Walk the Line

November 30, 2005

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 136 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Hello. I’m Johnny Cash.

Well, no, it’s actually Joaquin Phoenix, but by the halfway point of this movie, I was pretty much convinced he was The Man In Black reincarnated. And, if that wasn’t enough to recommend the movie, Reese Witherspoon is stimply stunning as June Carter. If you’ve read any of the hype about Walk the Line at all, you probably already know that both Phoenix and Witherspoon do their own singing in the movie but what you may not know is that they are GOOD at it!

Phoenix, especially, has pulled off a miracle by successfully mimic’ing what is surely one of the most unique voices in music history. If you hadn’t already figured it out, I am and have been for years a HUGE Johnny Cash fan. Even though I dislike country music, Johnny’s voice and songs somehow reached me and made me a believer. He was a true “man’s man” and richly deserves his place in history as a musical legend.

But, music and song aside, there is also Cash’s life story being told here. They show it in bits and pieces in between the songs so I don’t mind it so much. Following the formula of most bio-pics, you get to peek into the childhood of J.R. Cash and then watch as he comes of age, endures trials and tribulations and, ultimately, triumphs. The requisite moments of, “Gee, I never knew that about him.” are there, as are moments of, “Wow, THAT was stupid.” and “Yeah! Good for him!”

Phoenix and Witherspoon are very gifted and accomplished actors, obviously, but I will go out on a limb here and say that their performances in this movie are the best that they’ve ever given. Allow me to chime in with the loud chorus that is singing of the Oscar nominations that are surely to come for these two. Not to be left out, however, is Robert Patrick who is very edgy as Johnny’s alcoholic and hateful father. And, too, it was very nice seeing Shooter Jennings playing the part of his father and Johnny’s former roommate, Waylon Jennings.

There are flaws in the movie, as there must be, but they aren’t fatal. Most notable for me is the fact that the movie ends at 1968. There was an *awful* lot of Johnny’s story left to tell and I felt a little cheated by the premature cutoff. Also, Phoenix’s “Cash” voice is a bit off during the first part of the movie. I’m sure he was still trying to train his vocal cords during that time so I can forgive that, especially given how he delivers in the second half of the movie.

For me, this is a full five-star movie. But I’m heavily biased towards anything related to Johnny Cash so, in fairness, I have to reign in my enthusiasm and put myself in the average guy’s shoes for a moment. With that in mind, and even with the flaws I mentioned above, this is still a solid four-star flick. You don’t have to Walk the Line, but you should go Stand in Line for a ticket. You’ll be glad you did.

Posted by Alex | Filed Under 4 Stars, Drama, Ginnifer Goodwin, Joaquin Phoenix, Music, PG-13, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick, Shooter Jennings, Theatrical