Country Strong (2010): Dir: Shana Feste / Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester, Marshall Chapman: Why this film is called Country Strong is a mystery because it is a total downward spiral that goes totally against the notion of surviving fame. Director Shana Feste also wrote the screenplay and it shows that writing is not her strong point. She opens the film effectively with Gwyneth Paltrow as Kelly Canter, country music icon released from rehab after a stint that caused her a miscarriage in Dallas. We know from the start that she will struggle with addiction during her comeback tour but it is the slap in the face conclusion that left viewers groaning. Is Canter's fate really the material that the title describes? Paltrow can sing and puts on a great Dallas concert but much of the film she is in agony, and her manager / husband played by Tim McGraw is a wealth seeking prude who never realizes his pig-headed mistake until it is too late. Together they make for one depressing couple to spend ninety plus minutes to watch. Then there is Garrett Hedlund as newcomer Beau who has sexual relations with Canter and a new performer Chiles Stanton. These relations bare no emotion and basically paint Beau as an unsympathetic caregiver. Only Leighton Meester as Chiles is remotely interesting as she struggles with stage fright then becomes a new sensation who is seemingly taught how to be level by sex banger Beau and drunk and destructive Canter. Technically well made film about the illusions of fame but the result is a film that is hardly strong. Score: 4 ½ / 10
Review of Country Strong
