Joaquin Scores

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2006)

Joaquin Phoenix has intimate knowledge of the dangers of substance abuse. Joaquin witnessed the horrible death of his own brother, River Phoenix, from a toxic mixture of heroin and cocaine outside the Viper Room in Hollywood during Halloween night, 1993. And in this film, Joaquin is convincing as he brings to life the case of Johnny Cash, who was nearly finished by the abuse of prescription drugs in the early 1960s, the same sort of toxic stews that later finished the lives of Elvis Presley and many other musicians of that era. Walk the Line examines the life of Johnny Cash from his youth in the cotton fields of Arkansas to his marriage to June Carter. The tapestry of Cash's life is depicted faithfully and with great sympathy. Cash was acquainted with drug addiction and jail and recorded a live album in Folsom Prison in California to show his empathy with his fellow offenders. It is perhaps part of the authentic setting of this film that social interaction between the characters seems to be awkward and rude, as if physical and verbal violence in this setting is seen as the only way to get attention and respect. But it becomes obvious that the raw behavior and incoherence are sustained by the substance abuse depicted, as a method of attaining pain relief or to mask painful feelings of inadequacy. Joaquin and his troupe of fellow actors and actresses do a good job of depicting these dysfunctional relationships and their eventual resolution to a more stable way of living together. Reese Witherspoon is stunning as the steadfast friend and then wife who eventually showed Johnny Cash how to truly "Walk the Line" toward sobriety, the longevity that eludes even today so many musicians such as Kurt Cobain, happiness, and musical productivity.