Coal Miner's Daughter

PG

Released Mar 7, 1980

2h 5m

Biography

Drama

List

86%

63 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Raised in rural Kentucky poverty and married at the age of 13, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) begins writing and singing her own country songs in her early 20s. With the tireless help of her husband Oliver "Mooney" Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones), Loretta rises from local honky-tonks and small-time record deals to national tours and hit singles, befriending her idol Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo) and becoming a country music icon despite the toll stardom takes on her family and her marriage.

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Critics Consensus

Like a classic traditional country song, Coal Miner's Daughter draws on time-tested formula -- and undeniable talent -- to tell a solidly affecting story.

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Alec B

An above average biopic aided by the performances and the honest realism of the first half of the movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

Full Review

Jeff M

The biopic of Loretta Lynn comes so close to dipping its feet in the sea of greatness so many times that it's easy to not only forgive its faults but even forget they exist. In spite of a barrage of musical biographies that have come and gone over the last few decades, this still feels like one of the granddaddies of the genre and it uniformly transcends what have become cliches. Spacek is a wonder of an actress, and she is faultless and transcendent here. In virtually any other year, I would have agreed with her Best Actress win, but I still think Mary Tyler Moore in ORDINARY PEOPLE is an all-time great performance that deserved the award that year. But I don't begrudge her win in the slightest. I personally would have also nominated Jones, D'Angelo and Levon Helm as her father. D'Angelo, in particular, is such a dynamic supporting performance - had she a couple more scenes, I think she could have swept the awards season. Unfortunately, I think the film loses a lot of steam at the end. It addresses Lynn's substance abuse and breakdown but doesn't fully confront her battle, and it almost becomes an afterthought before the requisite happy ending as she belts the titular song. That being said, there is SO much good here and SO much goodwill and respect for its subject that one leaves the movie on a definite high. It was really, really close to an all-time great, but I can't in good conscience penalize it for what it could have been. Instead I choose to celebrate it for what it is.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/24

Full Review

Bob P

Fabulous performance by Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn. She deserved all the awards she got. Great script and well acted. Loved this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a young Tommy Lee Jones and a young Sissy Spacek based on the real-life story of Loretta Lynn from Kentucky who married very young, had kids, almost had no one genuinely care for her it wasn't until one day when she was handed a guitar she began to discover the talent of music from then on she became a singing sensation this is one of Michael Apted's better films focusing on a woman's journey from poverty to fame and success the pacing is brisk, the two leads are fantastic, and I really like a lot of the tunes Sissy Spacek has quite the vocalization of course there's always rough patches during this whole adventure; Dolittle starts to feel secondary and Loretta still feels she has to earn his trust and her independence she even encounters Patsy Klein played by a young Beverly D' Angelo another country artist taking the charts by storm, they make a remarkable team but Dolittle may not like the influence she's making on Loretta getting there is one thing, being there is another, for the spouse is their job done once they've gained all the notoriety and made it to the top?, we're told to run our own lives yet at times our lives may be running us this is another one of those films showing how much being famous can be so overwhelming and how fast it moves at us from every direction this is Sissy Spacek's movie playing one of the finest country artists around and Michael Apted directs with such precision

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/07/23

Full Review

Mark A

Sissy Spacek nails it!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/03/23

Full Review

joel h

I imagine that Coal Miner's Daughter is much more impactful if you're a fan of Loretta Lynn and her music, or if you lived during the time when her music was really popular. As it stands, I don't fit into either one of those categories, so my experience with this movie is that it's a pretty standard biopic. I actually thought Sissy Spacek did a fantastic job becoming Loretta, and I'm impressed that she actually sang the songs in the film, but the story just floats lazily along and then it just ends. I may listen to Loretta Lynn's music a bit more, but I don't think I'll be watching this movie again.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Michael Apted

Director

Sissy Spacek

Loretta Lynn

Tommy Lee Jones

Doolittle Lynn

Beverly D'Angelo

Patsy Cline

Levon Helm

Ted Webb

Phyllis Boyens

"Clary" Webb

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Coal Miner’s Daughter sugarcoats nothing, proffering a warts-and-all behind-the-scenes look at a union that was romanticized by the media.

Rated: 3/4

May 11, 2023

Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

We don't so much root for Spacek as sit back and watch her tell us what happened. She's as much in control of this film as is her director.

Apr 7, 2022

Full Review

Kathleen Carroll

New York Daily News

Fortunately, Spacek and Jones are able to make up for the superficiality of the script. Spacek, who does all her own singing in a clear voice that is, at times, more affecting than that of Lynn herself, does one of her magical character transformations.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 7, 2022

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

Unfortunately the back half of the film is rushed and overstuffed.

Oct 21, 2022

Full Review

Leslie Kossoff

Gay Community News (Boston)

A true original.

Sep 14, 2022

Full Review

Leonard Klady

Winnipeg Free Press

Loretta Lynn's story on screen is a tonic for the spirit. A real tale which has universal appeal.

Apr 7, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Raised in rural Kentucky poverty and married at the age of 13, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) begins writing and singing her own country songs in her early 20s. With the tireless help of her husband Oliver "Mooney" Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones), Loretta rises from local honky-tonks and small-time record deals to national tours and hit singles, befriending her idol Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo) and becoming a country music icon despite the toll stardom takes on her family and her marriage.

Director: Michael Apted
Producer: Bob Larson
Screenwriter: Thomas Rickman
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: PG
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Runtime: 2h 5m

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