Walk the Line Movie Review:


I can’t say that I am huge fan of Johnny Cash or overly familiar with his music. The man is a legend and the new biopic on his life hopes to keep that legend alive.

“Walk the Line” stars Joaquin Phoenix as the “man in black” and chronicles his life from early childhood through his rise of his music career and his eventual on-going love affair with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon).

The film delves into the childhood of the star with extra attention to the often troubled relationship between Cash and his father (Robert Patrick). The film also deals a lot with his early touring where he was featured alongside some of rock n roll’s greatest like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Phoenix is absolutely brilliant in the role and what makes his performance all the more amazing then that of other music bio-pic actors is that he also sings all his own music. It’s like Johnny Cash was projecting through him during some of his performances. Phoenix, I hope, will be remembered for his performance of Johnny Cash like Kurt Russell is for playing Elvis, Gary Busey for playing Buddy Holly and Dennis Quaid for playing Jerry Lee Lewis.

I was also really impressed with Witherspoon as the feisty, energetic, sexy and strong June Carter who seemed to be the foundation that kept Cash going even when they were fighting.

Both leads in this film deserve Oscar nods. I fear that since just last year Jamie Foxx won for Ray!, Phoenix may get passed over. I also wonder if Witherspoon could get nominated in the supporting category opposed to the leading category.

“Walk the Line” is a superior film to Ray because it celebrates the rise, fall and recovery of Johnny Cash with more vigor and panache. The film also is more solid in its direction than that of Ray.

I really did love “Walk the Line” and it made me remember a lot of the classic musical bio-pics which I still love to this day. It has it all.

So Says the Soothsayer



Dean Kish

This biographical film locks us in our seats with a piercing stare that echoes Johnny Cash's riveting personality. And although the straightforward story feels virtually the same as every other musician of the period, it comes to life in two awards-worthy performances.

With a distinctive songwriting and performing styles, Cash (Phoenix) rose to fame through the 1950s as a member of the Sun Records stable, touring with innovators like Elvis Presley (Hilton), Jerry Lee Lewis (Payne), Waylon Jennings (played by his son Shooter) and June Carter (Witherspoon). Having grown up with Carter's music, Cash has an instant crush on her, despite his wife (Goodwin) back home. As expected, the pressures of the road give way to horrible drug use and womanising, and after he bottoms out it's Carter who helps reassemble him into a late-60s legend.

Yes, the story is extremely familiar, not only echoed among his contemporaries (and today's stars), but also in just about every other rock-n-roll biopic. This simple fact keeps the film from being something truly special, even though the story is especially well-told. Mangold's direction is sharp and bluesy, effortlessly capturing the period and maintaining a smooth pace and tone in which the actors shine. But he never centres on one thing in the story that would make the film distinctive, choosing instead to stick with the standard movie structure--rocket to fame, childhood demons, fall from grace, rocky redemption and epic love story. All of these things are powerful, but they feel rather too movie-perfect.

The acting, on the other hand, is worth shouting about. Phoenix inhabits Cash in a startlingly moving way, capturing his gruff honesty, growling vocalisations and forceful presence, even in the dark, difficult scenes. But it's Witherspoon who walks away with the film; her performance is note perfect, no pun intended, as Carter mixes wacky humour and raw grit both on stage and off. It's a bracingly lively and honest performance that balances Phoenix perfectly and makes their incredibly long-in-the-making romance the best thing about the film. And that makes the film more than worth seeing.

Rich Cline

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