Good film, two great performances

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2006)

If ever there were a case of two performers taking over a film and making it their own this is it. Walk the Line is elevated by two of the most brilliant performances you could ever hope to see from Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, Cash's partner on stage and eventually offstage as well. The love Johnny Cash and June Carter had for one another was legendary and the performances by Phoenix and Witherspoon more than do their story justice. The story of Johnny and June is a great one and it's told pretty well in this film. The film takes a little while to really get going, showing Johnny's troubled childhood and his struggle to launch his music career. The film doesn't really take off until Johnny and June come together. There are still some lulls after that and some tough, painful moments as well as Cash's terrible addictions are honestly and at times rather brutally displayed. But throughout the brilliance of Phoenix and Witherspoon is constant. They are terrific in portraying the great love their two characters had for one another and also brilliantly express the frustrations they would have with one another as their relationship progressed in fits and starts. And where Phoenix and Witherspoon really shine is on stage as, yes, they do all the singing themselves. In this area Phoenix in particular is simply mesmerizing. In look and sound he is so believable on stage as Johnny Cash it is downright eerie. Close your eyes and you would be forgiven for thinking you were listening to Cash himself.
As wonderful as Phoenix and Witherspoon are the film does struggle at times to keep the story moving. You get the feeling there could have been ten minutes or so trimmed out that wouldn't have been missed and that would have helped the film maintain a more constant energy. When it's good, this film is very, very good but there are too many moments when the story drags. The filmmakers take great pains to make sure we really get to know Johnny Cash but there are definitely some scenes which could have been shortened or eliminated altogether without taking away from our understanding of who Johnny Cash really was. By the end of the film it is obvious this is not just Johnny's story but the story of Johnny and June together and in retrospect it seems the film was just killing time until the two leads could be brought together. Other performances, including Ginnifer Goodwin as Johnny's first wife and Robert Patrick as Johnny's father, are fine and their roles are important in establishing why Johnny Cash became the man that he was. But this movie clearly belongs to Johnny and June, Phoenix and Witherspoon. Walk the Line is certainly a good film. If you feel it is something special it will have been the performances of Phoenix and Witherspoon which will have made it so.