Wild Rose

Movie Information

Direct from Scotland, this femme country music fairy tale is so painfully realistic, you ache for it turn out to be true.
Score:

Genre: Drama/Musical
Director: Tom Harper
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo
Rated: R

We’ve seen a slew of music movies this summer, some based in fact (e.g. Rocketman) and one straight-up fantasy in Yesterday. Gloriously in between is Wild Rose, a femme country-music fairy tale that’s so painfully realistic, you ache for it turn out to be true.

Skillfully directed by Tom Harper (War Book), the film is powered by a fantastic singalong soundtrack of traditional favorites and new tunes co-written by screenwriter Nicole Taylor and star Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl). Men are pivotal to the plot — gentle heroes and dirty rotten scoundrels alike — but they’re minor players. Center stage in Wild Rose are women who chase their passions and try to be good mothers, too.

Like thousands of other young women gifted with a terrific voice, Rose-Lynn Harlan (Buckley, a native of Killarney, Ireland) dreams of going to Nashville. Unfortunately, she lives in Glasgow, Scotland, about 4,000 miles away. She’s got two young kids but no husband. And, after a year in prison, Rose has to wear an electronic monitor inside her white cowboy boot — which puts a crimp in wild nights with her band at the Glasgow Grand Ole Opry.

Aye, but Rose comes from fierce Celtic stock. No matter how many times life cruelly throws her left curves — I haven’t gone soppy so many times in a movie in ages — Rose picks herself up and recharges, with laser focus, on her dream. Her mum, Marion (Dame Julie Walters, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), wanting her daughter to give up her “nonsense,” forces Rose to take a job as a “daily woman” and clean houses.

In a stunning Glasgow mansion, Rose meets Susannah (Sophie Okonedo, Hellboy) who, astonishingly, becomes her Fairy Godmother and arranges a grand party to raise money to send Rose to Nashville. Alas, like many artists, Rose is her own worst enemy, which means even magic dust can’t cure self-destruction.

But dry those tears, fairy tale lovers — there are more twists and turns to come, and by the end of this totally unbelievable, illogical, heartbreaking film, you’ll toe-tap out of the theater.

Now playing at Grail Moviehouse

SHARE
About Marcianne Miller
Marcianne Miller worked production in Hollywood for many years and wrote movie reviews In L.A. and Asheville, radio and print including Mountain Xpress (during Ken Hanke's first 5 years), Rapid River and Bold Life. Member: SEFCA and NCFCA.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “Wild Rose

  1. Owen Halpeny

    Rainy day, cozy theater, good friend, and Wild Rose. Perfect! Except for a bit of struggle with the heavy accent in the first half, it was it was complete delightful. The cinematography is impressive.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.