Walk the Line 63ppk (2005)

A solid and entertaining biopic, Walk the Line works less as a movie than an actors' showcase for its stars. Joaquin Phoenix's total immersion into the skin of singer Johnny Cash is startling--watching it, you can't believe this is the same guy who whined about being "vexed" in Gladiator. As he evolves from a farm boy to gospel croonin' plunker to the Man in Black, Phoenix disappears into Cash's deep baritone, his way of slinging the guitar onto his back, and his hunched-up style of strumming. But it's more than just picking up mannerisms: Phoenix also sings as Johnny Cash, and it's quite impressive.

The story of how Johnny Cash became Johnny Cash traces from his childhood under a distant father (Robert Patrick) to his early attempts at a music career, during which he married his girlfriend Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin). During a tour with the likes of Elvis (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne), he encounters singer June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), and his love for her--and her rejection of him through the years--spurs him into drugs, drinking, and depression. As with most movies based on real-life singers, as his popularity grows, the women come a-flockin', and the childhood demons surface. Witherspoon, who matches Phoenix drawl for drawl, plays June both as a sassy spitfire whose charm breaks your heart, and as a sympathetic friend who tries to help Cash get over--well, her. The love story is what endures, but the movie comes most alive during its musical numbers, and even if you're not a country fan, it may just get you to run out and buy a Johnny Cash album.--Ellen A. Kim Amazon.com

never got my movie

this may be a good movie but I paid for my order and never received it. I am disappointed about this. I know it is not the sellers fault; they did ship it; but I never received it . I may try to order it again. September 30, 2008

Made me curious about Johnny Cash

I was always a mild fan of Cash's music, so I wasn't entirely devoted to seeing this movie. I did not see it until obtaining the DVD, and at that moment I fell in love with it.

Honestly, I don't know all that much about the man's life so I am not here to be the historical critic. Even so, I believe that this is more or less factual minus the obligatory artistic license. All I know is that it made for a great, great movie.

Joaquin Phoenix... I don't know how he is in comparison to the Man in Black, but I love him and I thought he did well. He has that stoney gaze and voice, at least. Reese Witherspoon certainly earned her Oscar.

With me, I like a good story, and that is what this movie had. Plenty of heart, intrigue, character, and emotion. Yes, I wept.

I don't think this is just for Cash fans. This is for anyone who loves music and a great story. September 27, 2008

Mediocre

James Mangold, the director who brought us such flawed but interesting
films as Copland and Girl, Interrupted, has done it again. He has
crafted another flawed but interesting film, Walk The Line, named after
one of Cash's biggest musical hits; this one on the life of Johnny
Cash. Actress Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for Best Actress for her
portrayal of Cash's wife June Carter Cash, of the famed Carter Family
singers, and while she's solid, competent, the award she won is merely
another way for Hollywood to elevate the bankability of sexy young
starlets- think Marissa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia
Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Hilary Swank, Renee Zellwegger, Charlize
Theron, and now Witherspoon. Financially, for the long term of the
industry, this makes sense, so that, even decades from now, films they
appear in can bear the Oscar imprint.

Joaquin Phoenix, who portrays Cash, however, is completely out of his
league as the infamous Man In Black....Cinematographer Phedon
Papamichael adds little to the film. His framing and vistas do little
to enhance texture of the scenes, nor do they add an unconscious poetic
element. Despite globetrotting, Cash's life is portrayed as static and
dull, and the love story is nothing great. What Mangold does not grasp
is that the real reason cash is worthy of a film is because of his
singing and songwriting. When will biopics about artists actually focus
on the art, and not the soap operatic stuff? But, if they are going to
focus on the peripherals, one would think they'd play up the
fascinating stuff, the legendary stuff, not the usual crap all people
go through, for that merely shows that the subject is like the viewer,
when the fascination stems from what the subject has that is NOT like
the average person. In other words, as the saying goes, always print
the legend over the truth. Walk The Line never trots down that alley. September 24, 2008

Johnny Cash Fan

Being A Johnny Cash fan, I loved this movie...
Joaquin Phoenix really resembles "The Man In Black"

Reese Witherspoom resembles June Carter
the only question that I have is :Couldn't they( the people at
the movie studio ) have taught them how to sing?

I'm tired of movies in which the stars only lip synch to the sound track( Sweet Dreams is the best example of this fraudulant practice)
Since ,this is a biopic ,I'd Expect Joaquin Pheonix to at least to play the guitar,instead of faking it!! August 15, 2008

Perfect Portrait of the Man in Black

Here we have the rather luscious and dangerous Joaquin Phoenix channeling Johnny Cash in WALK THE LINE. At the literal heart of the movie is Cash's longstanding and long-unrequited love for June Carter (the ever ebullient Reese Witherspoon finally being allowed to put her Nashville accent to good use) and the trials and travails he must suffer before finally settling down with the love of his life. From the foot-stomping power of the very first scene, music is the thread that binds these two restless hearts and what makes the movie even more remarkable is that Phoenix and Witherspoon did all of their own singing!

(Originally published on the website of author Teresa Medeiros at www.teresamedeiros.com)
July 15, 2008

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