Wild Rose

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 (2018) quite often resembles those of Ken Loach's films with this inevitability that seems inescapable.

A very pleasant surprise!

BAFTA named Jessie Buckley as one of their "Rising Stars" for 2019, and here she proves why.

Buckley plays Glaswegian Rose-Lynn Harlan, a decidedly wild child electronically tagged and released from the clink but straight down to some very public cowgirl sex with her erstwhile boyfriend. Only then does she have the afterthought of going round to the house of her Mum (Julie Walters) where two young children live. For Rose-Lynn is a single mum of two (#needs-to-be-more-careful-with-the-cowgirl-stuff), and the emotional damage metered out to the youngsters from her wayward life is fully evident.

Rose-Lynn is a frustrated 'country-and-weste'... no, sorry... just 'western' singer, and she has a talent for bringing the house down in Glasgow during a show. The desire to 'make it big' in Nashville is bordering on obsession, and nothing - not her mum, not her children, nothing - will get in her way.

Rose-Lynn has no idea how to make her dream come true. (And no, she doesn't bump into Bradley Cooper at this point). But things look up when she lies her way to a cleaning job for the middle class Susannah (Sophie Okonedo) who sees the talent in her and comes up with a couple of innovative ways to move her in the right direction.

Will she get out of her Glasgow poverty trap and rise to fame and fortune as a Nashville star?

Rose-Lynn is not an easy character to like. She is borderline sociopathic and has a self-centred selfish streak a mile wide. As she tramples all over her offspring's young lives, breaking each and every promise like clockwork, then you just want to shout at her and give her a good shaking. It's a difficult line for the film to walk (did the ghost of Johnny Cash make me write that?) and it only barely walks it unscathed.

A key shout-out needs to go to director Tom Harper ("Woman in Black 2", and the TV epic "War and Peace") and his cinematographer of choice George Steel. Some of the angles and framed shots are exquisitely done. A fantastic dance sequence through Susannah's house (the best since Hugh Grant's No. 10 "Jump" in "Love Actually") reveals the associated imaginary musicians in various alcoves reminiscent of the drummer in "Birdman". And there are a couple of great drone shots: one (no spoilers) showing Rose-Lynn leaving a party is particularly effective.

The camera simply loves Jessie Buckley. She delivers real energy in the good times and real pathos in the bad. She can - assuming it's her performing - also sing! (No surprise since she was, you might remember, runner up to Jodie Prenger in the BBC search for a "Maria" for Lloyd Webber's "Sound of Music"). She is certainly one to watch on the acting stage.

Supporting Buckley in prime roles are national treasure Julie Walters, effecting an impressive Glaswegian accent, and Sophie Okonedo, who is one of those well-known faces from TV that you can never quite place. BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris also turns up as himself, being marvellously unconvincing as an actor!

But I don't like country music you might say? Frankly neither do I. But it hardly matters. As long as you don't ABSOLUTELY LOATHE it, I predict you'll tolerate the tunes and enjoy the movie. Followers of this blog might remember that - against the general trend - I was highly unimpressed with "A Star is Born". This movie I enjoyed far, far more.

(For the full graphical review please visit One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).

I've struggled to conjure sufficient praiseworthy adjectives to describe this movie but ultimately they would all relate to the sublime Jessie Buckley who provides us with a 'to die for' performance that takes your breath away and leaves you absolutely astounded and in awe that such talent exists - absolutely outstanding!

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.

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