Wild Rose Review

Wild Rose is a Scottish film that attempts to combine kitchen sink realism and a story about a young person trying to succeed in the music industry. It is a film that has already received a lot of praise and centres around a fantastic rising star.

Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is the titular ‘Wild Rose,’ a talented singer and country music fanatic who served a 12-month jail term. Upon her release Rose-Lynn sets out to sing again with her goal being to go to Nashville. Rose-Lynn’s mother (Julie Walters) tells her she needs to take responsibility and look after her kids whilst Rose-Lynn’s new boss, Susannah (Sophie Okonedo) encourages the young woman to follow her dreams.

Jessie Buckley is an actress on the up. She first came to prominence in 2008 when she competed on the BBC’s I’d Do Anything – a show also gave Samantha Barks and Rachel Tucker early exposure. In recent years she has appeared more on shows like the BBC’s War and Peace and Taboo and the critically acclaimed Beast. And she knocks it out of the park for Wild Rose.

Buckley’s character is rough around the edges – she’s volatile and easily led astray. And at times she’s selfish – she lies to get herself a higher wage and pawn off her kids to other people so they can look after them. Yet these actions make Rose-Lynn more believable. She is not made out to be some woman who was wronged by the system. More politically minded directors would have made her blameless. She acted like a disruptive kid in class who never grew up. Her first action, when released from prison, was to go and meet a man for some adult activities instead of seeing her family.

Buckley was excellent in the role as a hard drinker and reckless woman who doesn’t take anything seriously but also be vulnerable. Some of the most tender scenes were when Rose-Lynn was with her family. There was doubt on her face when she was left to look after her children by herself for the first time and when she was bonding with her daughter who had been shunning her.

The film has three major themes – motherhood, ambition and class and they are all interlinked. The three main characters are all mothers and they have different outlooks and experiences. Rose-Lynn needs to learn how to be a mother and is torn between her duties and her dreams. Rose-Lynn has more affinity with Susannah’s family than her own because of the support the Englishwoman offers.

The film was directed by Tom Harper, who previously directed Buckley in War and Peace. He approached the film like it was a Ken Loach film. Most of the film was set in the less desirable areas of Glasgow and scenes like Rose-Lynn dragging her kids around so she can find childcare could have easily have fitted in a Loach drama. There is a big contrast when Rose-Lynn works for Susannah who lives in a big house with an automatic gate. Susannah ends up being the one who opens doors for Rose-Lynn because she has the contacts and makes more progress with just one e-mail. But Susannah is also made out to be a bit of a snob leading to Rose hiding the fact she has children.

However, in the digital age, it is easier for a creative to put their material online and make contacts. You can go easily go on Youtube and find many aspiring singers upload videos or join a Facebook group. The film’s justification is Rose-Lynn doesn’t see things through and feels awkward when recording a video with Susannah and her children in the room.

Rose-Lynn does get to meet one of her idols and she says ‘who has ever heard of a country singer in Glasgow.’ In Britain there has been a mini-boom of acts being influenced by country music like Ward Thomas and The Wandering Hearts. However, this is a recent trend so Wild Rose deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Wild Rose is not all drama and social commentary, the writer and director ensure there were lighter moments. Rose-Lynn is witty and does come up with some zingers. There was a fantasy sequence when Rose-Lynn cleans the house – a band plays around her as she dances and hoovers the house. When Rose-Lynn does arrive in Nashville it was shot with a sunny, dreamlike haze as she enters her promise land.

Considering Buckley’s performing origins she performs the majority soundtrack. Almost all the songs were covers, except the final song – “Glasgow (No Place Like Home.)” It is a fitting song for the film and hopefully it’s an early contender for an Oscar.

Wild Rose was able to be a film that was able to mix gritty British drama and being able to capture a mainstream audience with its musical story. It should be able to please both demographics.