Stephen Films - Reviews - Walk the Line (20th Century Fox: 2005)

Walk the Line
(20th Century Fox: 2005)
If asked to provide you with the names of all the Johnny Cash songs that I know, I might be able to name one song. In fact, I probably couldn't even name that one tune if you didn't allow me to read the lyrics ahead of time. While I have certainly heard about the musical career of Johnny Cash, I have never been too familiar with any of his music. This movie may have converted me.

Walk the Line is a thorough account of the spiritual and emotional journey of Johnny Cash, who is portrayed with cool professionalism by Joaquin Phoenix. After being rejected as a potential gospel singer, Cash began to write and perform popular songs. This transformation was enough to toss Johnny into the spotlight; but the more he performed, the more his life fell apart. His marriage collapsed. He became a drug addict. He threw violent temper tantrums in front of his friends and loved ones. He basically became a threat to anyone and everyone that he came into contact with.

Cash’s saving grace came in the form of June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), a fellow singer who determines to set Johnny straight. At first, Cash doesn't acknowledge her efforts. He doesn't want June to him straight, even though he does want her to marry him. June, smart as she is, refuses to become romantically involved with Cash unless he first gets his act together. As we soon find out, this process turns out to be much more complicated than both Cash and June could ever hope for.

While this basic story may seem generic on the surface, the movie works very well with its winning combination of writing, directing, and acting. In particular, the acting is especially notable. Phoenix gives a fantastic performance as Mr. Cash, and Witherspoon is equally as stunning in her role as June Carter, for which she deservedly took home an Oscar for Best Actress.

Perhaps even more phenomenal than the acting talent of Phoenix and Witherspoon is the singing talent of the duo. Phoenix prepared for his role by engaging in months of guitar and singing lessons, while Witherspoon primed herself with both singing and autoharp lessons. All of this training did pay off, as Phoenix and Witherspoon not only provide the vocals to all of their songs in the film, but they also hit their notes with skill and razor-sharp accuracy.

In spite of this and any other issues that contribute to the success of the movie, Walk the Line does stumble into one unfortunate pitfall during its 136-minute length. In fact, this unfortunate pitfall is the movie’s 136-minute length. Walk the Line takes great pains to show us the depths to which Johnny Cash had sunk during his musical career; and in demonstrating the moral decline of Mr. Cash, the audience eventually finds themselves being hit with images of Johnny’s mistakes and failures long after they’ve already gotten the point.

However, there’s no need to fret, as the overall image that the movie presents of Johnny Cash is actually quite favorable. This is one of the many elements that makes the movie the success that it is. Walk the Line doesn’t shy away from recollecting situations which cast its main character in a negative light, but these scenes are not shown without offering us a glimmer of hope and a new appreciation of the successes and struggles of the musical legend that is Johnny Cash. Those who haven’t previously been fans of Mr. Cash may find themselves wanting to hear more of the man’s work after they see this terrific film. Or at the very least, they may want to run out and purchase the official soundtrack to hear more of Phoenix and Witherspoon’s dead-on vocal impersonations.

Score:

(4 1/2 guitars out of 5)