Walk the Line

Forget North Country, Walk the Line directed by James Mangold (Girl Interrupted) and written by Mangold and Gill Dennis is the better 2005 Oscar contender.

This romantic tragedy, which is based on the autobiographies of Johnny Cash The Man in Black and Cash: the Autobiography was actually written and perfected alongside the famous duo Cash and June Carter Cash before their deaths in 2003.

The movie begins with a young, music obsessed "J.R." Cash growing up in a poor cotton farming family in Arkansas. Shortly afterwards, a family tragedy changes his life forever.

Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) leaves for the air force, where he is stationed in Germany, buys an old guitar and proceeds to write one of the most recorded songs in history along with many others.

Upon returning, Cash's obsession leads him to a recording studio and into the spotlight with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) as well as Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and the comical Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne.) The next emotional hour and 45 minutes is filled with great music, drug dependency, infidelity, and most of all love.

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who sang every song themselves, completely shined in this movie. There are no better actors that could have filled the shoes of the Carter-Cash duo. Phoenix and Witherspoon had such great chemistry, by the end of the movie you actually think they might really be in love.

However, if you tend to get restless in longer movies, the running time of 136 minutes can start to seem a little long towards the end, but it's well worth it.

Overall Walk the Line receives nine out of ten stars. The movie did an excellent job portraying the life of the "man in black," his soul mate and their rocky path on the way to love. If Phoenix and Witherspoon are not nominated for their amazing voices and chilling performances, it will be a great disappointment.

FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context.....

Here is a BIOPIC focused on a real life cultural icon who rose to fame at least a generation before most of You Dear Readers were even BORN!

In L. A., California, in the 50s and 60s, my daily habit of listening to TOP 40 Radio exposed me to just about every kind of music genre, pretty much all of the time! Interestingly enough, I acquired, eventually, a taste for just about all of them, to one degree or another! Well, pretty much everything...JAZZ, not so much, really, and definitely NOT at all: COUNTRY music!

The ONLY Country album I EVER bought in my ENTIRE life (Well, at least before turning 50!) was "Johnny Cash: His Greatest Hits"! Upon realizing that they had released a movie about his life, it immediately went to the top of my "MUST SEE" List!

Here is the central question for ALL of You to ponder BEFORE... DURING ...and AFTER watching: Precisely what was it about his music that gave it such widespread appeal? Exactly what ELEMENTS made Johnny Cash and his Music so very, very special?

It would be nice to be able to provide a simple, straightforward answer to both questions, but in the film, WALK the LINE, it is all too clear, that in real life, when it comes to a human being, things sure can get extremely complicated!

As a result, here, we end up with a movie that mirrors the life of its lead character: very interesting, entertaining, multifaceted, but at the same time, often dark, brooding and conflicted!

I most certainly MUST emphasize ...WALK is a film I can wholeheartedly recommend no matter how you feel about Johnny Cash and/or his music.

Quite frankly, for the role of Johnny Cash, Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) is not someone who would have made my short list, or even my long list, for that matter! WOW!, What a surprise! This actor, who was born in Puerto Rico, demonstrates tremendous versatility, both as an actor as well as a singer... (Yes, that is Joaquin Phoenix's own voice in the movie!) However, I do think that, at times, Mr. Phoenix comes up just a little bit short when it comes to his ability to project his voice firmly, but his performance, in general, was so masterful, that this point is quite easily overlooked.

What really drives WALK? What gives it its soul and keeps it focused and centered is the repressed romance between Cash and the love of his life, June Carter (Reese Witherspoon / Legally Blonde, Cruel Intentions) Joaquin Phoenix, despite shining in the title role, is overshadowed by Witherspoon's overwhelming screen presence in the scenes where they appear together.

Previously, WITHERSPOON had never really flagged my attention that much, perhaps other than her notable characterization of Tracey Flick in ELECTION. In most of her roles she seemed to be type cast as the syrupy sweet, but at the same time, rather annoying girl next door! WALK is well worth any time and money you invest to see Reese demonstrate her considerable acting talents ... And how clearly she demonstrates just how stunning those abilities are!

