Glasgow provides an unexpected backdrop for the new country music film Wild Rose

Most tales of country music are rooted in the American South, the birthplace of the genre, but a new film is centring its story of country in a different location — actually on a separate continent altogether, all the way across the pond.

Wild Rose (out June 21), written by Nicole Taylor and directed by Tom Harper, follows the story of Rose-Lynn Harlan (played by 2017 TIFF rising star Jessie Buckley), an ex-convict who lives in Glasgow but dreams of a career singing tunes in Nashville. But a recent stint in jail isn't the only thing stopping her from hopping on a plane and pursuing her dreams: she's also a single mother of two struggling to provide and care for her family.

While it may seem odd at first to use a Scottish city as the backdrop for a film about a woman's love of country music, Glasgow native Taylor argues that many in the U.K. have an affinity for the genre. "It's really, really popular there," she tells CBC Music, noting that Glasgow even has its own small version of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry concert venue, which is featured in Wild Rose.

The genre's prevalence in Scotland, Taylor notes, is perhaps due to people's penchant for suppressing their feelings and finding solace in releasing them elsewhere like the poignant storytelling of country music. It's a dichotomy that's well represented in the film, as Rose-Lynn consistently holds back her feelings of guilt and resentment as she chases a music career. Some of Rose-Lynn's actions may help further her goal of becoming a country star, but it's often at the expense of her children and mother, who is left to pick up the slack when Rose-Lynn runs off to perform gigs or build connections. It's only when she sings songs while at her day job as a housekeeper, or when she's pushed to pen her own original music, that the audience truly gets to see a vulnerable and honest side of Rose-Lynn.

"I think country's big in places where people are not used to expressing themselves emotionally," Taylor continues. "And you get two-and-a-half minutes of pure catharsis from listening to country songs so I guess it's an emotional language in places where they're not very forthright with everything."

Buckley is the clear standout of Wild Rose and, in some ways, a perfect fit for the role. She has a background in performing and singing — she appeared as Anne Egermann in a 2008 West End production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music — but was admittedly not familiar with the style of music at the heart of the film. Enter Taylor, who sent Buckley roughly 200 songs to listen to and study in advance. Buckley also learned to play some music, citing Emmylou Harris' version of Dolly Parton's "To Daddy" as the first song she tackled.

Wild Rose includes a few original songs, some co-written by Buckley herself. The film ends with a beautiful track called "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" that sums up Rose-Lynn's journey in an emotionally charged ballad. "I don't think we knew who it was from but suddenly we were like, 'Oh my God, this is it!" director Harper recalls, mentioning that track as one that they elicited from outside songwriters. Turns out, that perfect song was co-written by Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen. Harper continued: "She read the script, she got inside the character and was able to write something that achieved what the character needed to say."

Elsewhere in the film, a real-life country star makes a brief cameo: Kacey Musgraves. Taylor, who proudly declares that she's been following the Texas singer since Musgraves first came to the U.K. and played a tiny venue in Camden, says she simply wrote Musgraves a letter asking if she'd make an appearance. "I suppose I drew from my adolescence, writing fan mail," she explains. "And how unbelievable is that? In the context of your job, you get to write another fan letter. What a thrill to get her in the movie."   

While Buckley isn't aiming to become the next Musgraves anytime soon, she has extended the character of Rose-Lynn into the real world a few times. During the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where the movie was screened, Buckley promoted it by performing a couple of sets, in character, in the city. Another exciting opportunity was when she was invited to play, again as Rose-Lynn, with Kris Kristofferson. 

Buckley still appears to be in disbelief of it all, calling it "the best day of my life." In fact, she was so nervous about her 13-minute set that she admitted she was "too shy" to even talk to the famous actor/musician. 

All the experiences, both on and off screen, have been a career high for Buckley. "They've screwed me for life because I don't know what I'm going to do next!" she exclaimed. (For those who are curious to follow Buckley's acting career, she has since gone on to star in the BBC series The Woman in White as well as HBO's recent hit miniseries Chernobyl.)

So will we see Buckley pick up an instrument and pursue a legitimate music career anytime soon? 

"I think, pre-this, I would have said no," she says. "But I've fallen in love again with singing and who knows. I would love to keep writing. It's a thing that's opened up, like a present, and I feel like I haven't even touched the sides of what that is just yet. But I don't know, we'll see." 

If that does happen, you can count on fans of this film to be in the front row.