So I just chose the film I was most certain not to want to leave unwatched when I return my DVDs to the library, which turned out to be Tom Harper's Wild Rose.
It only might be the closing night film, because if you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I've declared this a best-of-11 series, in sporting terms. I've been keeping a running tally of whether each film could only be seen for free by me on a DVD from the library, or whether I could also see it on one of my streaming services, checking on the latter only after I'd finished watching so as not to spoil the fun. If the former, DVD got a point. If the latter, streaming got a point.
Streaming led 5-4 going into night #10 of the festival, so that meant that if last night's film was also available on streaming, streaming would clinch the win, as it would no longer be possible for DVD to retake the lead on night #11. So night #11 would not be necessary at all and would be cancelled, as occurs in the professional baseball, basketball and hockey playoffs.
At one point I was considering watching all of the remaining DVDs I borrowed, which totals about four or five more. But lockdown officially ends in Melbourne on Thursday night, plus we may be let out of our close-contact isolation if/once our COVID tests come back negative today. So if this is truly a "lockdown" fest, it should end no later than Thursday's night #11.
Whether we'll have night #11 or not is something we won't find out until the end of this post.
In the meantime, let's talk Wild Rose.
I had sort of dismissed this film when it came out a couple years ago. Don't know why, really, but I can tell you that I was initially skeptical of actress Jessie Buckley. Don't know why on that front either. I know she didn't win any points with me by appearing in Dolittle, but this was before that. Sometimes when you get just a small taste of an actor from clips or a trailer or what have you, you don't "get" them yet. I definitely didn't "get" Jessie Buckley at first.
Boy has that changed since then.
I could swear I'm Thinking of Ending Things was not my only recent exposure to Buckley -- she's in the most recent season of Fargo, but I'm actually two seasons behind on Fargo. But I'm Thinking of Ending Things was enough. Simply put, I was floored by her performance in my #1 movie of last year. Figured it was time to circle back to the film where I'd first heard her name.
She plays an aspiring Scottish country singer named Rose-Lynn Harlan, and we meet her when she's getting released from prison. She's that type, as you might guess from the adjective in the film's title. Her voice is about the only thing she has going for her, as she's neglecting two children under the age of ten (can't help but neglect children when you're in prison) and she rubs people the wrong way with her crude manner. Holding a job would seem to be a problem, but at least she's got a forgiving new employer in the person of Sophie Okonedo, who hires her as a housekeeper as Rose-Lynn tries to make the money she needs to go to Nashville to try to hit it big.
Wild Rose does not deviate significantly from what you would expect -- the moments of optimism, the arguments, the big fall from grace, the redemption. It's all there and it's not particularly surprising. But the film is really solidly crafted, and Buckley is terrific. I looked up to see if Buckley is actually Scottish, and it turns out she's Irish -- which just feeds into my whole eternal confusion of whether something is a Scottish accent or an Irish accent when I hear it with no other reference point. Since this is set in Glasgow, obviously I have the reference point. But I've loved Buckley in two roles, and neither of them featured her native accent. That's talent.
I will say, there were certain points where I more got the gist of what was going on than followed it perfectly. English-born Julie Walters plays her mother, and she also does a very good Scottish accent. So when they're arguing with each other, I can really only pick out every third word, and there were whole passages I just sort of had to wave off as something I didn't fully understand. That's where the plot benefits from being fairly predictable.
Still, I want the lingering impression of this film to be only praise. It really got to me, especially in a powerhouse final song that nearly had me in tears.
Now: the important business. Will we be having one final night of this festival?
Yes. Yes we will.
Wild Rose is not currently available on Netflix, Stan, Amazon, Kanopy or Disney+, so indeed, the decisive Game 11 will be Thursday night, when this tie is 5-5 tie is broken once and for all, and this 11-day festival comes to its end.
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