Set in Glasgow, the film follows Rose-Lynn, who is just out of prison, but still harbours dreams of going to Nashville and becoming a country star. However, her mother tries to make her see her children need her...
The rags-to-riches type of story often follows the familiar route; rising star hits a setback and then redeems herself getting what she desires at the end. The clever thing about Wild Rose, is that it follows that general cliche and yet still pulls a few surprising developments along the way.
It has a terrific script from Nicole Taylor and is very well directed by Tom Harper. The material and direction has plenty of strong writing for the actors to get their teeth into and Harper stages the singing scenes very well indeed.
Julie Walters is superb as Marion, Rose-Lynn's mother, hoping she'll have grown up while in prison and ready to take responsibility for her children. Sophie Okonedo is Susannah, a woman, Rose-Lynn works for, who takes an interest in her and her career. She too is pretty good. The supporting cast aren't bad either and there are cameos from radio DJ Bob Harris and country singer Kacey Musgraves
But this film belongs totally to Jessie Buckley.
Superb in 2017's film Beast, she is even better here. She has a hell of a singing voice, but it's in the other parts of the film she shines. She's funny, handles the more dramatic scenes very well indeed and by the end of the film has made a character, one who shines in the spotlight but whose life is a mess out of it, a character you truly root for, as the film reaches it's climax in a way that fits the story perfectly.
It's a wonderful film that is emotionally charged with a superb soundtrack. It is almost certainly a film that will be among my favourites of this year. It's a film that should, if she isn't already, make Jessie Buckley a star.
It's simply a film not to be missed.
Rating: 4/5
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