A solid, well-made film about the life and times of Johnny Cash

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2005)

'Walk the Line' tells the story of music legend Johnny Cash and his journey to becoming a popular country rock icon. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as The Man in Black and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, who Cash desperately tries to marry many times. Director James Mangold ('Girl, Interrupted') tells the story of 'Walk the Line' through flashback initially then moves into "present" time.
The film shows Cash as a young boy growing up in a farm in Arkansas. His father (Robert Patrick) is tough on him, but seems to hold more love towards his brother Jack. Unfortunately there is a bizarre saw-blade accident and Jack is killed. This incident is shown to scare Cash as the responsibility for the death is blamed on him. After joining the Air Force and serving in Germany Cash moves into a house with Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and has two kids. After an unsuccessful stint as a salesman, he goes into music and is sharply elevated to fame. This is where he meets June Carter, the woman who he falls in love with although it causes a problem for his marriage. The rest of 'Walk the Line' covers Cash going to places like Folsom Prison, singing his songs to large audiences, and doing several duets with Carter.
Employing emotionally raw scenes, Mangold attempts to tell Cash's story honestly but not without heart. The screeenplay, based on Cash's autobiography, weaves together a narrative about Cash as a man who got into trouble his fair share but was ultimately honest with himself and who didn't care what other people thought. The screenplay is simple enough - it shows cause and effect and develops the relationship between Cash and Carter well. One can tell Mangold put his heart into the project and very much cares about the subject matter. His direction, too, is solid but nothing spectacular. In terms of technical elements 'Walk the Line' is richly edited and well shot. Even though the film is well made it's not quite great.
As much as it tries to cover Cash's life, Mangold doesn't cover everything and the ending feels abrupt. The performances are very strong from both leads although the supporting cast is forgotten about, unlike 'Ray'. It doesn't delve deep into the material but covers things too simply. Overall, 'Walk the Line' is a good biopic for anyone interested in Cash or music but it never gets to the level of great.
8/10