The
Johnny Cash biopic concentrates on the country music legend’s relationships
with his family and with his eventual wife June Carter (Reese Witherspoon).
Although there are plenty of songs, which sound great, the emphasis is on
Cash’s personal life rather than his musicianship or his celebrity. Joaquin
Phoenix has Cash’s voice and look down flat.
Arriving
two years after its subject’s death, James Mangold’s biopic of Johnny Cash is a
rags-to-riches tale that becomes largely the story of his decade-long, fitful
courtship of his second wife, June Carter, and his struggle with amphetamine
abuse. Joaquin Phoenix has Cash’s voice and look down flat. He and Reese
Witherspoon (as Carter) convincingly perform the songs, which sound terrific
just in terms of sound quality. Compared with last year’s Ray, Walk
the Line lacks a certain breadth. Possibly because Cash’s style seems to
have emerged intact early on, there’s relatively little emphasis on his
musicianship (just one early scene shows him composing) or even his celebrity.
None of Cash’s television and radio appearances are shown. More significant
omissions include Cash’s rediscovery (with Carter’s help) of his Christianity
and the absence of the rest of the Carter Family from Cash’s 1960s tours.
Notwithstanding all this, what’s on screen is quite enjoyable. The scenes with
Cash’s fellow Sun Records artists (including Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis) give
the flavor of life on the road. As with Ray, Walk the Line ends
with its subject at the peak of his popularity (his biggest pop hit, “A Boy
Named Sue,” was yet to follow), reducing three-plus decades to a
happily-ever-after footnote.
circulated via email 11/24/05 and posted 9/24/13
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