Before watching, I was very worried Coal Miner's Daughter would be one of those early eighties films about Southern culture that's competently made but wretched to sit through, like Tender Mercies and Places in the Heart. But thankfully I was wrong. This is what a musical biopic should look like, a heartfelt but unflinching portrayal of why and how Loretta Lynn rose to fame.
The star of the show is, unsurprisingly, Sissy Spacek. She's utterly captivating and convincing as Lynn without devolving into scenes of hysteria like so many biographical performances before and since. Rare, too, is the degree of subtly on display: it takes moments that could easily be grating and makes them completely endearing. But the most remarkable thing is that, somehow, Spacek is able to play Loretta at 15 to her mid thirties and stay totally believable throughout, and absent of a lot-if any-makeup. She truly deserves the Oscar for this.
But Spacek is also supported by great work from Tommy Lee Jones as her disgruntled yet well-intentioned husband, and Beverly D'Angelo as an effective (albeit brief) role as Patsy Cline. This isn't the sort of biopic where the lead performance is so much better than everyone else that it's distracting, as seen with The Eyes of Tammy Faye or Harriet. Rather, everyone works together wonderfully to create a realistic ensemble.
And that's really what makes Coal Miner's Daughter such a refreshing movie. This is a film that tells its story with humility and compassion, not stopping to wallow in sentimentality or misery. It simply observes the lives of these characters. The scenes of Loretta living as a star are presented as no more happy for her than when she was living in Kentucky. She never falls off the deep end, nor is she outright desperate for fame. It all just happens to her from talent and some good luck. And throughout it all, Loretta remains essentially the same person-a coal miner's daughter at heart.
Does Coal Miner's Daughter reinvent the biopic formula? Not really. But it's made with such honesty and sensitivity that I can't help but admire how well it turned out.
Final score: 78/100.
The star of the show is, unsurprisingly, Sissy Spacek. She's utterly captivating and convincing as Lynn without devolving into scenes of hysteria like so many biographical performances before and since. Rare, too, is the degree of subtly on display: it takes moments that could easily be grating and makes them completely endearing. But the most remarkable thing is that, somehow, Spacek is able to play Loretta at 15 to her mid thirties and stay totally believable throughout, and absent of a lot-if any-makeup. She truly deserves the Oscar for this.
But Spacek is also supported by great work from Tommy Lee Jones as her disgruntled yet well-intentioned husband, and Beverly D'Angelo as an effective (albeit brief) role as Patsy Cline. This isn't the sort of biopic where the lead performance is so much better than everyone else that it's distracting, as seen with The Eyes of Tammy Faye or Harriet. Rather, everyone works together wonderfully to create a realistic ensemble.
And that's really what makes Coal Miner's Daughter such a refreshing movie. This is a film that tells its story with humility and compassion, not stopping to wallow in sentimentality or misery. It simply observes the lives of these characters. The scenes of Loretta living as a star are presented as no more happy for her than when she was living in Kentucky. She never falls off the deep end, nor is she outright desperate for fame. It all just happens to her from talent and some good luck. And throughout it all, Loretta remains essentially the same person-a coal miner's daughter at heart.
Does Coal Miner's Daughter reinvent the biopic formula? Not really. But it's made with such honesty and sensitivity that I can't help but admire how well it turned out.
Final score: 78/100.