At the turn of the twentieth century people who lived in the Appalachians were able to lead independent lives without a whole lot of contact from the outside world. The isolation afforded by the mountains was a two-edged coin—restricting economic and educational opportunities while also protecting a very unique and rich culture that few outsiders were able to penetrate. Released within a few months of each other in 2000 two major films granted greater exposure to mountain music since Flatt and Scruggs flat picked their way through Bonnie and Clyde, thanks to the Coen brothers comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou and Maggie Greenwald's Songcatcher.

Following the highly educated and citified musicologist Dr. Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) through the remote hollers of North Carolina in search of roots music after being unfairly passed over for full professorship, the film credibly shows how old traditional English folk songs have been passed down from generation to generation among the mountain folk. Unfortunately, it throws in some love stories that serve more as melodrama to certify that the love and murder ballads are much more than empty songs. The songs contain the real emotions, bringing the film to life—during the mesmerizing a cappella singing of "Barbara Allen" or "Matty Groves" or during the community gathering, complete with bluegrass and mountain clogging.

The folk song motif of the false and unfaithful lover runs through urban life, as spineless Professor Aldrich (Michael Goodwin) reveals he was afraid to support Penleric's promotion for fear that the committee would correctly suspect them of fooling around. Penleric flees the University and heads for the hills, where her sister Elna (Jane Adams of Happiness) teaches at a one-room schoolhouse. The prim and proper Lily unexpectedly discovers that a young orphan girl named Deladis Slocumb (Emmy Rossum) knows dozens of old English ballads that musicologists had been scouring the British Isles for.

Penleric's academic training kicks in high gear, and she relentlessly implores Slocumb to sing and record on cylinder or on paper every song that her grandmother ever taught her. Slocumb leads her to an initially suspicious backwoods grandmother Viney Butler (Pat Carroll), who eventually sings "Single Girl" and many other earthy old songs into Penleric's phonograph. Although the film moves rather slowly, it picks up a great deal whenever Pat Carroll is on the screen. She delightfully brings the backwoods matriarch to life and helps erase any residual images of Appalachian evils that may still linger for Deliverance viewers.

Penleric's haughty ways don't sit well with Aunt Viney's grandson Tom Bledsoe (Aidan Quinn), who thinks that Penleric's ideas about elevating outsider opinion about the mountain folk through publishing their songs amounts to simple exploitation. He makes a sound sociological point actually since the unique mountain culture will surely fade as soon as their isolation disappears. Of course this is before he begins to warm up to the musicologist.

Although various love stories (including adultery, unrequited love, infatuation, lesbian love) weave their way through the story, the biggest internal change occurs with McTeer's character. Initially cold and rigid in demeanor and body language, she loosens up as she discovers the daily struggles of the Appalachian people (especially during a graphic birthing scene) and finds they are a good hearted and fiercely independent people with a rich culture. She had come to the mountains as a music expert, thinking that she really understood the beautiful traditional ballads, but only discovers their heart by living among the people:

"'ve never been anywhere where music is such a part of life, like the air you breathe."