I have been on a real kick with musical biographies as of late with Better Man being one that I just adored. I came across Coal Miner’s Daughter which is from 1980 when looking for musical biographies that I have never seen and decided to give it a shot. I will admit, you could have written what I knew about Loretta Lynn on the back of a postage stamp and still have some room to spare before I watched this movie. However, it really did surprise me just how much I got into this.
How to Download Coal Miner’s Daughter
Coal Miner’s Daughter was released on March 7, 1980. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
The Story of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter
When it comes to country music, I am pretty ignorant, Shania Twain is about the extent of what I know about this genre as well as Billy Ray Cyrus and his achy-breaky heart back in the early 90s. Still, I had at the very least heard of Patsy Cline who was heavily featured in this movie so at the very least, I knew at least one of the players of the story of Loretta Lynn.
As far as musical biographies go, this one is pretty solid. Loretta Lynn became a country music superstar and the story of Coal Miner’s Daughter is basically that story. A post Carrie Sissy Spacek plays Loretta Lynn and the story is that the real life Loretta Lynn picked her based purely off her headshot, she never actually knew who she was. It all worked out well though as she is fantastic in this role.
The Rise of a Country Music Legend
Young Loretta does not have the easiest life, she is one of many kids in her family and she grew up in poverty, but she loved to sing. As a teenager, she meets a young man who goes by the name of Doo and she ends up having a bunch of kids before she is 20. Loretta and her family struggle to get by and she sings at various bars and ends up getting played on the radio and this is the life-changing event that she dreamed of.
Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones Deliver Memorable Performances
As well as Sissy Spacek being great, I also really liked Tommy Lee Jones as Doo. From what I have read since seeing the movie, he was a cheater and perhaps not the best husband, but I did not get that impression fully from the movie. I would also learn that there are more than a few inaccuracies with the way her story is told here and that things do not exactly happen the way that they did. To be fair, it is a movie and I get that they change things to make the story more entertaining.
Still, as someone who was ignorant to the career of Loretta Lynn, I found it to be a very entertaining and interesting movie. The stuff with her and Patsy Cline becoming friends and her getting more confident was really cool to see. It is not all just sunshine and rainbows though, as she does have a breakdown and have to take some time away from the public eye, before making an epic comeback which is where the movie ends.
Why You Should Watch Coal Miner’s Daughter
I get that if you are a huge fan of Loretta Lynn, the way the movie perhaps plays things a bit loose with the way the story really happened may not be for you. However, as a musical biopic, this was fun and entertaining, it had heartbreak and it also had a great soundtrack. From what I have read, Sissy Spacek did actually record some of the songs for the movie so that is pretty awesome. Even if you are not all that into country music, this is still a great biopic.
