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Songs can be like time capsules, messages from the past that conjure powerful images and emotions, transporting us back to milestones in our lives with a signature sound. For the heroine at the heart of “Press Play,” the curated collection of songs on a very special mixtape are a literal transportive device, a time warp that rewinds back to when the love of her life was alive and well. Like the songs that fill its soundtrack, Greg Björkman’s directorial debut has a catchy hook and atmospheric pull — yet the material leaves far too much underdeveloped, unrealized and incohesive to connect with viewers’ heads and hearts.

Laura (Clara Rugaard) spends her days on the beaches of Oahu, capturing the spirit of the island with her paintbrush in the hope of turning her artistic talent into a viable career. She’s so focused on this goal that it takes a whiny...

The Avenue has claimed North American rights to Press Play, a romantic drama from Parasite producer Cj Enm, starring Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon franchise) and Matt Walsh (Veep), which it will release next year.

The film picked up by Highland Film Group’s domestic distribution arm centers on a young woman (Rugaard) who has a chance to save the love of her life (Pullman) when she discovers that the mixtape they made together can transport her back in time. It marks the feature directorial debut of visual effects editor Greg Björkman, who teamed up with James Bachelor (Hulu’s Into the Dark) to write the script.

Cj Enm’s Yeonu Choi produced the film with Josh Boone, Logan Lerman and Jonathan Schwartz, with Cj’s Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko serving as exec producers. Cj Enm is also handling international sales.