Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
An ex-con from Glasgow tries to resume her dream of becoming a Nashville country singer but struggles to balance her passion with her domestic responsibilities as a mother to two young children.
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| In "Wild Rose," Jessie Buckley plays Rose-Lynn Harlan, a Scottish free spirit who sings and performs to pursue her dream of being a country singer. (Image Source) |
We all have lifelong aspirations, but we all also have responsibilities, and that goes double for people who have children. Unfortunately, those duties can often interfere with the pursuit of one's passion. Such is the case for Rose-Lynn, the lead character in director Tom Harper's 2019 film "Wild Rose." Written by Nicole Taylor, the story follows Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley), a 20-something-year-old woman from Glasgow who aspires to get to Nashville, Tenessee so she can pursue her dream of becoming a country singer. She has just finished a year-long stretch in prison and has two young children, Wynonna and Lyle (Daisy Littlefield and Adam Mitchell), at home that her mother Marion (Julie Walters) has been taking care of while she was away. Rose has a desperate need to sing and has to keep her dream of getting to Nashville alive to be happy. Her mom, however, wants her to grow up, to put her own wants aside, and to start taking responsibility for herself and her children. Rose takes a job cleaning houses so she can begin to build a life for her and her kids. Rose's new employer, Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), encourages her to chase her goal and gives her the hope she needs to make her dream a reality. Marion fears Rose's kids will once again be left behind in the fray.
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| Susannah (Sophie Okonedo) employs Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley) as a housecleaner so she can save up money to travel to Nashville in the 2019 film "Wild Rose." (Image Source) |
In some ways, "Wild Rose" follows the tried and true "dreamer" narrative that showcases a talented artist striving to make it as a performer while their parents tell them to get real and get a job. "Wild Rose" is also a character piece about a woman coming to terms with the reality of her situation as she struggles to find happiness with what she has. For most of us, our 20s are supposed to be a time to be independent, to get a little bit wild, and to discover what you really want out of life. Rose, on the other hand, is in her early 20s and already has two kids. She has also had to give up a year of her life due to her careless behavior. But, it's not just about what Rose wants from her life and from her dream, it's about the well being of her children and how their relationship with her will be moving forward now that she's out of jail. Some parents are contented to live vicariously through their kids. They let their happiness be directly linked to the happiness and success of their children. Not everyone gets to live that way. Some people may wind up seeing their kids as roadblocks to their aspirations and will only find misery if they give up their hopes, which leads to resentment towards their kids. In the early parts of this film, Rose tramples all over her kids as she goes from place to place without thinking about what they need or want. She picks fights with people, has a penchant for the drink, and she lies to her kids and leaves them with neighbors so she can proceed to do what she wants. She resents having to be home at a court-mandated time and frequently breaks her promises to her son and daughter. Some viewers may be angry watching Rose put herself first, but we often felt empathetic towards her situation. You can't just tell people to let go of what they want out of life, they have to have that journey on their own and discover what's really important to them. That is the path we share with Rose as she learns to appreciate, love, and care for what she has in life, even if it means putting "three chords and the truth" on the backburner.
As we mentioned, we found the story to be on par with what we've seen from other independent character sketches as of late, but the story was compelling enough to keep us invested in Rose's life path. It helps (immensely) that Jessie Buckley gives a marvelous performance, and she plays the part of the carefree, struggling singer/mother to perfection. She also has an excellent singing voice, which makes us believe that she has the bonafide potential to make it as a Nashville country singer. Buckley's performance is top tier and deserving of recognition...it's a damn shame she's not getting awards attention this year. We're not country music fans, but many of the songs, particularly "Glasgow," are heartfelt, exceedingly fitting, and superbly well written. We found that the ending elevated the movie as a whole as it strikes a brilliant emotional chord that makes watching Rose's story worthwhile.
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| Julie Walters embraces Jessie Buckley, Daisy Littlefield, and Adam Mitchell in "Wild Rose" (2019), available to watch now on Hulu. (Image Source) |
Despite being pretty predictable, we were satisfied watching "Wild Rose." We can't wait to see more of Jessie Buckley in the future.
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.2/10
RT Rating: 93%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!
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