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Brett Haley

Brett Haley

Director, writer, editor and producer · Born August 17, 1983 (43) · Danville, Illinois, USA

Sundance award nominee

Brett Haley (born August 17, 1983) is an American filmmaker and actor best known for his work on The Hero and Hearts Beat Loud.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 17, 1983 (43)
From
Danville, Illinois, USA
Works as
Director, writer, editor and producer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 51% in 30 days

What are Brett Haley's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 66th percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
38%
Bonds
34%
Survival
20%
Society
6%
Ideas
2%
Purpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
6
Melancholic
5
Bittersweet
5
Warm
3
Joyful
3
Other
4

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet5
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Brett Haley's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Brett Haley's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

19 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • People We Meet on Vacation(2026)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Scrambled(2023)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • All Together Now(2020)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • All the Bright Places(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Looking for Alaska (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Hearts Beat Loud(2018)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • And Then I Go(2017)

    Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Hero(2017)

    Director · Editor · Writer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Curmudgeons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Editor

  • I'll See You in My Dreams(2015)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer · as Karaoke Singer (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The New Year (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Reservation Road(2007)

    as Brett

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Poughkeepsie Tapes(2007)

    Production Assistant

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell(2006)

    Assistant Editor · First Assistant Director · Stunt Coordinator

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • The Ridge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Writer · as Blake

  • 13 Going on 30 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • 36 Questions (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Writer

  • Summer Lovin' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • You Deserve Each Other (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles, 15 of them dated from 2005 to 2026.

Biggest box office

I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)

$7.5M worldwide

Highest rated

Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

Midcredits 77th

Most popular right now

People We Meet on Vacation (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 19: 1 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting12 of 19: 6 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thWriting8 of 19: 1 only writing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thProducing3 of 19: 1 only producing, 2 with another roleEditing3 of 19: 1 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew2 of 19: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

19 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

2000s4 · 2 acting · 3 crew2010s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew2020s4 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

Nominated for a Sundance award in 2017, Dramatic.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Brett Haley's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · producer

Scrambled (2023)

64th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

Midcredits 77th · 67% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 65/100 and the pacing 40/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Brett Haley's work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films and violence & gore lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles1–36 · median 5 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles21–57 · median 42 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles17–61 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 27 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 14 · minimalMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Brett Haley work with?

People who share at least 2 of Brett Haley's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Keegan DeWitt shares the most, 6.

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers