FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT PRESENTS: "COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER"!

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A little over three weeks ago, I watched the very attractive and talented country singer Shelby Lynne bounce onto the stage in Los Angeles as a Guest performer at a Lucinda Williams concert that I had recently blogged about. As I'm prone to do, I did a lot of thinking about that night. And it took me back to the Legendary "Queen of Country Music", Loretta Lynn. Arguably more than Elvis Presley or any living entertainer still actively touring today, Loretta Lynn's true life story goes beyond the so-called "ken of human imagining". The film opens with circumstances of poverty in the hills of Butcher Holler, Kentucky that is as painful to comprehend as it must have been for Loretta to endure on a daily basis. The daughter of Ted Webb (Levon Helm) and Clara Webb (Phyllis Boyens), Loretta (Sissy Spacek) seemed destined to live her life as so many others had. Namely, marrying (and eventually burying) a husband who works as a coal miner earning the barest of essentials for living. Among her sisters and parents, Loretta encounters a wily character in "Mooney" Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones) who has just returned home from the service. Lynn convinces the 13 year Loretta that they are in love and need to be married. After convincing Ted and Clara to give their blessing, Director Michael Apted uses candor to reveal the events that occur in Loretta's life. "Mooney" manipulates just about everyone, albeit, he succeeds in extricating his young wife out of a meaningless existence. Sissy Spacek consulted throughout the filming with Loretta Lynn and manages to incredibly channel her speaking voice, her singing voice, and her mannerisms from an unbelievably naive thirteen year old girl to adult woman who suffers through many painful events that test her humanity. They also became wonderful friends after the filming was complete. Tommy Lee Jones in his "break through film role" brings to life the late "Mooney" with flaws intact. Musician and actor Levon Helm (of "The Band" fame) delivers a powerful and convincing hard-edged supporting performance as Lynn's coal miner father. Beverly D'Angelo plays the late and tragic Legend Patsy Cline, who befriends Loretta and helps to teach her the ways of the modern world. This is one of the finest biographical films I've ever seen about a figure who is as endearing in real life as she is portrayed on film. The film is an affirmation of having a dream and being willing to see it through. Here's The Cast: Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn;Tommy Lee Jones as Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn; Levon Helm as Ted Webb; Phyllis Boens as Clara Webb; Beverly D'Angelo as Patsy Cline; Bob Hannah as Charlie Dick; Ernest Tubb as himself. ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS: Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sissy Spacek; NOMINATIONS: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: John W. Corso, Hohn M. Dwyer; Best Cinematography: Ralf D. Bode; Best Film Editing: Arthur Schmidt; Best Picture: Bernard Schwartz; Best Sound: Richard Portmen, Roger Herman Jr., James R. Alexander; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Thomas Rickman. Based on the autobiography by Loretta Lynn with George Vecsey. One of the promises I have made to myself is to see Loretta Lynn live in concert. I've already missed her locally once this year. This is a film about overcoming obstacles and Loretta Lynn is living proof that there is more than one path to achieving our dreams!

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My Very Best!