KAREL REISZ

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1985.  Home Box Office, Silver Screen Partners.  Screenplay by Robert Getchell.  Cinematography by Robbie Greenberg.  Produced by Bernard Schwartz.  Music by Charles Gross.  Production Design by Albert Brenner. Costume Design by Ann Roth.   Film Editing by Malcolm Cooke. 

This is a wonderful, captivating film biography of the greatest country singer of all time, Patsy Cline. Obviously made to cash in on the success of Coal Miner’s Daughter, this one doesn’t quite have the same knack for capturing Southern culture the way Michael Apted’s film did, but by wisely sticking to Cline’s character and her volatile relationship wth her second husband Charlie Dick (Ed Harris), it manages to still be a very memorably experience. Cline got to the top of her game before her life was tragically ended in a plane crash, and this film captures her joys, sorrows, passions and heartbreaks and fills in every other beat with a multitude of her unforgettable songs.  Jessica Lange, who plays the lead role with frightening perfection, gives lip-synched performances of hits like “Crazy” and the title track that feel like the real thing. You won’t be able to think of Cline again without calling up an image of Lange playing her well after you see this film.

Academy Award Nomination:  Best Actress (Jessica Lange)