Walk The Line

While shopping in the Plaza, we took a break from the cold to watch the Johnny Cash movie "Walk The Line". Before my quick review, I have to give a disclaimer. I have not listened to much of Cash's work, nor did I know much of anything about his life. This is probably due to the fact that I have always associated him with "country" (a genre of music which I usually steer clear of). I was a blank slate, waiting to be enlightened.

The movie follows a fairly formulaic biopic storyline. It starts by looking at his childhood, focusing on the death of his brother and his relationship with his stern, abusive father. He joins the military to get away from home, gets married, and struggles to make it as a musician before catching his break. The remainder of the movie looks at his rise to fame and the accompanying struggles of being a big-time music star. If you have ever watched a movie about a musician you know the script: drugs, alcohol, and a crumbling marriage, punctuated by musical performances. Cash becomes enamored with June Carter, another musician who is touring with him, and the bulk of the movie focuses on their relationship.

What did I like about this movie? The musical performances are great, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing their own music. I found myself wanting to go and listen to an entire Johnny Cash CD, which is a saying something for someone who doesn't like country. Then again, Cash seemed to blaze his own trail, not content to fit into any one particular genre. I wished the film would have focused more on the music and tried to show us Cash's legacy as a musician.

What didn't I like about this movie? From what little I do know of Cash, his faith played a major role in the overcoming his vices. The movie (predictably for Hollywood) ignores this, and instead shows him finding his way back through his love for June Carter. Since a major theme of the film is about his unfaithfulness and leaving his first wife and family in the dust, I just couldn't get into it. There is a scene where he tells June that he wishes he would have died instead of his brother. She disagrees with him, and says "You're a good man Johnny." That didn't ring true since the film hadn't shown us anything redeeming (besides the music) up to that point. He wasn't a good man--he was a sinner who needed a Saviour. I think that is what Johnny would've wanted people to know.

My rating: 2 stars (out of 5)