IMDb plot summary: The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Directed by Mark Rydell. Starring Bette Midler, Alan Bates, and Frederic Forrest.
The Rose stars Bette Midler as a rock star at the end of her rope, exhausted by endless touring and a controlling manager. We follow her as she tries to regain her footing and independence through a series of reckless adventures, accompanied by a newfound love she hopes will help her change her ways. This was apparently initially conceived as a Janis Joplin biopic, but the family did not give consent -- and I don't blame them, it's hardly a flattering look at our title character. So the story was fictionalized and turned into a general character study of a self-destructive rock star. This was Midler's film debut, and she's kind of amazing in it. She obviously nails the musical performances (of which there are many to enjoy) but she also really beautifully captures how her character yo-yos back and forth from being the life of the party to just collapsing, from being loving and effervescent to cruelly striking out at her closest friends' insecurities. This kind of story has been told before but making it a fictional story and not being beholden to anyone's memory in specific really allows it to dig into the character, and even though a lot of it's a little over-the-top, it suits the story. Pretty solid.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Rose > Closer
The Rose < Woman in the Dunes
The Rose > The Green Mile
The Rose > Cargo
The Rose < 1917
The Rose > sex, lies, and videotape
The Rose < The Hudsucker Proxy
The Rose > Henry V
The Rose > The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Rose < The Crow
The Rose < Airheads
The Rose > The Killers
Final spot: #1063 out of 3662, or 71%.
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