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Songs, passion and the truth: Jessie Buckley talks new role in ‘Wild Rose’ – Metro US

Songs, passion and the truth: Jessie Buckley talks new role in ‘Wild Rose’

Jessie Buckley

Passion and dreams go hand in hand. Everyone in life has something they yearn for either silently or out loud. Rose-Lynn Harlan played by Jessie Buckley in the new film “Wild Rose” certainly displays the latter. “Wild Rose” follows the story of the tenacious and colorful country songstress Rose-Lynn and her quest to make it to the United States and sing her way to stardom in Nashville.But life, children, a strict mother, no finances and her recent stint in prison make her dream more complicated to acheive. Jessie Buckley sat down with Metro to give the scoop on her role in “Wild Rose”, her new love of country music and why she thinks to have passion is to truly believe in yourself.

Songs, passion and the truth: Jessie Buckley talks new role in ‘Wild Rose’

Buckley, a native of Ireland, is an experienced musician but had to take on a new skill set when learning to sing the popular American genre. “There is a kind of secret country movement in Ireland and Glasgow”, says Buckley. “I had never sung country before, but I have done a bit of music. My mom’s a musician and singer so I grew up in a musical household. Getting into country and that genre of music was a whole new adventure for me–it was great, I loved it.”

Jessie Buckley

The 29-year old says it was the honesty of the music that drew her in. “For me, the thing that kind of changed my life was the lyrics that are in country. They are very simple stories about people in their day to day life doing mundane things, but they somehow manage to capture the emotion of these people. People who are dreaming about something, or struggling against something or having their heart broken, or caught being cheated on or just wanting something for themselves. It’s not something that is sparkled up, it tells a story about very real things often. The music isn’t trying to embellish in any way. It’s purely about the honesty about what the characters and people are living in the song, and that’s the truth. You have to be truthful when you sing it as well.”

That yearning and truth is what drives Rose-Lynn to continually reach for the stars, even when it seemed like the universe was against her, which for most of the film, it was. Despite the many setbacks and, to be perfectly honest, selfish actions Rose-Lynn takes in the film, her spirit is pure and tenacious, and frankly—unwilling to be broken. Something to admire, especially if you are equally yearning for a chance in life.

Jessie Buckley

“She just had a passion, and when you’re passionate about something or you fall in love with something or fall in love with someone, it can drive you mad,” says Buckley. “It can drive you to keep moving forward, and she had a kind of unbelievable self-belief that there was something more to her life than the four walls that she was allowed to dream in or live in. That kind of tenacious courage was so exciting and terrifying and definitely challenged me as a person.”

“Wild Rose” showcases the glitz and glam of a dream as well as the harsh reality of life— but the film also shows that one does not cancel out the other.

The story itself displays the desperate passion of a talented musician, but also showcases the inner struggle of accepting who you are and what you can do, not just what you want yourself to be. “I think that is the journey that she goes on. She thinks she has to run so far away from herself to be able to belong to this world, and become a different identity. Who you are and where you’re from, and the stories you have in your own life and in your heart are the stories you need to say,” says Buckley. “What she realizes is that she needs to accept that what she needs to say in her music is right back at home. Because thats all she knows, and her own individuality and her own story is powerful and beautiful– no one else can sing those songs, only her.”

“Wild Rose” is now in theaters