Like Ray

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2006)

I haven't read about what other people wrote, but I must say that Walk the Line is in many ways similar to Ray. It's about a little-known musician turning into a big star; it's about a star's slow sink into drugs; it's about a star who's haunted by his past - the death of his brother... I understand that both Ray Charles and Johnny Cash were real. However, when the image of Ray has yet faded from my mind, an extra shot of Johnny Cash just inevitably leads me to make comparisons between the two. It's not that Walk the Line is not good. It's very well done, especially in terms of the performances delivered by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Yet, the film just happens to suffer from a timing problem, making it a less attractive picture for me this year. But again, it's a very good movie and you should see it - just make sure that you don't see both Ray and Walk the Line within a short period of time and spoil the fun.