Voice of Country | "Country Strong" Film Review

"Country Strong" Film Review

I'll admit it...during the first half of the advance screening of "Country Strong", I began to squirm in my seat. There were a number of reasons: some cliched scenes, a very uneven script, some unbelievable charaterizations.

But I'm glad I didn't leave early. The picture improved substantially in the second half, and by the time the credits rolled, I was a believer.

The strongest reasons to see "Country Strong" are its stars, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. Gwyneth, as would be expected, gives an outstanding performance as a substance-abusing, emotionally disturbed Country superstar. As has been widely reported, she did all the vocals for her songs in the film and performed superbly in this respect, as well.

Perhaps to the suprise of some, Tim McGraw also shines in his role as husband/manager to Paltrow's character, Kelly Canter. Tim displays a newly found acting prowess in his subtle facial expressions as well as the delivery of his lines. He is thoroughly convincing in a complicated part as he portrays a host of simultaneous and conflicting emotions that wrack his character throughout the film. Even Tim's hairpiece looks amazingly real (is this CGI or just expert rug-work?)...

Of the four major characters, Tim is (ironically) the only one who doesn't sing. The two main supporting roles are the support acts on Paltrow's comeback tour, one male and one female. The music, it must be said, is one of the high points of the film. In fact, one of the most enjoyable sequences in the whole movie is a montage of performances from Gwyneth's stage show. I wouldn't have minded seeing the whole concert, although I suppose that's not very realistic for a film with a story to tell. In fact, many of the songs are performed in truncated versions, like one finds in time-challenged TV award shows.

Some interesting side notes: watch out for a number of Nashville music folks scattered throughout the film. Jim Lauderdale is featured in the road band for Gwyneth's character, and Tim's buddy Brett Warren of the Warren Brothers also has a small part in the film. Also, if you're playing close attention, you'll notice one of the songs sung by the female supporting act is, in fact, the Jessica Andrews song, "Summer Girl", which was on the VoC playlist a few years back.

I have only one remaining quibble to note regarding this movie: the underlying moral, spelled out verbatim in the latter part of the film, is that "fame and love can't live in the same place". This is patently untrue, as Tim and Faith and numerous other Country music couples can attest. However, it makes for a dramatic film, with two events happening at the end which will surprise most of the filmgoers who see it. I won't spoil it for you by giving away either plot point. See the film afor yourself, and I don't think you will leave disappointed.