The Greatest Hits
M, 94 minutes, Disney+
Three stars
You know how you can hear a particular song and immediately be taken back to some moment in your past?
The Greatest Hits takes that idea of auditory nostalgia and turns it into a literal thing, to sweet effect.
Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) plays lead character Harriet who, after being involved in a car accident which killed her boyfriend and left her in a coma for a week, finds she literally travels back in time whenever she hears a song that played during her relationship.
But try as she might, she's unable to prevent her boyfriend Max (David Corenswet, who will be the next big-screen Superman under DC's new head honcho James Gunn) from making the fateful decisions that lead to their fatal accident.
She spends every day wearing headphones, avoiding encountering songs that will send her back (and make her pass out in the present, freaking out those around her), and every night playing records at home that will allow her to spend more time with her lost love.
This little time-travel quirk leaves Harriet in a constant state of grief, never able to move on, always hoping that she can change the past.
She's content to go on this way forever, never really engaged in life, until she meets David (Justin H Min, best known as Ben from The Umbrella Academy) at a grief support group, and the two share an immediate connection.
David is funny, caring and has a love for music like she does - he's an all-round catch.
But, much to the annoyance of Harriet's best bud Morris (Austin Crute, playing less of a character and more of a stereotype in this underdeveloped role), she finds herself reluctant to dive into what seems like a healthy relationship with David because the pull of Max is still so real.
What this film lacks in subtlety it makes up for in accessibility.
There's no great skill or depth to the metaphor we're dealing with here, but that does open up the story to even the most inattentive viewers. There's something comforting in the broad appeal of a story like this, making it an easy watch that still tugs on the heartstrings just a bit.
There are a few light laughs in The Greatest Hits, but not enough to consider this a romantic comedy, and there's also not enough in the way of real stakes to make it a true romantic drama.
It's an easy Sunday afternoon watch, good with a cup of tea and a biscuit. Fans of somewhat similar, yet superior, films like Sliding Doors, Yesterday or About Time should also like The Greatest Hits.
Boynton is solid in the lead without being particularly memorable (her native British accent only creeping into her character's Californian speech in a couple of moments), doing what she can with a character whose description seems to be little more than "likes music a lot, misses dead boyfriend, has a slight sense of humour".
Min is very charming but his character also suffers from underdevelopment.
Pleasingly, the pair have good chemistry and you get the sense that they would make an excellent couple if they could just sort through their little (and big) problems.
Strangely for a film that hasn't made that big of a splash, there are a couple of very well-known musicians who appear as themselves at the end of the film in quite short scenes that aren't played up like big cameo moments.
The selection of music - such a pivotal part of the plot - throughout the film is a bit of a let-down.
The songs sound fine, but there doesn't seem to be enough universally recognised tracks to really elevate the film the way the best soundtracks can.
