When asked why she believes in country music, Rose Lynn-Harlan points to a tattoo on her arm: “Three chords and the truth”. It’s a short and simple answer, but there’s something beautiful about its authenticity. In Wild Rose, we follow Rose in the pursuit of the grand dream of her life: becoming a country musician. She passionately chases this despite the chains of reality holding her back. Is this the most original premise in the world? Not really, as there are already plenty of “struggling artist” movies out there. However, what sets this magical film apart is its realistic take on the realization of dreams.

As a poor ex-convict mother of two, Rose is an incredibly sympathetic protagonist with many understandable struggles, but she also possesses this inner strength to her that ensures she is never an object of pity. A lot of this is due to the fantastic performance given by Jessie Buckley, an actress I admire greatly. She brings boundless energy to this sunny character and just utterly mesmerized me here. Buckley also mentioned in several interviews that she was able to connect deeply with this story due to the parallels she drew with her own life. She harnesses this in her acting spectacularly, as Rose is made all the more real because of this. What is even more impressive is that she performed all of the songs herself, and even wrote a few of them. Suffice it to say, without Jessie Buckley, this would be a very different film, and I don’t think that it would have worked as well as it did.

Wild Rose, like its opening credits song “Country Girl,” is uninhibited, courageous, and free. It is a joyous celebration of country music as well as a loving reminder of the beauty of the place you come from. It is also one of my all-time favorite films because of the simple fact that I can’t help but smile whenever I think about it. This is the power of film; it can give you strength and optimism with just one frame. Because as soon as Rose finds herself on the stage, I know the whole world will shine with her light.

10/10