Butler's Cinema Scene

Jessie Buckley

“WILD ROSE” My rating: B

101 minutes | MPAA rating: R

The struggling young artist with an impossible musical dream has been a movie staple since the advent of sound.

Tom Harper’s “Wild Rose” recycles many of the usual tropes before putting a distinctive spin on the genre; above all else this Scottish film heralds the arrival of Jessie Buckley as a major talent.

We’ve seen the Irish-born Buckley before. In 2013’s “Beast” she played a withdrawn girl who falls for a boy who may be a serial killer; she was terrific but the movie was too much of a downer to create much buzz.

This is not the case with “Wild Rose.”

We meet Buckley’s Rose-Lynn on her last day in prison on a drug conviction. Outfitted with an ankle monitor (which she hides inside a pair of white cowboy boots) she returns to the two young children she left behind — though not before a quick shag in the park with her ex and a visit to Glasgow’s version of the Grand Ole Opry, a country music emporium that was once her home base.

The homecoming is strained. Her son and daughter have all but forgotten her and her mother (the great Julie Waters), who has been caring for them in Rose-Lynn’s absence, is more than a little dubious of her errant daughter’s commitment to responsibility.

Here’s the thing: Rose-Lynn isn’t just an accomplished screwup (though she is); she’s also  a country music fanatic whose forearm bears a tattoo reading “Three chords and the truth,” her explanation of country music’s essence. All her life she has dreamed of singing professionally…but a Scottish country singer? C’mon.

Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters

Nicole Taylor’s screenplay unfolds in several arenas.  On the home front Rose-Lynn must prove herself to her kids, who treat her like a stranger.

Her workdays are spent cleaning the posh mansion of a well-to-do wife and mother, Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), with whom Rose-Lynn develops a relationship in which she is as much gal pal as employee.

Upon hearing her maid’s singing voice (Buckley really does have a terrific set of pipes), Susannah encourages her to travel down to London to meet the legendary BBC country music deejay Bob Harris (playing himself), who approves of what he hears.

But Rose-Lynn’s ultimate goal — to prove herself in Nashville — is elusive. Eventually our protagonist will have to decide what matters more…her dream or her kids?

She  does make it to Tennessee and even sings on the stage of the legendary Ryman Theatre, but “Wild Rose” sidesteps the anticipated rags-to-riches denouement in favor or something far more subtle and satisfying.

Still, the film ends with our girl belting out a beautiful tune called “Glasgow” (co-written by Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen), nudging the audience out the exits wrapped in a happy glow.

A couple of things account for “Wild Rose” working so well despite the well-traveled territory. First there is director Harper’s narrative style, essentially a nod to British dustbin drama and working-class life lit up with a few moments of magic realism.

The other is the performers– especially Buckley, Walters and Okonedo — who make of their characters full-blown personalities even when the plotting threatens to veer into cliche.

They’re so good we know what’s going on even when the thick Scottish accents turn the dialogue into a muddy brogue.

| Robert W. Butler