Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

i must have seen a different film!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A different way of telling a story

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I was a teenager when I have seen this film, but I do remember the details such as how many ( or how less ) paying audience was in the cinema at that time. Am I glad that more than thirty years later, I am able to see this film again. I am equally impressed with Sissy Spacek´s performance then and now still and what is also striking is that there was not a lot of boot kicking, country-singing you see in most biographies about singers rather a lot of hardship and heartbreak. A solid, quality film.

Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) is born to the poor Webbs in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. She is 13 when she catches the eye of Doolittle Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones) when he returns from the war as a dashing soldier. Soon they're married and she's a mother of 4 by the time she's 19. He buys her a secondhand guitar for their anniversary as she goes on a long journey to country music fame.This is a tour de force performance from Sissy Spacek. She is asked to take on quite a long length of her life. Of course, she's never going to look 13 but Sissy gives as much of that perception as possible. Loretta Lynn comes from a poverty stricken life that is Dickensian. Her rise is the stuff of legends. Through it all, Sissy Spacek gives an Oscar worthy performance. She is believable as a love sick 13 year old as well as a suffering middle age woman. It is as much about her acting than any makeup or lack thereof.

A rags to riches biopic, Michael Apted's "Coal Miner's Daughter" portrays the life of pioneering Country and Western singer Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek). One of the first films to set in stone the genre's formula, "Daughter" watches as Lynn grows up amidst Kentucky coalfields and moves from a life of extreme poverty to super-stardom.Spacek, who'd do her own singing in the film, would win an Oscar for her role. "Daughter" finds her dealing with the genre's usual obstacles (marital conflict, prescription drugs, nervous breakdowns etc), but Apted's low-key tone keeps things feeling fresh. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as Loretta's impetuous husband.7.5/10 – Worth one viewing.

Coal Miner's Daughter Rating: 7/10 Rank among 1980 BP nominees: 4/5Biopic about Loretta Lynn, one of the most beloved country singers ever. The plot line, as such, follows typical biopic conventions, beginning with her slow rise towards stardom, followed by her stumbles and finishing of briefly with her ultimate triumph and enduring status as the "First lady of country music". Lynn was heavily involved in the project, even handpicking Sissy Spacek to portray her. From the outset it's evident where her heart lies: her roots in the beautiful Appalachian region of Kentucky, her family, the folk traditions she grew up with. The final scene of the movie reflects this: Lynn sings proudly about her being a coal miner's daughter, while bringing attention to the almost inhumane conditions suffered by laborers in the region. Scenes which develop an almost ethnographic exploration of social dynamics in Appalachia end up being the most worthy of the whole movie, in my opinion; the indomitable spirit of searching for ways to evade the dreariness of material conditions is a quality which I, as a sociologist, enjoy watching on screen for it represents a pre-condition towards achieving empowerment and a pre-requisite for social change.After starting as a paean to Appalachian folkways, though, it segues into a too quick and not so interesting dissection of Lynn's career and the dynamics of country music, complete with numerous bright eyed references to the Grand Ol' Opry and Patsy Cline. I'm no expert on the history of country but this is precisely which ends up being relevant about this film: The duality between Loretta Lynn and the portrayal of her produced by Spacek is resolved in a document which will be a definitive statement on the genre and why Lynn attained such lofty heights. I got the idea that Loretta Lynn triumphed by becoming a representation of what was so valuable to the many fans of country: strength and resolve in the face of the vices which plague the lives of the economically downtrodden of the southern region of United States. Her supposed feminism, for example, could very well be called "Southern Feminism" as Lynn upholds the conservative values of the region by proclaiming her validity as a woman. When she catches Mooney cheating on her she doesn't separate but rather feels the need of solidifying her bond. This sociological considerations, though, stand in counterpoint to a plot line which lacked interest, for me at least, during the movie's second half, Spacek's spectacular and oh so natural, sporting a very convincing southern nasal drawl, portrayal of a naïve but strong woman notwithstanding. It, of course, won numerous and deserved awards.