If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The first must-see film of the year.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I just love this film!! All the acting is so realistic- OMG- YOU CAN SMELL THE COAL DUST !! Then when Loretta Lynn is a Country singing star- I feel like I am there -like helping her Both my Grandfather &his Father were CoalMiners in Pennsylvania for a while it is too hard They got other jobs

Fantastic biographical film about the rise to stardom of country western legend Loretta Lynn.The film is saved from the usual biopic doldrums by its focus on the gender dynamics between Lynn and her long-time husband/manager, played wonderfully in the film by Tommy Lee Jones. In its way, it becomes a rather feminist film and explores the dilemma women are still dealing with today when they try to balance a family with a career and are made to feel like they have no good choices. I don't particularly care about or like country western music, and I'm usually bored to death by the mere idea of a biopic, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film.A huge part of my enjoyment was due to Sissy Spacek, who deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal of Lynn (and did her own singing, thank you very much). Beverly D'Angelo is also very good in a smaller role as Lynn's friend and fellow country western singer, Patsy Cline.In addition to Spacek's Oscar, the film was nominated in six other categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. 1980 was the year "Ordinary People" took home the best picture Oscar, and while I liked "Coal Miner's Daughter" very much, I think they made the right choice. I even think, as good as Spacek was, that Mary Tyler Moore gave the better performance that year. Spacek made me fall in lover with her; Moore scared the crap out of me.Grade: A

I can't say that I'm a Country Western fan all that much but there are some performers I like. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings come to mind right off the top, but there aren't any female singers that really grab me in that genre. I go for the more soulful, mournful sound of a Janis Joplin as far as that goes. So the handful of reviewers on this board who state that this is their favorite movie of all time kind of stuns me, but who am I to say. I thought the film was a competently told story from a human interest standpoint; who wouldn't be inspired by someone who came from virtually nothing to the top of the heap in the entertainment world? I don't know anything about Loretta Lynn to speak of so I don't know how much of the picture was true and how much was poetic license, but you do have to give the woman credit. Juggling a young family and dashing back and forth to various venues to make an impression had to be a grueling experience and certainly a lot more complicated than any movie could ever hope to portray. I thought Sissy Spacek did an outstanding job in her Oscar winning portrayal, nicely backed up by Tommy Lee Jones as husband Doolittle Lynn. The picture fairly breezes by and it's two hour run seems like half that. Compared to other music biopics I've seen, I don't think it's as strong or enjoyable as "Walk the Line" or "Ray", but my opening comments probably explain that. Still I'd recommend the film for it's look at a woman who persevered and made good, real good. And I did like the way she could sing.

Coal Miner's Daughter Rating: 7/10 Rank among 1980 BP nominees: 4/5Biopic about Loretta Lynn, one of the most beloved country singers ever. The plot line, as such, follows typical biopic conventions, beginning with her slow rise towards stardom, followed by her stumbles and finishing of briefly with her ultimate triumph and enduring status as the "First lady of country music". Lynn was heavily involved in the project, even handpicking Sissy Spacek to portray her. From the outset it's evident where her heart lies: her roots in the beautiful Appalachian region of Kentucky, her family, the folk traditions she grew up with. The final scene of the movie reflects this: Lynn sings proudly about her being a coal miner's daughter, while bringing attention to the almost inhumane conditions suffered by laborers in the region. Scenes which develop an almost ethnographic exploration of social dynamics in Appalachia end up being the most worthy of the whole movie, in my opinion; the indomitable spirit of searching for ways to evade the dreariness of material conditions is a quality which I, as a sociologist, enjoy watching on screen for it represents a pre-condition towards achieving empowerment and a pre-requisite for social change.After starting as a paean to Appalachian folkways, though, it segues into a too quick and not so interesting dissection of Lynn's career and the dynamics of country music, complete with numerous bright eyed references to the Grand Ol' Opry and Patsy Cline. I'm no expert on the history of country but this is precisely which ends up being relevant about this film: The duality between Loretta Lynn and the portrayal of her produced by Spacek is resolved in a document which will be a definitive statement on the genre and why Lynn attained such lofty heights. I got the idea that Loretta Lynn triumphed by becoming a representation of what was so valuable to the many fans of country: strength and resolve in the face of the vices which plague the lives of the economically downtrodden of the southern region of United States. Her supposed feminism, for example, could very well be called "Southern Feminism" as Lynn upholds the conservative values of the region by proclaiming her validity as a woman. When she catches Mooney cheating on her she doesn't separate but rather feels the need of solidifying her bond. This sociological considerations, though, stand in counterpoint to a plot line which lacked interest, for me at least, during the movie's second half, Spacek's spectacular and oh so natural, sporting a very convincing southern nasal drawl, portrayal of a naïve but strong woman notwithstanding. It, of course, won numerous and deserved awards.