Wild Rose is a UK drama about a young Glaswegian woman Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) with grand plans to become a county music star. Unfortunately for her, the country music scene is Glasgow isn’t exactly thriving so something’s got to change for her dreams to come true.
The film starts as Rose is let out of prison having done some time for drug dealing. Her two kids have been in the care of her loving but frustrated mother Marion (Julie Walters) who wants Rose to settle down and become a more present mother, rather than chasing her country music dreams.
Buckley shines in this and has a beautiful singing voice. (Must track down the soundtrack!) Walters is a wonderful actress and is of course good in this but perhaps a bit underutilised.
No spoilers about what happens to Rose and her dreams but I really loved this film. It’s not predictable and Rose isn’t an entirely likeable character who you always want to rise up and fulfil her dream. She’s complicated and in fact at times very unlikeable but it’s a nice reminder that things are seldom straightforward in this life. This doesn’t feel like a saccharine story of triumph over adversity straight out of Hollywood and the film thrives because of it.
Wild Rose is a great film and I’d happily recommend it. Here’s a 3.5 star review from Fairfax which you will see I don’t agree with entirely, but it’s a different perspective if you want to read more. I think 3.5 stars is fair though it’s maybe even nudging 4 for me - this film isn’t perfect but it’s a pleasure to watch.
Wild Rose opens Thursday 13 June and is rated M. Trailer here.