The theme of longing fulfilled and denied comes to the fore in “Hearts Beat Loud,” Brett Haley’s third feature collaboration with screenwriting partner Mark Basch. The movie centers on Frank (Nick Offerman), a widower and former musician who is coming to terms with the decline of both his livelihood — represented by the struggling, vinyl-only record store that he runs in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood — and his mother (Blythe Danner).

As the film opens, we watch the increasingly confused woman almost get arrested for shoplifting, as Frank is forced to confront whether it’s time to have Mom move in with him and his teenage daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons). It’s father and daughter, not mother and son, whose relationship is the central driver of this charming, multilayered tale. “Hearts” zeroes in on the bittersweet nature of Frank’s special bond with Sam, who has inherited his love of, and affinity for, music.

When the two, on a whim, spend a chunk of daddy-daughter time noodling on instruments and scribbling down lyrics, they manage — to their own surprise — to write a half-decent song. This leads Frank to rekindle his aspirations of rock stardom, and Sam, who is preparing to begin pre-med studies at UCLA in the fall, to question whether she has the heart to crush her father’s dreams as she pursues her own.

Adding layers of nuance and emotion is a supporting cast that includes Toni Collette, as Frank’s landlord and is-she-or-isn’t-she love interest, and Sasha Lane, who plays a young artist who develops a crush on Sam. Lane, who made such an auspicious debut in 2016’s “American Honey,” brings a sensual warmth to this tale, transforming it from what might otherwise have been a conventional family drama into a touching, bittersweet tale of tentative first love and letting go.

The heart, of course, and its yearning for human connection (whether through romance, family or friendship) is the true subject of “Hearts Beat Loud.” For a movie that is so rock ‘n’ roll, it turns out to be less about making noise than about listening to the message that can only be heard in the stillness that comes after the song.