Posted: 12/03/2005

Walk the Line

(2005)

by Hank Yuloff

So, why is it that most every musician that makes it big has to, at one time or another, deal with being drug addicted, or an alcoholic, or other self-destructive behavior that makes us realize that they may be gifted? And why is it that it seems without this talent, most of them might not altogether in their right minds?

Before seeing Walk the Line, I knew that singer Johnny Cash had had some problems with the law, but had no idea the depths to which his soul had plunged. But thankfully with the love a good woman, he made it through to the other side and led a good, fruitful life on the straight and narrow. Yes, Cash walk that straight line but it took him decades of grief, receiving and dispensing, to get there. Hollywood just writes them that way.

It might be that I now hold biopics of entertainers up against last year’s Ray as the standard, but I felt that Walk the Line, while excellent, did not quite get up to the level of perfection that the previous movie set. It is a movie that fans of Cash must see, and lovers of rock and roll should see. It covers the life of Cash from his childhood in the early 1940’s through the time when he convinces June Carter to marry him in the late 60’s. His first problems were with an alcoholic father who loved his older brother more, and when that brother is killed in an accident, Johnny is the target of his father’s grief. Later, when he is on the rise to popularity, he falls in with a “bad crowd” of drug users in the music world—Ok, so they were Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Waylon Jennings, but drugs are drugs—and it is only Carter who stands by him in the end.

James Mangold (Identity) wrote and directed this film like he did his several times before (Girl, Interrupted, Kate and Leopold, Cop Land) and with this film, like Girl, has created an amazing story and film that will be enjoyed for many years.

Joaquin Phoenix (Ladder 49, Signs, Gladiator) plays Cash. Where I said last year that Jaime Foxx WAS Ray Charles, this year I would say that Phoenix completely captures the essence of the late, great Mr. Cash in mannerism, but not completely in voice or stature. I was ready, after Ray, to award that little gold statue to Foxx; here, it may be a nomination. But there is no doubt that Mr. Phoenix’s performance is certainly worth consideration for Best Actor Oscar. If this had been fiction instead of nonfiction, a created man instead of a real one, I would have felt no differently, and that is the difference. [Editor’s note: For my money, Phoenix pegs it; but you should see for yourself.]

Reese Witherspoon plays June Carter. She is entertaining, captivating, strong, romantic and has a great voice to go with the engaging smile. The love affair that begins to smolder in the 50’s and is a matter of timing before it bursts into “burning flame” that is a hit song and a successful 35 year marriage is portrayed by her to perfection. I think she also deserves this nomination, and last year, like Foxx, deserves the trophy for this excellent performance and the one she gave in Just Like Heaven.

Others in the cast also spark—Robert Patrick (Ladder 49, The Fix, Terminator 2) plays Ray Cash and in limited screen time, we do see a change in the man as he ages. Sandra Ellis Lafferty (The Secret Sea) who plays June’s mother is likewise excellent and delivers the best line to her daughter as a way of saying it’s OK for her to fall for the man who will someday be her son in law. Tyler Hilton, who got his start on the Mark and Brian radio program in Los Angeles and turned it into performances on One Tree Hill is great as Elvis. He is a talented young actor and has a great CD of self-penned music.

Ray was hailed for the perfection of capturing Mr. Charles. Walk the Line should be hailed for capturing the essence, giving us a lot of great performances and a wonderful story.

Hank Yuloff is a our senior staffer living in Los Angeles.

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