Wild Rose (15.)
Directed by Tom Harper.
Starring Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, Jamie Sives, James Harkness and Craig Parkinson. 100 mins
In this Glaswegian set drama about a single mum who is an aspiring country singer, Jessie Buckley gets to play Julie Walters' daughter. Which is appropriate because, on the evidence of this, Buckley really is a chip off that old block, somebody we'll be watching for decades. Wild Rose is a downbeat uplift movie; it's an awkward fusing of two of British cinema's favoured styles, the plucky underdog tale and kitchen sink social drearlism.
It starts with Rose (Buckley) coming out of prison and being awkwardly reunited with her two kids who have been staying with her mum (Walters.) She still wants to pursue her dreams of being a country singer but mother thinks it's time to buckle down and attend to her responsibilities. Fortunately for her, she finds herself a patron in the shape of a gullible rich lady (Okenedo) who thinks it would be a nice project to try and push along her career.
The film is interesting in that it explores the dark underbelly of all the follow-your-dreams guff that our culture pumps out; yes You Can Do It, but probably only by sacrificing your family life. It is honest about its leading character, not disguising that for all her qualities she is a bit of a handful and somebody who uses people. Wild Rose is full of moments that seem crafted from real experience, painful real experience. But each of these are counterbalanced by something soft, silly or contrived.
It is the two leads that make the film. Walters has been consistently exceptional for around four decades but she still comes at it with something to prove. If you didn't know you'd think she was a Glaswegian granny the crew had screen-tested and decided to have play herself. Buckley I only know from this, and last year's Beast. They are two entirely different roles - Beast was an insular role, contained, while Rose is all outgoings - but both of them were played like they were the kind of character she always did. She is such a screen natural I still can't get my head around the idea that she was the runner up in the desperate showbiz wannabe steeplechase of BBC Lloyd Webber talent show I'd Do Anything.
Directed by Tom Harper.
Starring Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, Jamie Sives, James Harkness and Craig Parkinson. 100 mins
In this Glaswegian set drama about a single mum who is an aspiring country singer, Jessie Buckley gets to play Julie Walters' daughter. Which is appropriate because, on the evidence of this, Buckley really is a chip off that old block, somebody we'll be watching for decades. Wild Rose is a downbeat uplift movie; it's an awkward fusing of two of British cinema's favoured styles, the plucky underdog tale and kitchen sink social drearlism.
It starts with Rose (Buckley) coming out of prison and being awkwardly reunited with her two kids who have been staying with her mum (Walters.) She still wants to pursue her dreams of being a country singer but mother thinks it's time to buckle down and attend to her responsibilities. Fortunately for her, she finds herself a patron in the shape of a gullible rich lady (Okenedo) who thinks it would be a nice project to try and push along her career.
The film is interesting in that it explores the dark underbelly of all the follow-your-dreams guff that our culture pumps out; yes You Can Do It, but probably only by sacrificing your family life. It is honest about its leading character, not disguising that for all her qualities she is a bit of a handful and somebody who uses people. Wild Rose is full of moments that seem crafted from real experience, painful real experience. But each of these are counterbalanced by something soft, silly or contrived.
It is the two leads that make the film. Walters has been consistently exceptional for around four decades but she still comes at it with something to prove. If you didn't know you'd think she was a Glaswegian granny the crew had screen-tested and decided to have play herself. Buckley I only know from this, and last year's Beast. They are two entirely different roles - Beast was an insular role, contained, while Rose is all outgoings - but both of them were played like they were the kind of character she always did. She is such a screen natural I still can't get my head around the idea that she was the runner up in the desperate showbiz wannabe steeplechase of BBC Lloyd Webber talent show I'd Do Anything.
