Wild Rose: sigue tu propia canción

A young Scottish woman comes out of prison with the firm intention of fulfilling her dream and becoming a country singer in Nashville, Tennessee. Despite a bank account desperately empty. Despite two very young children she pathetically neglects.

The frontier between stubbornness and motivation is often very blurred and it is only a posteriori that one can judge, even if many external factors, perceptible or not, can influence the course of events. And, without unduly spoiling the script, I was expecting a sad ending. Moreover, the atmosphere of Wild Rose: sigue tu propia canción (2018) quite often resembles those of Ken Loach's films with this inevitability that seems inescapable.

A very pleasant surprise!

For a long time I always said that crime thrillers were my favorite genre, but it's becoming increasingly clear that music based movies have overtaken that genre with the new release of Wild Rose. A movie that will inevitably (but unfairly) be compared to 2018's A Star is Born because of the subject matter, but it tells a different story about a musicians dream to be a star. Starring the up and comer Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose is a hard edge but sweetly rounded coming of age tale of a single mother who dreams of leaving Glasgow for Nashville, because she believes it's the only place where she can become a country music star. For someone who doesn't like country music (and that's being kind), I was instantly entranced by Buckley's voice and the catchy but emotionally resonant songs throughout the feature. And much like her work in last year's 'Beast', Buckley proves she is someone to be reckoned with, and through her performance as Rose, that there's simply no place like home.

9.7/10

Without having seen A star is born, I reckon I might have taken even more liking to this. It is more than a decent movie don't get me wrong, but it reminded me of how good the Bradley Cooper directed movie was - sorry is! But let's try not to do a disservice to this movie and as we know there can be more than one, when it comes to movies and certain genres.

This is the underdog story, trying to get her life together and becoming the person they are or should be. Very good central performances overall and well shot too. Good music and drama as it should be ...

The whole story was excellently portrayed. Buckley excels both vocally and portraying the problems of so many in similar positions. It has ups and downs and doesn't shy away from challenging issues nor glorify them. Julie Walters alongside Buckley was perfect also. Although their greatness on set did outshine most of the supporting cast who had a daytime cheap tv drama feel about them although this did not take to much away. Also anything involving whispering Bob Harris has to be worth seeing. A feel good romp of a film.

The main character is a foul-mouthed impulsive hard-drinking ex-con neglectful mother of two with delusions of making it big in Nashville. She somehow is also a sympathetic character, and is beautifully played by Jessie Buckley. You might need subtitles occasionally to catch the full Glaswegian abuse and humour she manages to spout out. Other standouts are her two little children - remarkable performances by both - and a pretty impressive bit of character acting by Julie Walters as her despairing mum - complete with what sounded a decent accent, if a Sassenach can judge that. As for the music and the plot.... it does the job but for me only occasionally hit the real emotional spot.