Review: Coal Miner's Daughter (B)

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
Directed by Michael Apted
Starring Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D'Angelo
MPAA: PG
Grade: B

Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy

The Coal Miner's Daughter is a wonderful story, a fantastic performance, but not an incredible motion picture. As most know, this film is the life story of Loretta Lynn. Loretta Lynn (originally Loretta Web) was, in fact, a coal miner's daughter and she married at the age of 14. Her husband (played in the film by Tommy Lee Jones) encouraged her to sing and in just a short amount of time, she became a superstar.

Sissy Spacek is absolutely fantastic as Loretta Lynn and she was rewarded with an Oscar for her performance. Tommy Lee Jones is very good as her husband and Beverly D'Angelo is wonderful as Loretta's best friend, superstar singer Patsy Cline. The acting is wonderful.

Coal Miner's Daughter is based on the book of the same name by Loretta Lynn, so it is a little bit of a cream puff piece. There are no strong antagonists to the story, and there is really no moment where you think that her life is truly at a crisis. The film moves steadily forward without any serious highs or lows - but the acting saves this film at the end of the day. Spacek is really that good and you feel for her as she lives her dream of being a country superstar.

For fans of Sissy Spacek or Loretta Lynn, this is a must own. For me, this is simply a very, very good film with excellent performances.