WILD ROSE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Dreams plays a big part in the narrative for Tom Harper's latest feature, Wild Rose, which sees its protagonist, Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley), becoming more determined than ever to achieve her dream of travelling to Nashville and making it as a country singer. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles holding her back. She has just recently been released from a year in prison, her new job as a cleaner doesn't pay enough for plane tickets and hotels and she has two young children to look after. 

Going in, I was expecting a film that was similar to Bradley Cooper's Oscar-winning film, A Star Is Born as both stories focus on a rising star. However, Wild Rose proved to be better than what I expected and shows that the rise to fame isn't as easy as meeting a handsome man in a bar. Rose does everything she can to make her dream a reality, including getting a job as a cleaner, sending a video of her singing to the BBC, making a long journey from Glasgow to London to meet BBC Radio 2 presenter, Bob Harris, and leaving her children with her mother, Marion (Julie Walters), who isn't too happy about Rose's absence as a mother, especially after being away from them in prison. Even after making a lot of sacrifices to achieve her dream, Rose is disappointed when she finally makes it to Nashville and discovers that there a lot of people who, like her, want to be a singer.

While I enjoy superhero and action films as much as the next person, I always appreciate films like Wild Rose that are original and tell interesting stories. The script, written by Nicole Taylor, is inspiring, heartfelt, heartbreaking, funny and moving. She captures the realities of achieving a dream and all the obstacles that come with it. Throughout Wild Rose, we're rooting for Rose as we can see how passionate she is about her dream. She dresses as a country singer and is rarely seen without her fake white leather jacket and white boots to match. She also has a tattoo on her arm that says 'three chords and the truth', which was an oft quoted phrase coined by Harlan Howard in the 1950s which he used to describe country music and the name of Sara Evans' album, released in the 1990s. While the film doesn't end as expected, it ends on a high note, quite literally, with Rose singing her heart out in front of her friends and family at her local pub. 

The heart and soul of Wild Rose is, without question, Buckley. She was the perfect choice to portray Rose as she captures her fierce personality and gives a passionate performance. She also has powerful vocals to match, which is shown in several scenes throughout the film. Strong supporting performances come from Walters as Rose's mother, Marion, and Sophie Okonedo as her employer, Susannah. Both play important parts in helping her achieve her dream but also helping her to realise what's really important. Walters is known for her sweet and likable characters, including Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter films, however, as Marion, she gives an impressive dramatic performance. For the majority of Wild Rose, Marion wants Rose to be a responsible mother and believes her dream is impossible, however, she soon has a change of heart when she realises how much Rose cares about going to Nashville. While Okonedo has given small supporting roles in the past, she leaves a lasting impression as Susannah, who hires Rose as a cleaner. After discovering her talent as a singer, Susannah helps Rose to achieve her dream by sending a recording of Rose's vocals to the BBC and even hires her to perform at her birthday party. 

While dreams are the main theme of Wild Rose, family is another important theme too. In the beginning, we can clearly see Rose's relationship with her children, aged five and eight, is awkward. Being away from them has had an impact on their relationship and, at first, Rose struggles. She makes promises she can't keep, including a trip to the beach that is cancelled because it clashes with rehearsals for the performance at Susannah's party. I think that single parents, especially young mums in particular, will resonate with Rose and her situation of having two children by the time she was 18. A touching scene shows Rose hugging her daughter tightly and it's obvious that Rose has missed her children. I think that it's in this scene that Rose realises her children mean the most to her.
Wild Rose had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year and it also screened BFI London Film Festival in October. Since then, it's received mostly praise from critics, mostly for Buckley's performance and its inspiring story. With the recent releases of superhero films such as Captain Marvel, Shazam! and with the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame, being released later this month, it's easy to overlook original films such as Wild Rose, however, it deserves to be seen on the big screen and be viewed by a wide audience.
Starring Jessie Buckley in her best performance yet and with an inspiring and heartfelt story, Wild Rose is one of this year's must-see films.
8/10