Walk the Line

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon

Rated PG-13

            “Jarhead,” “Crash,” and “Good Night and Good Luck” – just a handful of this year’s best films. Add “Walk the Line” to that list for its downright enthralling story of the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. The minute that Cash, played by an amazing Joaquin Phoenix, walks on stage and proclaims, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” a vibe shakes through the theater that is often missing with many biopics.

            Beginning with Cash’s childhood, in which he experiences the death of his brother Jack and abuse from an alcoholic father, “Walk the Line” doesn’t take its time to throw us into his days in the Air Force, where many of his songs – including “Folsom Prison Blues” - are written. Once returning home to settle down with his wife Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and children, Cash, along with two other musicians, records “Folsom” and other songs for a small-time recording label under the band name of Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two.

            After hitting it big with a chart-topping record, Cash slowly drifts away from Vivian, finding himself attracted to June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), who has been singing since Cash was just a boy. While on tour with Carter (along with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Waylon Jennings), Cash finds he has a strange attraction to her that is simply not present in his marriage. The two won’t necessarily pronounce their love, but they won’t deny it, either.

            Cash’s drug use, however, brings about the worst in him, and it is Carter who eventually gets him back on his feet. The ending scenes, which includes the Man in Black proposing to Carter onstage after a performance of “Ring of Fire,” and the Folsom Prison concert, tie up lose ends and leave the audience happy, similar to last year’s Ray Charles biopic “Ray.” 

            Phoenix and Witherspoon alone make “Walk the Line” worth watching, but something else – perhaps the legend of Cash himself – inhabits the film and gives the entire movie that deep, meaningful feeling always found in the Man in Black’s music. Of course, this is coming from someone who practically sang along for half the movie. Even if you don’t care for Johnny Cash’s music, “Walk the Line” pushes you into the ring of fire, and boy does it burn, burn, burn.

Return to Archive List