[wpdevart_youtube]l_Ths6k7qXk[/wpdevart_youtube]
WILD ROSE ****
Dir: Tom Harper (15, 100 mins)
An anthem to following your dreams, Wild Rose charms thanks to its lead, the excellent Jessie Buckley, so good in the recent Beast. Buckley plays country singing Rose-Lynn, a Glaswegian with an ankle tag and two small kids who dreams of making the big time. Julie Walters is her mother, rather more realistic about her daughter finding fulfillment, fame and fortune in London. She also reminds her daughter of her responsibilities with two kids to bring up. Luckily Buckley gets financial aid from the woman whose house she cleans, a tender Sophie Okenedo and her path is eased. Marrying social realism with feelgood triumph, director Tom Harper and writer Nicole Taylor manage to steer the film away from too much sentiment and formula, but it is a star-making vehicle for Buckley. She sings with conviction and an always sympathetic desire, despite some maddening character flaws. The music has both original and old country classics, transcending in crowd-pleasing style as Buckley performs them with vigour. Genuinely uplifting.
words Keiron Self
Opens Apr 12