Is Wild Rose the new rising star in musical dramas? Is a certain crowd-favourite about to be knocked off it's perch? Wild Rose definitely does its darnedest.

 

Wild Rose is Glasgow's answer to Hollywood. Upon leaving jail and returning to her two children, Rose-Lynn has more gusto than ever about achieving her country-singing dreams. But with a home detention bracelet, a mother pushing her to independence and kids who almost see he as a stranger, it's a complicated road to stardom. Doors open and doors close, it's one seriously tear-jerking journey.

 

Throughout we hear the absolute treat that is Jessie Buckley's voice, whether in a rip-roaring tune or slow and sweet country melody, her voice is pure gold. Buckley is a down-to-earth Rose-Lynn, visibly torn in so many directions and feeling the weight of every choice she has made. Her mum Marion is played by Julie Walters who is simply perfection. Her part in the film is so integral and wholly unmissable, she is a true stand-out in this movie (and may I say perhaps in every movie she touches). 

 

Now, what I'm about to say is most likely an unpopular opinion, but in light of Wild Rose, it must be said - I wasn't sold on A Star Is Born.

 

There has been a lot of comparison between Wild Rose and A Star Is Born, and it's hard not to when there are so many pillar parallels - a little country music, an undiscovered talent, addiction..the list goes on. When I left the cinema I felt like Wild Rose is the real-life version of the undeniably Hollywood, A Star Is Born. It was a story I could believe, which made the heartbreak even more impacting. But let's not spend another word on A Star Is Born, because Wild Rose deserves as much spotlight as possible.

 

Dreams can be big, life can seem bigger. Wild Rose is a Scottish flick to send your heart soaring.