Review of The Rose (1979) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

Directed by Mark Rydell (The Cowboys (1972) and On Golden Pond (1981)), this is a musical drama cut from similiar cloth to A Star is Born (1976), but this was inspired by the life of Janis Joplin, and it did start out as a biopic of her life, but as the script progressed, it became something else, and it also the film debut of a great singer.

The Rose tells the story of Mary Rose Foster (Bette Midler), who performs under the name of The Rose, she's managed by Rudge Campbell (Alan Bates), an English manager who pushes Rose to the limit, and she wants to take a break to recharge her batteries, but Rudge supplies her with drugs and shots of adrenalin to keep her going, but she's trying to get off drugs, even if she is addicted to alcohol.

After a run in with obnoxious country singer Billy Ray (Harry Dean Stanton), who tells her she can't sing any more of his songs because he believes she's a spent force, Rose finds solace in Huston Dyer (Frederic Forrest), and they soon start a romance, but Rudge isn't happy by Huston's presence, and he believes it'll distract Rose from her touring commitments.

Huston is actually AWOL from the Army, but Rose doesn't care, she thinks this could be a new beginning for her. It's the same old rise-and-fall rock and roll film, but it's well filmed and it has some lovely performances in it.

Midler is brilliant, and she can hold a note and act brilliantly too, and Alan Bates plays well against type, after years of English period dramas and plays. Rydell films the concert scenes well, and there's some good music too.

Ken Russell nearly made this film, but he turned it down in favour of Valentino (1977), imagine what could have been...