Meat pies and tomato sauce; salt and pepper; fish and chips; Tweddle Dee and Tweedle Dum... they fit together naturally in a way that Scotland and country music do not.
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Rose-Lynn Harlan has a name that sounds as if she has stepped straight off a Nashville stage. She sings country music with an angelic voice that delivers heartfelt country ballads but can also belt our rip-roaring, heel-kicking songs.
It appears she has all the qualities to make it as a star in Nashville. Almost.
There are a number of roadblocks to her dream of being a successful country singer in Nashville. She is in her late 20s with two young children; she is an ex-con recently released from prison with an ankle bracelet that ensures she is home between 7pm and 7am; she doesn't play guitar or write songs and she lives in Glasgow, Scotland, a mere 6,313 kilometres from Nashville, USA.
The closest she has been to the shrine of country music, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, is the stage of Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry, where she has performed her country songs since she was 14 years old.
Despite her prison sentence, she hasn't lost her desire, unbridled enthusiasm and unbounded energy to make her dream of Nashville stardom happen.
Her mother, the stalwart Marion, delivered in an assured performance by the wonderful Julie Walters, provides a reality check for Rose.
Marion's position is a balancing act to ensure Rose takes responsibility for her children and her life without extinguishing Rose's hopes and dreams. Marion's job is made more difficult when Rose's employer, a well-to-do woman living a successful life full of riches , encourages Rose's wilder side.
Rose is not a bad person. Like many young people, she enjoys a good night out with friends, beer and music, unfortunately, at the expense of her children.
Through a series of events that define Rose as a responsible young adult, Rose realises she is one of many wannabees drawn to the beacon of stardom in Nashville. Not everyone can make it.
She fluctuates between high hopes and downright despondence. Glasgow offers her nothing except the daily grind of earning a quid to pay the rent and feed her family, yet she doesn't have the means, the industry connections or personal freedom to break through the barriers that obstruct her dreams.
Wild Rose exposes us to a slice of Glaswegian society.
Although it's a specifically Glaswegian story told in an low-key manner, Wild Rose, at its essence, is a tale about the struggle between desire, hope, dreams, and responsibility. It could be anyone's story.
