Film Reviews

Country Strong

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow
• Details: US / 117mins (12A).

Country Strong is Paltrow's attempt to do a Jeff Bridges. His portrayal in last year's so-so Crazy Heart landed him an Oscar but the difference between Bridges and Paltrow is that Bridges looked like he lived the role of a washed-up Country singer attempting a comeback. Paltrow, though, looks like Paltrow playing Paltrow.
Beau Hutton (Hedlund, Tron Legacy) is an aspiring Country singer who has no dreams of hitting the big time, happy instead to sing in small clubs to people who like good music. He's also a sponsor to Kelly Canter (Paltrow), a Shania Twain type just out of rehab and ready to hit the road again with her husband/manager James (McGraw). Despite being jealous of their close friendship, James invites Beau on the road to open for Kelly but also to make sure she doesn't hit the bottle again, as he will be too busy mentoring Chiles (Meester), an up and comer on the cusp of becoming a star if only she'd get over her crippling stage fright.
A movie relies on drama to make it work. It's unfortunate then that there is no drama to be found and writer-director Shana Feste can shoot Paltrow crying in wardrobes and bathroom cubicles all day if she wanted to, but it still wouldn't fix it. The major problem is that Feste can't decide whose story Country Strong is - Paltrow, Hedlund, McGraw and Meester get equal screen time - and she can't clearly define their wants. Feste throws in some weight concerning Paltrow losing her baby when she was five months pregnant but it's just that - 'thrown in' with no substance to back it up and it's quickly forgotten about. It's hard to figure out what love story you're supposed to root for either: do we want Beau and Kelly to get together, or Beau and Chiles, or Kelly and James to fix up their shaky marriage? It's also tough to determine what the film is trying to say. The perils of stardom? So what.
Paltrow, who contributes to the soundtrack, doesn't convince as a Country star recovering from alcoholism. There's hardly a scene where Paltrow doesn't look perfect, a world away from the distraught, fragile figure she's supposed to be playing. Hedlund is convincing, however, and he outshines his co-stars on stage and off with his mumbles channelling Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. McGraw, the only bona fide Country star on show (and oddly the only one who doesn't sing), turns in a fine performance, but suffers the same fate of the cast: his drive in the film isn't clear enough. If we don't know what characters want, how is the audience supposed to connect with their dilemma?

Review by Gavin Burke