Surely, WALK the LINE, for a myriad of reasons, invites comparison with another film about the life of another famous musician, RAY. Perhaps, there are many common elements in the life of famous musicians: A tragic childhood, years struggling in anonymity, problems with alcohol and drugs, a great deal of conflict and tension in their affective relationships and great difficulty accepting and managing fame and money. But after all, each story is real and each contains many elements that distinguishes it from others!

8******** ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

Wow, what a film. I had been waiting to see this movie since I read that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were cast in the lead roles. I was not sure what to expect when I heard they were going to do their own singing, but was I ever impressed. Their performances in this movie were brilliant, and I had chills down my spine. It was truly amazing how much Phoenix sounded like Johnny Cash-this was a role he was born to play, and he was mesmerizing. Totally sizzling. Witherspoon was positively radiant as June Carter, and talk about chemistry between the two actors. Talk about lightning striking! I only hope they are rewarded for their efforts come Oscar time. This was a truly amazing movie, filled with great music, a top-notch supporting cast and a terrific script which was wonderfully directed.

I've long thought that James Mangold was one of the most underrated American directors; while other acclaimed auteurs like Wes Anderson and David Gordon Green have made names for themselves by essentially repeating themselves with each film, Mangold has attracted considerably less attention for actually having the gall to show some range. Like the great directors of the Hollywood studio system, Mangold shows visual and narrative skill across a wide array of genres: character-driven crime (COPLAND); horror (IDENTITY); issue-oriented drama (GIRL INTERRUPTED), etc. What each of these films shares in common is a stunningly elegant and expressive visual style, an attention to character reminiscent of Renoir, and an economy of storytelling that would make Howard Hawks envious.

Now Mangold has delivered his masterpiece, and it's the best studio release I've seen so far this year. WALK THE LINE, Mangold's story of the relationship between Johnny Cash and June Carter, is deliriously romantic, exhiliratingly entertaining (as a musical it invites and earns comparison with the best of Vincente Minelli), and profoundly moving--all set to a spectacular soundtrack. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are both brilliant as Cash and Carter, but not only in the ways you would expect. Their most impressive achievement is to convincingly portray two people falling in love in a manner that's sincere and sweet but never cheaply sentimental. This is the most unabashedly romantic American movie since THE NOTEBOOK, but it's totally authentic and lacking in melodrama; the subtlety with which Mangold and his performers delineate the one step forward, two steps back nature of Cash and Carter's love affair is staggering. Phoenix is particularly brilliant, not only in the romantic scenes but in moments in which Cash discusses his brother's early death; in these scenes the major tragedies of both the character and the performer's lives merge in a way that is heartbreakingly real. And the movie gets across the intoxicating nature of creative collaboration between two people in love better than any film I've ever seen--perhaps no coincidence given that Mangold and his closest collaborator, producer Cathy Konrad, are married. I could (and will) go on about this movie for hours, but let's just say that it's the movie to beat for the rest of the year.

"Walk the Line" is a good biopic of the early years in the life of singer, songwriter, musician and actor Johnny Cash. Joaquin Phoenix does a good job playing Cash as he breaks into music. The talented Cash, who became much more known as a quiet, withdrawn man for most of his performing life, had some raucous early years. The film covers his first marriage, road trips while struggling to make a name for himself, and his drug use.

This also was the time when he met and befriended June Carter who would later become his wife. The film ends before the major part of his career with Carter - their last 35 years together. Reese Witherspoon gives a superb portrayal of Carter. She won the only Academy Award of five nominations for the film. But the movie took the top three Golden Globe honors for the year - best picture, best actress and best actor. Witherspoon also won the BAFTA award for best actress. Ginnifer Goodwin also gives a superb performance as Cash's first wife, Vivian.

While Cash was known mostly as a country musician, he had a versatile portfolio of songs and performances. He played and sang blues, rock and roll, gospel and folk music. He is in three music halls of fame - Country, Gospel, and Rock and Roll. He sold more than 90 million records in his lifetime.

As so many other musical biopics, "Walk the Line" covers mostly the years up until the person makes it big. This is one when I would have enjoyed another 20 minutes or so to see performances of some of the top songs that Cash wrote and played. Cash and Carter died within four months of each other in 2003. He was 71 and she was 73.