Who knew that Spidey himself, Tobey Mcguire, could produce a feature film about the tolling effects of today's music industry on an artist? No, this movie isn't about pop icons or heavy metal rockers. It represents country music; the stuff that hits so close to home for so many of us.
Country Strong, starring Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow and decorated country singer and actor Tim McGraw, is an honest account of a fallen-from-grace country star who is having difficulty facing issues with her marriage, her sobriety, and the mistakes of her past that landed her in rehab. Paltrow does an excellent job representing the emotional toils and drunken binges her character Kelly Canter encounters during the film, and Tim McGraw's role of the broken manager/husband was well played (even though he never sang a lick in the entire movie!)
Surprisingly, the stars of the film turned out to be Garrett Hedlund who played Beau Hutton, a deep rooted country boy who sang and played strictly for the sake of the music, and Leighton Meester who portrayed a young beauty queen turned country pop princess named Chiles Stanton with the sole dream of becoming the next Taylor Swift. However opposite they may seem, these two had amazing on-screen chemistry as their characters became entwined in a heart-pounding romance. By far the most amazing scene in the movie was when Meester and Hedlund sang a song their characters co-wrote called "Give in to Me." It was so reminiscent of Johnny and June Carter Cash that it sent chills up my spine.
Hedlund, Meester, and Paltrow all sang and performed their own songs in the film, which made it seem very authentic. Each represented a different aspect of country music and did a great job molding their voices to fit the genre. Even those of you who aren't particularly fans of country music will enjoy Country Strong not only because the music is so pure, but because each character is in some way relatable to any musician or music lover in any genre.
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