Peter Charney’s review published on Letterboxd:
Many of us likely believe that movies possess the power to transcend time and space, transporting us back moments we’ve experienced them. I believe all great recorded art can achieve this effect. For some, it might be movies; for others, a photo, a meal, or a song. The Greatest Hits integrates this idea into a high-concept time travel love story about music, pulling at the heartstrings and oscillating between sincerity and saccharine.
While the plot feels somewhat convoluted as it attempts to depict its metaphor for grief and moving on, the way these themes manifest through a relationship with music is quite beautiful—music begins as a negative emotional trigger and transforms into a positive force, ultimately allowing for the creation of new memories. However, while the film utilizes music as a narrative device, the lack of a strong distinction or intentional spotting between the diegetic music and the score prevents the musical element of the story from reaching its full potential.
An obvious homage to many science fiction romance and naturalistic films about music, The Greatest Hits often feels like a stylistically messy, narratively formulaic, and emotionally unearned version of each. Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min invest admirable effort into their characters, but the screenplay and stylistic choices surrounding them are overly busy, hindering the performances' ability to stand on their own. The execution of the time travel aspect doesn’t always work, but it offers a potential for emotional storytelling as a physical expression of something we experience more psychologically. Admittedly, the inclusion of the 1877 Kars4Kids bit worked wonders on me, and the heightened emotional stakes of the climax almost succeeded in moving me deeply.
As it’s so similar to some of the work I want to make, I can't help but consider the missed opportunities for The Greatest Hits to live up to its title. One idea, for example: imagine if it fully embraced the musicianship of its characters and featured their relationship through original songs. Perhaps that's the vision for a stage adaptation.
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