Before 'Hamnet,' Jessie Buckley Became a Star as a Country Singer in This 92% RT Surprise

Published Mar 8, 2026, 4:18 PM EDT

Jessie Buckley Plays a Single Mother with Nashville Dreams

Recently released from prison, Rose-Lynn (Buckley) returns home to Glasgow to restart her life with her children, who are cared for by her mother Marion (Julie Walters). She faces judgment from all corners for her past behavior, and numerous people scoff at her dreams ofmaking it as a country singer in Nashville.

Determined to prove the doubters wrong and overcome her issues, she seeks gigs wherever she can. However, the responsibility of motherhood and the shadows of her past seem to move those ambitions further away. A striking drama directed by Tom Harper, Rose-Lynn’s harsh beginnings are not the launchpad for a fairy tale. Rather, they are the foundations of a flawed but beautiful journey, with Buckley providing its beating heart.

The Irish Star Showed That She Could Embrace the Spotlight

The role required Buckley to perform musically on stage, and be convincing as a singer delivering ballads such as “Glasgow (No Place Like Home).” She also had to believably play someone who was starting with nothing, and make the graceful melodies match the messy conflict. To do so, Buckley uses the musical side of Rose-Lynn as an outlet for the fierce, bruised fury she feels offstage, making the two coalesce into one rounded performance. She doesn’t magically turn into a starlet once the spotlight shines on her. Instead, she brings her baggage along for the ride.Rose-Lynn could very well fall into the cliché of someone from humble means dreaming of bigger things, but there’s more to her than that, and that’s thanks to the woman playing her. She allows us to see someone who always seems to be starting from square one, but who fights for her place in the world, convinced nothing is beyond her reach if she claws hard enough. It’s a cry of individuality that lights up the grey Glasgow streets that surround her.

It’s a big role, and one that leaves nowhere to hide on-screen. Rather than shy away, Buckley embraces it. She is the soul of the movie, shining through for anyone who has been told their ambitions were too big for them. She also portrays a woman whose pain is the inspiration for her music, rather than an escape from it. In her troubled world, her songs help make sense of it all.

'Wild Rose' Laid the Foundations for Buckley's Oscar Moment

21^st-century Scotland may seem a million miles from Shakespearean England, but Rose-Lynn and Agnes Hathaway have more in common than might be immediately visible. Indeed, you might say Wild Rose laid the path for her startling turn in Hamnet.

The connecting tissue is rebellion. Rose-Lynn casts aside preconceptions, and pushes away the responsibilities of motherhood in the belief that her dreams cannot wait. When we first meet Agnes, she is a wild spirit who is more at home wandering the forest and embracing rumors that she is the daughter of a witch. Both women defy their expectations, needing to live life at their own rhythm.

For Rose-Lynn, music is catharsis, being able to voice her sadness in front of an audience in a way that is raw and uncompromising. Agnes carries a heavier burden, being struck down by the grief of child loss. However, she also finds healing in art, through discovering her husband William’s play, Hamlet, and connecting to the famous scene their tragedy inspired.

Hamnet required Jessie Buckley to be emotionally unarmed, displaying raw nerves on screen in a way that few actors dare to attempt. Wild Rose was the first glimpse of that special talent, introducing audiences to a character that breaks their hearts with the complications of humanity. Whether she made it to Nashville or not, Rose-Lynn helped Buckley’s dreams of acting greatness come true.

Wild Rose is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.