November 19, 2005
Brooklyn, NY
WALK THE LINE
The solution to all of Hollywood's studio executive's problems is simple. Stop making cookie cutter, special effects, and CGI driven summer-esque "pseudo anti intellectual block buster movies! " Let it be known to everyone I happen to love summer sci-fi and special effects driven shoot-em-ups and blowing everything up to kingdom come type block busters. But after a summer of carbon copy "popcorn films" I was ready for a good heart warming knee slappin' feel good movie. Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the unforgettable country singer/ songwriter Johnny Cash, and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter-Cash arguably the love of his life,(and a country star in her own right,) was just the right medicine the doctor prescribed. We should encourage studios to put out more Biopics about famous and successful people.
I admit I thoroughly enjoyed last year's Biopic, Ray, but I feel overall Line is a better movie. Both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix will undoubtedly be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, along with a nomination also for James Mangold for best director. While both Ray and Line told a wonderful story of two of the best and most talented musicians of all time, Line is based partly on Johnny Cash's autobigrophy. Ray Charles approved of Jamie Foxx to portray him in the movie as well as Johnny Cash and June Carter- Cash approved of Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon respectively. I give the edge overall to Line, since it really tells the tale of love-at-first sight becoming an all encompassing love for one woman. Many of us can relate to Johnny Cash's unrequited love for June Carter. But very few of us can relate to losing our sight.
The best scenes in the movie occur when we are treated to hear and see both Phoenix and Witherspoon perform on stage and actually sing themselves. Some viewers may come to a conclusion that these fine actors were lipsynching to actual Johnny Cash and June Carter's singing. But what a pleasant surprise to see the end credits scroll that both actors performed the songs themselves. I have never been a fan of Joaquin Phoenix before.Infact, I had my doubts of him capably portraying Cash convincingly. He did a remarkably job. Phoenix turns out to have been a good choice to portray The Man In Black. This time around Joaquin,thankfully, was able to get rid of the stiffness of his acting in other films (i.e. Gladiator) and gave us a character to root for.
The performances by Phoenix and Witherspoon really seemed honest and tangible because together they had good chemistry. The musical duets were dead on as both actors were able to convey their affection for one another. Reese Witherspoon did an incredible job portraying June Carter. She truly is an underrated actress. We can understand Johnny Cash's undeniable attraction to her. June Carter ultimately was Cash's muse and kept him from becoming an all together amphetamine addict.
After watching Walk the Line, I plan on downloading every Johnny Cash/June Carter song onto my Ipod and savoring the music. So let's all email the Hollywood studio executives and demand more Biopics. I will look forward next fall's biopic with eager anticipation. But also am salivating over Indiana Jones IV due next summer!
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