The best biopics capture the world and people around the celebrity. Earlier in the year, CAPOTE did this and now WALK THE LINE, about the life of Johnny Cash, does the same.
Cash’s story is a familiar rock cliché. He came from nothing, rises to fame, gets hung up on drugs and alcohol and the then conquers his addictions. What makes this film so special is that the film finds what makes Cash’s typical tale so special, which is Johnny’s love story with June Carter.
Last year, Jamie Foxx deserved his Oscar for embodying Ray Charles in RAY. Joaquin Phoenix is just as good as Johnny Cash. And as with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as Truman Capote in CAPOTE, Phoenix should be a lock for at least an Oscar nomination. As for Reese Witherspoon playing June Carter, she should start writing her Oscar acceptance speech right now for she’s the best of the year.
Like RAY, this film shows Cash’s childhood as the son of a poor farmer. His father Ray Cash (Robert Patrick, TERMINATOR 2) was a hard drinking man with a temper, but the film is wise in that it allows the character to grow and not exist as a tired cliché throughout. Cash marries Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin, THE AVIATOR) right after he returns from Korea. They may have loved each other, but neither of them shared the same loves in what they wanted from life. This is what dooms their relationship.
Once, Johnny makes it as a singer, he meets country music royalty, June Carter, who has been singing professionally since she was a baby. The film takes its time developing their relationship and doesn’t play it easy. The film also wisely takes the time to look into June’s life, which was difficult because it was under the enormous spotlight of her parents and siblings “perfect Christian” example.
One thing that Phoenix does that Foxx didn’t, is sing all the songs in the film. He nails Cash’s voice so well that by the end of the film when he’s singing Cash’s more famous tunes, you kind of forget how Cash really sang them and just accept Phoenix as the real deal. You don’t have to be a Cash fan to like this film either. If anything will make you a Johnny Cash fan, it will be this film. There were a lot of great love stories this year at the movies and this is surely one of them.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
