Wild Rose

Buckley's standout performance -- including impressive vocals -- makes this British dramedy worth seeing. Lauded for her unforgettable supporting role on HBO's Chernobyl, Buckley is riveting as the larger-than-life Rose-Lynn, who's not always likable (her skills as a mother and a daughter aren't nearly on par with her skills as a country singer) but who audiences will root for nonetheless. She can be self-absorbed and doesn't always think before speaking (as in a cringeworthy but funny scene where she flat-out asks her boss to lend her $5,000), but her voice is so soulful and beautiful -- in the folk/Americana style of Emmylou Harris or Patty Griffin -- that it's clear everyone should be listening to her. Okonedo is well cast as a wealthy but somewhat bored lady of the house who's almost overly eager to help Rose-Lynn, and Walters is subtle but strong as Rose-Lynn's long-suffering mother who's had to step up and raise her two grandchildren. Some of the film's best scenes are soul-baring conversations between mother and daughter.

Director Tom Harper, working off a script by Nicole Taylor, manages to subvert some of the expectations for "a star is born" storylines. The ending isn't the stadium-filled concert or awards-ceremony win viewers might expect from the genre, but it's still satisfying and hopeful -- and, naturally, it showcases Buckley's powerful voice. The soundtrack's beautiful original song, "Glasgow," was written by Oscar-winning actress/singer Mary Steenburgen and is an emotional tribute to the idea that "there's no place like home."