Review of Country Strong (2010) by Charles W — 26 May 2013

I usually find RT's critic ratings to be spot on but sometimes, as in this case, they are simply way off the mark. For sure the film is not Casablanca, and there are indeed plot weaknesses, but this is a sensitive and convincing account of the highs and lows of pursuing professional music in any context. I know several professional / semi-pro musicians and they tend to have lives full of contradictions and complications which all seem to resolve for a few golden hours when they perform.

I thought the script was generally good with few wasted words. It's often what's NOT said that makes this watchable - clearly the Hedlund and Paltrow characters have crossed the line beyond 'sponsorship' but this is not shoved in our faces, and the details are cleverly left unresolved. The scene with the leukaemia boy is heavily criticised but I found it totally straightforward - it gives Kelly a bittersweet moment to remember that her disastrous marital and addiction problems are actually less than those of some others, and she is able, for a few minutes, to find her original 'pre-star' self and the first innocence of her relationship with McGraw's character.

I also found that the effect of the film depends on listening with high-quality sound or headphones - I would defy even non-country lovers not to be moved by the genuine quality of the live-performed music, for example in the early scene where Hedlund rescues Meester; just watching the band playing actually gave me goosebumps...

RT gives Premium Rush 76% - I'm not a dispatch rider but I found that film totally forgettable - and compared to this the 22% for Country Strong is ridiculous.