Starring Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Levon Helm, and Beverly D'Angelo
Directed by Michael Apted
Music and Lyrics by Loretta Lynn and others
This week, we dive in to the world of honky-tonks and heart-felt ballads as we cover biographies of two of the most influential women in country music. Loretta Lynn had been the "First Lady of Country Music" for two decades when she penned her autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter in 1976 with George Vecsey. She personally chose Sissy Spacek, known for her portrayals of delicate-yet-strong women in movies like Carrie and Badlands, to play her. The two even became friends, and Spacek recorded her and studied her mannerisms and vocal patterns. How well did she do? Let's begin in the coal mines of Butcher Hallow, Kentucky, as Lorretta Webb helps her father Ted (Helm) with digging, and find out...
The Story: Loretta is only 13 when she falls for and marries returning soldier Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn (Jones), despite him being almost a decade older. She's pregnant with their first child when he moves the family to a logging community in Washington state. By 19, she has four children, whom she sings to while Doo is at the logging camp. He buys her a guitar and encourages her to sing at local bars. She goes over so well there, he gets her radio appearances, and they cut the single "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" for a small Canadian record company.
Loretta is devastated when her father dies, but her fortunes increase significantly when "Honky-Tonk Girl" becomes a surprise hit. She's even called to play at the Grand Ol' Opry and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnite Jamboree. It's at the latter when she plays one of Patsy Cline's (DiAngelo) newest hits, "I Fall to Pieces." Cline is so impressed, the two become best friends and even do a show together. Their friendship ends tragically when Cline dies in a plane crash, but by that point, Lynn is already a sensation. Her success, however, is taking its toll on her and her already-strained marriage with Doo. Doo is the one who finally takes her their new ranch after a breakdown onstage...and encourages her to return to touring with fresh material.
The Song and Dance: Lynn was absolutely right to want Spacek to play her. She nailed a deserved Oscar as the sweet young hillbilly who goes from being too timid to sing for anyone but her children to strong enough to play on tour and stand up to her husband. Speaking of, Jones does nearly as well with Doo, the roguish former soldier who pushes his wife towards greater success, then has trouble dealing with it when she becomes famous without him. DiAngelo is also excellent in her brief but memorable role as fellow country legend Patsy Cline, who becomes Loretta's best friend and mentor. The movie was filmed on location at real locations in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennesee, and it looks gorgeous, with the black coal hills against the glowing greens of the mid-south woodlands.
Favorite Number: Helm gets "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for his family while Loretta tries to decide how much she really loves her new, older beau. "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" is performed several times, notably at the recording studio when it's about to become her first hit. Her "I Fall to Pieces" at the Midnight Jamboree is so heartfelt, it moves even its originator Patsy Cline. Wish we could have seen more of Patsy and Loretta's charming "Back In Baby's Arms," performed together under umbrellas at a local fair. After Patsy's death, she admits on tour that "One's On the Way"...or two, as she ends up having twins.
We also hear two of Lynn's bigger hits, "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" and "You're Lookin' at Country" during the montage of her late 60's success. She finally performs the title song in the finale for a sell-out crowd that spills over into the credits, were it plays against scenes from the movie.
Trivia: Spacek and DiAngelo are excellent singers in their own right and did their own singing.
Leon Helm was originally a drummer with The Band; this was his first acting role.
What I Don't Like: While it's more realistic than most of its brethren, this is still a biopic and does hit all the standard beats of the genre. As well as she does later in the film, Spacek is obviously not a teenager in the first half when Lynn is supposed to be between 13 and 19. What's with all the makeup on Jones? He wears more than Spacek does. Harrison Ford was apparently the original choice for his role, and he is made up to look a lot like him.
The Big Finale: This is a truly touching biopic and is highly recommended for fans of either leading lady, Jones, Lynn, Cline, or the country music of the mid-20th century.
Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming, often for under 10 dollars.
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