“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
One of the most magical moments in the new film “Walk the Line” occurs when Joaquin Phoenix turns to the audience and announces, “Hello everybody, I’m Johnny Cash.” For that moment and many more in the movie he is Johnny Cash. The film is about the man and his music and Phoenix totally embodies both.
Opposite Phoenix is Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. Witherspoon has always played roles where she appeared to be two fifths original character and three fifths Witherspoon. In this role however she creates a role and stays in character from beginning to end.
Both Witherspoon and Phoenix do their own singing in the movie and this adds to the value of the film, much as it did when Sissy Spacek sang her way through the Loretta Lynn story. Witherspoon’s voice is pleasant but it didn’t remind me of June Carter’s vocal attributes. On the other hand Phoenix sounds like Cash and delivers his words in the same manner and with the same modulation.
The film takes Cash’s story from childhood to his marriage to June. You antagonize over how his first marriage to his childhood sweetheart (Ginnifer Goodwin) failed. You suffer through his addiction to drugs. And you marvel at his dogged pursuit of June Carter to be his wife. Along the way you also get glimpses of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis as their lives intermingle with Cash’s.
The movie does not try to gloss over Cash’s imperfections. He is not in any way portrayed as a perfect man. In later life he became very religious and was totally faithful to June. That is not the man shown in this film. This man does not “walk the line” but rather strays from it every chance he gets.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and scenes of drug use.
The first half of this movie is not as good as the last half. It seems to take too long to get its main character started on his career. But once Johnny hits his stride and starts to pursue the unwilling June it is good solid entertainment which leaves the audience cheering.
I scored “Walk the Line” a straight and narrow 7 out of 10.
