Movie Review: Walk the Line (2005)
Walk the Line (2005)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dan John Miller, Larry Bagby
Directed by: James Mangold
I saw a lot of 2005 movies over my Christmas break (and a couple since, in a desperate attempt to cram some in before my year end movie list is solidified), but have put off reviewing this movie in the past few days. One reason was to take a break from writing movie reviews, lest I start repeating myself. But the other reason I put off reviewing this particular movie is that I was having difficulty coming to terms on how I truly felt about it.
Here's the thing: I enjoyed Walk the Line. I was entertained by the movie the whole time I watched it, and was a little sad when it came to an end. It is highlighted by two fantastic performances by the leads, Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash, each of whom radiate on screen, have phenomenal chemistry, and deserve all the acclaim they've received for their performances. Phoenix comes alive on stage as Cash, and brings nuance to the character in the quiet moments in between. Witherspoon brings the lesser known June Carter to life during her country cornpoke phase, delivering her best performance since Election. Their love story that anchors the film is captivating and rewarding.
But, sadly, the movie doesn't quite live up to the promise a compelling figure like Cash offers, nor does it rise to the level of the performances contained within. The elements are there: Phoenix breaks through the mystique of the Man in Black and presents him as a real, flawed human being; scenes with Cash and the Tennessee Two (Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant) sharing the concert stage with the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Carter Family, and Roy Orbison spark with electricity; and, I'll be damned if I didn't get a chill seeing Cash fight the record label for his idea to record a live album from Folsom Prison. These are seductive moments, fueling the movie with enough momentum and gravitas to keep a viewer entertained and even awed, and almost seductive enough to disguise the fact that as a movie, Walk the Line is standard-biopic fare.
Comparison's to last year's Ray are inevitable, and not just because it is another biopic of a music legend. Both movies are highlighted by standout performances, and both follow the same rise to fame, fall from grace, final retribution storyarc that can be seen on every episode of VH1's Behind the Music. Each uses an early tragedy involving a brother as an emotional anchor for the trials its subject endures. It can't be helped that both men had similar career and personal arcs, and Walk the Line does make itself distinctive by following the love story of Johnny and June Carter. But it's still not the Johnny Cash movie I'd prefer to have seen. The love story is a good one, and definitely has a place in the story of Johnny Cash. But the movie fails to adequately show what made Johnny Cash one of the most important figures in the history of music. Instead of merely focusing on his hard-driving lifestyle, the film should have also shown how Cash bucked the establishment to play his music. How he managed to excel creatively at the same time as failing personally. How he was able to lend voice and authenticity to a lifestyle that wasn't quite his own. This is what makes the scene where he fights for At Folsom Prison so compelling, because it gives us a taste as to why Cash is more than just another artist who struggled with the shackles of fame. He fought the industry as much as he fought his demons, and a little more focus on the former would have made the latter that much more compelling, instead of well-shod territory.
Which makes this thoroughly entertaining movie an unfortunate example of opportunity lost. The pieces were in place to give the world a remarkable telling of a true musical genius. Instead, it settled for an above average one.
3.5/5
Related:
Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (my review)
Johnny Cash - The Legend of Johnny Cash (twistedyouth's review)
Ray (2004)