Wild Rose
02/05/19 Filed in: Cinema
After the fantasy of Avengers, back to reality with this very human story of a young Glaswegian country singer who believes that she should really be American, and residing in Nashville. Unfortunately her situation militates against this dream. With two young children, born before she was 18, we first see her being released from prison, where she was sent after being caught throwing drugs over the prison wall. Her mother has been minding her children, and when she returns they seem to be far more inclined to stay with their grandmother than be with their mother.
Jessie Buckley is absolutely superb as Rose-Lynn Harlan, really nailing her wild spirit and belting out the country songs. Julie Walters is equally brilliant as her long-suffering mum, who tries to persuade her daughter to forget the Nashville dream and instead take care of her children. This doesn't get off to a very good start, with her little boy clinging to his grandma as Rose tries to take him and his older sister to her flat.
Having failed spectacularly in regaining her singing spot at Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry, Rose takes a cleaning job where her habit of singing while doing the chores is accidentally witnessed by the children of the house, and consequently by their mum, Susannah, Rose's employer. With a bit of badgering on Susannah's part this leads to a trip to London where Rose meets the legendary Country presenter Bob Harris. Things are certainly moving in the right direction but when everything seems to be coming together Rose's past catches up with her as her repressed maternal instincts begin to haunt her.
The dream is put on what appears to be permanent hold, at least that is until her mum, reflecting on her own "lack of gumption", realises that her apparently reformed daughter is slowly dying inside. So having been previously told by Rose that "Maybe twenty years in the bakers is enough for you but it isn't for me", the said twenty years comes to the rescue in the form of a ticket to Rose's dream. But dreams can be funny things, and Nashville isn't Glasgow.
I marked this film as a must-see when I saw the trailer, and I wasn't disappointed. It is no exaggeration to say, once again, that a star is born. Buckley is Rose, and she might have a problem breaking from that persona in the public's eyes when she takes her next role. Here she gives a very moving performance with the ending being a real heartstring tugger, so be warned.
The dream is put on what appears to be permanent hold, at least that is until her mum, reflecting on her own "lack of gumption", realises that her apparently reformed daughter is slowly dying inside. So having been previously told by Rose that "Maybe twenty years in the bakers is enough for you but it isn't for me", the said twenty years comes to the rescue in the form of a ticket to Rose's dream. But dreams can be funny things, and Nashville isn't Glasgow.
I marked this film as a must-see when I saw the trailer, and I wasn't disappointed. It is no exaggeration to say, once again, that a star is born. Buckley is Rose, and she might have a problem breaking from that persona in the public's eyes when she takes her next role. Here she gives a very moving performance with the ending being a real heartstring tugger, so be warned.