CORPORATE LINE: He picked cotton, sold door to door, and served in the Air Force. He was a voice of rebellion that changed the face of rock and roll. An outlaw before today’s rebels were born – and an icon they would never forget. He did all this before turning 30. And his name was Johnny Cash. WALK THE LINE explores the early years of the music legend, an artist who transcended musical boundaries to touch people around the globe. As his music changed the world, Cash’s own world was rocked by the woman who became the love of his life: June Carter.
THE MOVIE: If you are looking for a full-blown Johnny Cash biography, ala Ray, this isn’t it. Walk The Line is a love story between Johnny Cash and June Carter.
Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic as Johnny Cash although not nearly as good as Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. Phoenix has a fire and a darkness that fits the Man in Black very well. Reese Witherspoon is a real surprise as June Carter. Anyone that thought she was only good at being a dumb blonde will certainly be surprised.
For all that is good in Walk The Line ultimately something is missing. As incredible as Phoenix and Witherspoon are together there is a huge hole right in the middle of the film. Johnny Cash is missing. Instead of hearing the signature voice of Johnny Cash we get a bad rendition of Phoenix trying to sing like Johnny Cash. There is no way you can substitute for genius. Do you make a movie on da Vinci and have some actor paint the Mona Lisa? A movie about a musician should put an emphasis on the man and his music—as Ray did. If it wasn’t for the music would we even care about the story? So why are we handed leftovers?
FRANKLY: There are enough interesting stories to make another film about Johnny Cash—and it’s curious to ponder if that film might have been better than this one. A lot of us would have liked more of the Man in Black and his troubled days and troubled ways. Walk The Line is a love story. Yet I’d bet that most country fans want to see a film about the bad boy Johnny Cash more than they want to see a love story. We want Johnny Cash in a bad way and what we get is June Carter as Reese Witherspoon steals the show and gives the performance of a lifetime.
+ Charlie Craine
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