Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * *
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, Craig Parkinson, Jamie Sives, Gemma McElhinney, James Harkness, Bob Harris, Ashley Shelton, Tracy Wiles, Daniel Campbell, Blair Kincaid, Janey Godley, James McElvar, Rachel Pearl, Vanya Eadie, J. Thomas Bailey, Sondra Morton, Lee Ann Maloney, Justin Hand, Patti Aagaard, Stuart Nisbit, Neil MacColl.
A film that relies on the visual cliche, no matter how well intentioned, is going to surely, and regrettably, be seen as nothing more than touching the very basic of emotions in an audience more than used to a more than likely ending, series of conflicting acts that lead up to the resolution and the moment of telegraphed outcomes that are going to be signalled from the opening scenes.
It takes an actor of flowering genius to get the audience past those moments and to keep them interested in the story unfolding, it requires a depth of acting prowess on all parts to see past the overstated, and for the film Wild Rose, it is particularly fortuitous that Jessie Buckley was the right person for the part of aspiring Country singer Rose-Lyn Harlan.
Whilst the underlying message of the film was continually, and arguably rightfully pointed out, that hard-work is the building block in which success is appreciated, it didn’t add anything to the overall charm of the film, the few loop holes, perhaps always understandable in a story which wants to prick at the conscious of the cinema-goer, are in this case, glaring and detract from the real-life consequences in which Rose-Lyn would have found herself in; it is in all of the possible setbacks that Jessie Buckley strives, and succeeds, in at least making Wild Rose a watchable film, rather than just a formula that would have been completely avoidable after the first ten minutes.
Facing up to your responsibilities is understood, the point of dreams is to make the reality and situations in which we find ourselves in more palatable, and sometimes we must experience the dream to know that it might never be possible, or to drive us on, to keep plugging away, the trouble with Wild Rose is that its intentions were set in concrete from the beginning, and by default making it fairly obvious of how the film would play out. A direct comparison to the kitchen sink dramas that were created with a certain style, but one that does not live up to billing and respect they all attained.
A film that is carried by one actor in particular has a difficult job in keeping the attention of the viewer, and for Wild Rose, in Jessie Buckley they have at least kept the cinema goer in their chair.
Ian D. Hall