see Max, but it may not be the best thing for her mental health.
Instead of working through Max’s death, Harriet effectively spends two years locked in some kind of stasis as she travels back and forth to see him. As a result, and as pointed out by a close friend, she is now a broken person and a shell of her former self.
The film plays with the idea that Harriet is essentially worse off because of her time travel ability. Her constant jolts back to the past are keeping her from moving forward and finding new happiness, and this is a significant problem.
This all makes for some interesting viewing and the material that is served up here has a way of getting under the skin. Writer/director Ned Benson hooks his audience in with the time travel premise, but keeps the investment levels high by throwing in some new wrinkles which make it clear time travel isn’t all that it is cracked up to be.
Moving beyond the premise, The Greatest Hits benefits from a superb central performance from Lucy Boynton as Harriet, as well as a good supporting turn from Justin H. Min as new love interest David. Both actors shine on screen and help to convey the idea that maybe there can be life after tragedy.
The actors work well together and while Harriet and David might stumble into a plot contrivance at one point in the story, they are always worth a watch. It’s not too difficult to buy into what they are selling.
The only actor who feels underutilised in the film is David Corenswet, who plays deceased ex-beau, Max. Corenswet – who is shortly set to play the next big screen Superman – gets very little to do in the movie, other than to appear charming and hunky, and this is a shame.
Thankfully charming and hunky is right up Corenswet’s street, so he handles it like a pro. The role might be a bit thankless, but he does what he can with it, and it’s easy to let it slide.
Outside of the above, The Greatest Hits features an excellent soundtrack, some slick cinematography, and a perfectly suitable 90-minute running time. The film is also romantic in all the right ways, and if you’re looking for a delightful love story with substance you’ll find it here.
I have no idea why Disney isn’t making more of a song and dance about The Greatest Hits, but I guess this is an internal marketing issue, largely related to the daft belief that streaming markets itself. For the record, it doesn’t, but that’s a discussion for another day and all you really need to now is The Greatest Hits is a great little film.
You came into this review knowing very little about The Greatest Hits and now you leave with a new film to pop on your watchlist. How absolutely marvellous.
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