Earlier this year was the anniversary of Coal Miner’s Daughter, the 1980 musical biopic. The movie was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won one: Best Actress, which went to Sissy Spacek for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn.
It is not an easy movie to watch. One scene depicts child abuse, for example. It also details Loretta Lynn meeting an older dude when she was 14 and getting married to him at 15. I have never been more uncomfortable watching Tommy Lee Jones kiss a woman.
Interestingly, Spacek was 30 years old when the movie was made and only younger than Jones by three years. Trouble is Spacek plays a 14-year-old convincingly. Tommy Lee Jones, who is playing a character that’s supposed to be 7 years older than Spacek, looks to be 40 years old as he always has. (That man looked much older than he was from very early in his life.) Perhaps that was the intention of Michael Apted: to highlight and magnify the power dynamic.
The musical biopic is pretty much its own film subgenre. The combination of serious subject matter and an opportunity for the actors to demonstrate their singing abilities is a proven formula for winning Oscars. The “Behind the Music” trajectory can be formulaic though, which was mocked by the parody Walk Hard. Biopics still get made though. As long as there are musicians they’re sure to keep getting made.
Today’s bonus prompt: What’s your favorite musical biopic?
Next week: trailers better than the films
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