Wild Rose is an emotional and musical journey well worth taking
A film about a Scottish ex-con, mother of two, country music singer trying to make it in Nashville? Who wouldn’t want to watch that?
Wild Rose follows Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley), a young mother fresh out of prison who, as a talented country singer, has spent her whole life dreaming of Nashville and the opportunities that the city could offer her. Reunited with her two young children, Wynonna (Daisy Littlefield) and Lyle (Adam Mitchell), Rose-Lynn is faced with the reality of motherhood and what that means in relation to pursuing her dreams.
Directed by Tom Harper, Wild Rose moves away from the traditional, shiny tale of stardom and instead brings an element of truth and sensibility to chasing fame that is not often present in such films. Writer Nicole Taylor threads this concept of real-world truth through the script, making for a much more relatable and realistic drama.
Though the majority of the film is set in Glasgow, there is a piece of Nashville mixed in that highlights the total juxtaposition between the American country music hub and Rose-Lynn’s own childhood home. It invites this idea that we can spend years creating fantasies in our minds of what life should look like, only to find that what we had to begin with was actually pretty good.
There are some serious character developments that takes place throughout the film, with the two key players being Rose-Lynn and her mother, Marion (Julie Walters). The two, though on separate journeys, gradually come to terms both with one another and with themselves.
The soundtrack to Wild Rose is all-country and all-entertaining, and if you’re any sort of country music fan like I am, you’ll be listening to it on repeat for days. A combination of old and new, there are originals from the likes of Emmylou Harris, Wynonna Judd and John Prine, as well as covers performed by Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley) herself.
Rose-Lynn’s singing gave me chills and if the only reason that you watch the film is to see her final song, then it’ll be worth it. Wild Rose is an emotional and musical journey well worth taking.
Reviewed by Maya Anne.
