Well acted but I expected more...

Rating: 7/10 (4 March 2006)

I was a late blooming Cash fan and did not fully appreciate his talents until his death. I was looking forward to seeing this movie, and both Juaqin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have you believing without a doubt that they are Johnny Cash and June Carter. The mannerisms and their chemistry work well throughout the movie. And even a day later from watching the movie I still am amazed at their singing skills. They nailed it! Where I was slightly disappointed was in either the writer, director, and/or the cinematographer's ability to really capture a moment with heightened intensity or gravity. For example, there is a moment of desperation where Cash is at a bank to cash a check, but there is not a feeling of desperation to the viewer at that moment. I compare this to a similar scene in Cinderella Man when Russell Crowe is requesting government relief and the viewer feels the impact there. It was never effectively communicated why essential elements occurred. What pivotal moment led him into the drugs? There were enough scenes to depict a problem but you never see it evolve. Did June have the same feelings as Cash for marriage? The movie implies she gave in to the proposal to some respect. There should have been an intimate scene between June and a secondary character to affirm her feelings. I guess the movie just has a feeling of going on a nice ride, but it never ratchets the emotional content from one scene to another. And while fiction, it would have been good to see a moment where the 'passing of the heart baton' occurs between his first wife and June. Maybe fictional, but it was effective in Sound of Music. I suspect that the creation team was trying to adhere to fact as much as possible per the family's advisory and may have been limited in taking some license in the story. It is an enjoyable movie regardless, and as much as a Cash fan as I am, I cannot see this winning Movie of the Year. With that all said, I hope they consider a 'sequel' to cover the remainder of their lives together. There is plenty of material, from the television shows, events in Jamaica, the Highwaymen, the lifetime achievement award in country music, the detachment from the industry, the efforts with Ruben, and then the final days together. This would be a totally different movie, but the actors would be perfect to carry on the line...