Country Strong

Wow- went to see Country Strong last night and it was very sad. Gwyneth plays this country music star that has a problem with addiction and has been to rehab a few times. She gets out of rehab a bit too early and is thrust back into the spot light for a comeback tour by her husband. I do not think that her husband meant harm to her, he just only knew her as a singer, on stage, and I think he thought that would nurse her back to health. She could not let her past go, she could not forgive herself. Her first two concerts were gong shows. She broke down in the first one and the second one she didn’t even show up. She could not face the world or herself without alcohol.

Her third concert she played amazingly, like she had never had an addiction before, but then she went back into her changing room and locked the door and I knew then, that was the calm before the storm. She wanted people to remember her as she was before. Then she could leave this world with a somewhat of a clear conscience. She killed herself in that room, alone. Her husband was devastated. He just wanted his wife back as she was before her addiction, but she wasn’t that woman anymore. She was very different, and she did not need to be up on that stage. She needed to be loved by the people around her.

It was devastating to me that fame can do this to people. All they want is to be famous, known, but really all that happens is they forget who they are. One of the mottos from this movie was that Love and Fame do not mix, you can’t have both. I do think that is true to an extent, if you are striving after Fame, Love has no place in your life, because Love should be the utmost. It should be what you are searching for and finding all over, Gwyneth said in the movie, that love is the most important, do not be afraid to fall in love, and actually fall in love with as many things as you can. I do agree with that in a completely non-destructive way. Love is all around us, it can be seen everywhere, and if you allow yourself to see it, to open yourself up enough to let it in, you will be changed. People are not the only things that can give and receive love. It is everywhere. I liked at the end that Chiles decided to go for love and not fame, She saw what can happen with fame. It can go sour and it can also make your love go sour. It can taint everything that you have. Love is simple.

Two of my favorite songs from the movie….

Garrett Hedlund-Timing Is Everything

Love this kid by the way. He was fantastic!

Garret Hedlund/Leighton Meester-Give Into Me

I give it a 7 out of 10