I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of Johnny Cash. Sure, I've heard a few of his hits, but I didn't know much about the man until I saw this movie. It will immediately draw comparison to Ray, last years musical biopic, but each movie is very different. Whereas Ray told the story of Ray Charles entire career, Walk the Line focuses in on Johnny's early days, and on the romance between him and June Carter. I will say this, and that each film has remarkably fine performances.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Cash, once a little boy who spent the evenings listening the country music on the radio. Much like Ray, there is a tragic event that happens to his big brother, and several years later, JR is off to join the Air Force, where he is stationed in Germany. This is where he writes his first songs, most notably, "Folsom Prison Blues." When he gets back home, he marries and starts a band singing gospel. But the recording director doesn't like it, and so JR sings his song, and he becomes Johnny Cash. Soon he's on tour with Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and even Elvis. This is where he meets June Carter, another singer.
The film centers on Johnny's rising stardom and his romance with June. Along the way, he becomes addicted to drugs, much like last years movie. Unfortunately, this is not a plot device, but something most musicians seem to go through. Thankfully for us, we get two outstanding performances from Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. They both have an amazing screen presence, by the end of the movie I was totally convinced that they had become their characters. It helps that they both sing all the songs, there's no recording over. Speaking of which, the songs are all excellent, most of which can be sung along to after the first verse.
The director, James Mangold, knew all the important scenes and how to shoot them right. In a scene where Johnny collapses on the stage after an overdose, the camera swoops around, pulls in tight to get a glimpse of his strained, sweaty face, pulls back around to show him struggling to play the guitar, and finally back to show him fall and to see the reaction of the audience. It's one of the better scenes in the movie. What I enjoyed about the direction was that it focused on the character interaction, and it was all so believable. Sure, it's about the music, but it's about Johnny Cash and the people he knows also.
I don't think this movie will be overlooked come Oscar time. Joaquin Phoenix's performance is every bit as good as Jamie Foxx in Ray, and Reese Witherspoon is a shoe-in for best actress. Whether or not it can claim best picture is yet to be seen, but it should certainly be in the running. Even if you don't like Johnny Cash or country music in general, this is a fine film worthy of anyone's time.