Review: Wild Rose

Image courtesy of Neon

"May all your heartbreaks be songs, and may all your songs be hits," a woman tells Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley), an ex-con with aspirations to be a country music star in Nashville. Yes, Rose-Lynn's story is the cliched stuff that has made up the dreams of stardom in more films than I can count - in the past year alone. But what makes the film unique is the fact that our heroine is a Scottish lass with a thick brogue, and what makes her story compelling is that she is trying to balance her dreams with taking care of two young children whom she hasn't seen for a year while she was in prison.

It also helps that Buckley has great presence. She convincingly gives a performance that depicts a hot mess of an individual who has never quite grown up, but eventually learns that doing so isn't so bad. Julie Walters is also memorable as Marion, Rose-Lynn's mother, who is watchfully protective of her two grandchildren and willing to give healthy doses of tough love to her often-astray daughter.

As Rose-Lynn departs the prison, where she's spent a year for unwittingly helping to transport a package of heroin, a fellow inmate tells her that she'll be "the next Dolly Parton." Something along those lines is what Rose-Lynn hopes to accomplish.

But upon her arrival back in the free world, she must tend to her young son and quiet daughter, who clearly feel uncomfortable around her, and work as a house cleaner for an almost unbelievably munificent woman named Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), whose sole existence appears to revolve around ensuring that Rose-Lynn succeeds after discovering her terrific voice and passion for country music.

Thankfully, "Wild Rose" isn't slavish to the cliches of this genre - which has seen a number of entries as of late, including the fourth version of "A Star is Born" and "Teen Spirit," both good by the way - and skips the whole rise and fall element that has become customary to music-based dramas. In Rose-Lynn's case, there's a whole lot more falling than rising, although the film's somewhat tidy ending seeks to fix that.

Buckley makes an impressive breakthrough performance. She sings the songs in "Wild Rose," and has a pretty fabulous voice. She also gives a convincing performance as a reckless individual who learns to become a responsible one. It's also somewhat refreshing that her character is one who is occasionally difficult to root for - while we hope she achieves her goal, she's also pretty selfish along the way.  While Rose-Lynn isn't always likable, she is compelling and human.

The film's final section - before that tidy ending back in Glasgow - involves a trip to Nashville, during which Rose-Lynn attempts to determine if life as a country music star is one that she actually wants to pursue. A hotel clerk makes a comment about the length of her stay, and it's true that the Nashville scenes are a little slight, considering the buildup to Rose-Lynn arriving there. That being said, while "Wild Rose" often feels like a variation of a familiar tune, the picture's setting and lead performance give it a unique spin that makes it well worth one's time.