Wild Rose

Already proving herself an actor to watch with her starring role in the British thriller "Beast," Jessie Buckley ("Chernobyl") solidifies her talent with a star-making performance in director Tom Harper's "Wild Rose."

While we've seen many stories of a small town girl (or boy) wanting to make it as a singer, "Wild Rose" has a bit of a twist. Rose-Lynn (Buckley) is a twenty-four-year girl in Glasglow, Scotland who is just released from a year in prison after being arrested for selling heroin. She returns home to her two children and her disapproving mother (Julie Walters) to start over. While she quickly gets a job cleaning a rich woman's house (Sophie Okonedo) to make ends meet, her real dream is to become a country singer in Nashville. As she describes it, she was born in the wrong country. "I'm an American!"

While she's played at a local club called "Glasglow's Grand Ole' Opry" since she was fourteen, Rose-Lyn dreams of playing at the real Opry but has no money to get there. Not only that, she knows that her two distant kids have to be her priority. And while her intentions are good, Rose-Lyn doesn't always make the best decisions. Her journey to realize her dreams – in whatever form they eventually take – is the heart of "Wild Rose," and what makes this oft-told tale so special.

Written by Nicole Taylor (many UK television shows), the script doesn't have any false beats in how it deals with Rose-Lyn's relationship with her kids and her mother. She hides a lot of her life from her employer Susannah (Okonedo) who eventually tries to help Rose-Lyn achieve her dreams. But it always seems like Rose-Lyn is getting in her own way or finds that life pushes her in ways she never expected.

Buckley is a force here. Not only is she an incredibly gifted actor who can make you feel a hundred emotions just with a flick of her pained eyes, but the girl can sing her face off. Like Lady Gaga in last year's "A Star is Born," every time Buckley sings the audience gets a thrill. Whether she croons quietly a capella or full-throated in a bar, Rose-Lyn is a performer through and through and Buckley brings her to vibrant life.

"Wild Rose" doesn't always go in the directions you expect, but none of what happens is all that surprising either. But it is the authentic dialogue by Taylor, the naturalistic direction by Harper, and the stunning performance by Buckley (matched by a lovely supporting turn by Walters) that makes this film so special. It's a crowd-pleaser for sure and will hopefully make a worldwide star out of Buckley.