Beating Hearts is emotionally charged, ambitious and not always in rhythm. Gilles Lellouche combines a Romeo-and-Juliet romance with a northern French gangster story, bold colors and musical passages. That mixture provides both its interest and its problems.
Clotaire and Jackie come from different worlds and develop an intense connection as teenagers. Violence draws him into a gang, and years later they meet again with much more between them than youthful longing.
The film moves through choreographed crowds, stylized images and a driving score. At times it feels like an overlong music video: full of heart, but lacking a reliable dramatic pulse. The elaborate direction can keep the emotions at a distance.
The cast is strong. François Civil gives the older Clotaire anger and melancholy, while Adèle Exarchopoulos supplies Jackie with quiet strength. Malik Frikah and Mallory Wanecque are especially impressive as their younger selves, combining tenderness, defiance and longing.
The detail and commitment behind the filmmaking are evident. Individual images remain memorable, but the story fragments into moments without generating enough sustained emotional pull.
This is a brave, overflowing project with perhaps too many ideas. I give it two and a half out of five stars. The acting and visual personality stand out; the overloaded direction and emotional coolness prevent them from becoming a fully compelling experience.