Wild Rose

I didn't have a lot of interest in seeing the big new releases over the weekend so I opted, instead, for an independent film at my favorite art house theater.  I ended up seeing Wild Rose yesterday and I absolutely loved it!  Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is a working class Scottish girl who has recently been released from prison.  She is trying to reconnect with her two young children, Wynonna (Daisy Littlefield) and Lyle (Adam Mitchell), who barely know her but she also wants to pursue her dream of becoming a country singer in Nashville.  Her disapproving mother, Marion (Julie Walters), wants her to forget about her music and take responsibility for her life and children.  She gets a job as a cleaner for a bored and wealthy woman named Susannah (Sophie Okenedo) who likes her voice and attempts to help her but Rose must ultimately decide what is most important to her.  One of the things that I liked the most about this film is that, while it involves a flawed character finding redemption (one of my very favorite themes), Rose finds her redemption in an unexpected way which makes a familiar story fresh and engaging.  Buckley is absolutely riveting in the role (I loved her in last summer's Beast) and I was especially impressed with her singing because she really lights up the screen when she performs.  Her performance at the end of the film is so poignant that I actually had a tear in my eye.  I also really enjoyed Walters as a mother who wants her daughter to avoid the mistakes she made but doesn't want to take away her hope.  I am not a huge fan of country music but I really enjoyed the music of Patsy Cline, Wynonna Judd, Tricia Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, and Kacey Musgraves used throughout.  This is a feel-good movie that I highly recommend with the proviso that there is a lot of profanity (it is set in Glasgow, after all).