Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
Walk the Line - 2 Stars (Average)
"Walk the Line" is the story of Johnny Cash (Joaquin
Phoenix) and June Carter Cash (Reese Witherspoon). Born
poor in Arkansas, Cash rises to fame in the country music
world and destroys a lot of relationships along the way
with drinking, drugs and pandering. Eventually, June Carter
wins his heart.
Cash became who he was because the songs he wrote and sang
were from his heart about his own life; they were not
phony, and music lovers related to them in their own world.
Walk the Line was a struggle to produce as it took 4 years
to secure the rights to the film and another 4 years to get
the film made. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon did
their own singing, both of them had 6 months of vocal
training and also learned to play their instruments (guitar
and auto-harp) from scratch.
Both Phoenix and Witherspoon showcase their talents in this
film that had a great story line but not a great
presentation. Based in part on Cash's own book Man in Black
and Cash: The Autobiography, the adaptation also is
credited to Gill Dennis and James Mangold, who also
directed the film. It is seldom a good idea for a director
to also be a writer in the same film, and Mangold showed
why.
Rather than be a good finder, it seemed that Mangold was
determined to send his portrayal of Johnny Cash buck naked
into the woods and drag Cash through the muck and mire far
too long. It was unnecessary and added nothing to the film
in my judgment. Mangold simply did not tell a good story
well, he told a story.
Whatever sins Cash committed on his way to becoming a
legend and country music icon could have been handled
without trying to raise it to an art form. Let the writers
and director who are without any sins cast the first stone.
It seemed as if they wanted to drag Cash down in order to
build themselves up.
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon saved this film.
Witherspoon won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best
Actress. Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar and won the
Golden Globe for Best Actor. Walk the Line won the Golden
Globe for Best Picture, but not on my ballot. Walk the Line
won additional Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design,
Editing and Sound Mixing. Besides Witherspoon's Oscar, the
film had another 27 wins as well as 26 more nominations.
Walk the Line, released in 2005, has a special place in
history as Johnny Cash recorded with Sun Records in
Memphis, along with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl
Perkins among others.
It was reported that Johnny Cash chose Joaquin Phoenix to
play him in the film on the basis or his performance in
"Gladiator", and that June Carter Cash chose Reese
Witherspoon for her role in the film. June Carter Cash died
in May 2003 before production began on the film, and Johnny
Cash died 4 months later in September 2003.
Cash was blessed with a deep, distinctive voice and known
as "The Man in Black". He wrote more than 1,000 songs and
sold more than 90 million albums in a career that lasted
nearly 5 decades. A diverse group of artists have paid
tribune to Cash, among them Bob Dylan, Chris Isaak, Wyclef
Jean, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and U2.
Johnny Cash has a number of signature songs that will not
be going away anytime soon, including "I Walk the Line",
"Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Man in Black" and
"A Boy Named Sue".
Walk the Line is worth seeing just for Joaquin Phoenix and
Reese Witherspoon. I would not watch it again, and was not
a better person for having seen it, thus it gets my average
rating which would have been higher with better writing and
better direction.
----------------------------------------------------
Read my articles on "Want a Six-Figure Income Without
Getting a College Degree of Any Kind? Here Is How", "The
Biggest Mistake Potential Hires Make While Interviewing for
a Job" and "Before You Interview, Learn and Practice Ed's
"Zip a Lip" Theory".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/JobsandCareers.html
No comments:
Post a Comment