"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." - Johnny Cash

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2005)

I have to admit I really have a lot of respect for the passed Johnny Cash. He was such an incredibly talented song writer and he was such a great performer. I also had a lot of respect for his wife, June Carter, who being raised around music her whole life actually taught Cash a couple things (which they don't go into during the film to show Cash as being more dependent). I wanted this film to do the man "justice" like Ray did for the immensely talented late Ray Charles. 'Walk the Line' does do Cash justice, but it just doesn't have the style and raw emotion 'Ray' had. 'Walk the Line' is a great film, it's just disappointing because it's not nearly as excellent as I thought it would be.
'Walk the Line' follows the story of Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix). It starts from his early childhood where he was emotionally abused by his condescending father (played by Robert Patrick - the bad guy from Terminator 2: Judgement Day) who was a farmer. The story shows young Johnny, or J.R. (as he was called back then), growing up and going into the Air Force during the Korean conflict. Cash is stationed in Germany and there he develops a love for country/rock/rock-a-billy type music and starts working on writing songs. He comes back from Germany, marries his sweetheart (not June Carter) and has children. Cash later falls on hard times and is having trouble paying the bills. He and his band try out for a local record label owner, blow him away, and cut a deal. That's when it all starts. Cash goes on tour with such musicians as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and June Carter (played by Reese Witherspoon) who he eventually marries after his current wife leaves him. Cash develops a drug/alcohol problem stemming from guilt from his father and all goes to hell, and his friends and wife try to help him.
'Walk the Line' does a smooth and informative job of chronicling Cash's life from early childhood to on the edge of middle-aged, but unlike 'Ray' it doesn't seem to have too much style or creativity. The film is very conventional with both the writing and directing. That's a good thing because it's easy to follow that way, but it also is a bad thing because it doesn't bring anything exciting into the mix. It seems as though 'Walk the Line' has no artistic integrity and some huge fan read the Cash autobiography and made a film about it. It's like watching a documentary almost. This can hurt the film come Oscar season for the races outside the acting, because no matter how conventional the technical aspects are the acting never ceases to be outstanding. Joaquin Phoenix gives a powerful, dead-on, tour-de-force performance as Cash, but he doesn't steal the show. Although it's the Johnny Cash movie, the actress who plays June Carter, Reese Witherspoon, steals the picture. Witherspoon, in her best performance yet, gets a chance to prove how much of an incredible performer she truly is. This performance gave her the chance to prove she's well on her way to becoming the next Meryl Steep or Sissy Spacek. It's truly amazing to watch her on screen and her passion and flair for the role is almost sure to snag her a Best Actress Academy Award Nomination come Feburary.
I highly recommend 'Walk the Line' to anyone looking for a film showcasing stellar acting and the story of one of the giants of American music, Johnny Cash. 'Walk the Line' runs 135 minutes, but it goes by as if it were only an hour and a half. It's a truly entertaining and engrossing picture, but the only complaint I had was it was just too prosaic. Grade: B+ (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona, 11/25/05)
my ratings guide - A+ (absolutley flawless); A (a masterpiece, near-perfect); A- (excellent); B+ (great); B (very good); B- (good); C+ (a mixed bag); C (average); C- (disappointing); D+ (bad); D (very bad); D- (absolutley horrendous); F (not one redeeming quality in this hunk of Hollywood feces).