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Rating: 4 out of 5
I will be the first to admit that I had no idea or clue about the late and great Johnny Cash. He wasn’t anyone that I listened to growing up. I don’t listen to him now, but I respect his contribution to music. Here is a history lesson from the world of Wikipedia. Mr. Johnny Cash was one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Known as the “Man in Black” for his trademark all-black stage wardrobe, he has sold over 90 million records worldwide. This legendary singer crossed all genres from country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel, which earned him the honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame. Cash’s music lives on as most of his music revolves around the themes of sorrow, hardships, and redemption. One of his biggest hits is “Folsom Prison Blues,” which he recorded live from Folsom Prison.
It seems customary that legendary singers have a movie made about their lives. Ray Charles had “Ray, Tina Turner had “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and Elvis Presley had “Elvis.” Walk the Line is a biographical drama about Johnny Cash and the singer and love of his life, June Carter. Directed by James Mangold and a screenplay from Mangold and Gill Dennis, the story is from two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words (1975) and Cash: The Autobiography (1997).
Like most biographical films, we have to start with the singer about to do something and thinking about their life. This happens in almost all biographical films. This one begins in 1968 at Folsom State Prison. The prison inmates are getting rowdy and cheering for Johnny Cash and his band. Cash (Phoenix) sits backstage while thinking about his earlier life. The film jumps to 1944, when Johnny, or as he is called back then, is called J.R. Johnny and his family are broke. They have no money, and his dad is a sharecropper on a cotton farm in Dyess, Arkansas. His older brother, Jack, is training to be a pastor. The brothers get along with Jack always sticking up for J.R. Things change when Jack is sawing wood for a neighbor and tells J.R. to go fishing while he finishes up. This is the first significant moment of tragedy for Johnny. Jack injures himself and dies. His father blames Johnny for the death as the wrong kid died. Since then, Johnny and his dad’s relationship is strained.
In 1950, what does Johnny do? It seems like what all musicians do for a while. He joined the US Air Force and Johnny Cash and was stationed in West Germany. Johnny finds peace while playing guitar and begins writing songs. In four years, Johnny is discharged, and he marries his girlfriend, Vivian Liberto (Goodwin). The couple decides to move to Memphis and Johnny becomes a door-to-door salesman to make money as they are broke. One day, Johnny rolls up into a recording studio and asks to make a record. The owner gives him a chance, but the first recording is a disaster as the studio producer is like what the fuck is this shit. He says he sounds like everyone else and should play a song deep in his soul. Johnny plays “Folsom Prison Blues,” and the band is immediately contracted by Sun Records.
Johnny’s career takes off as the band is renamed Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. Johnny and his band begin touring, where he meets different artists, but one of them catches his eye. Johnny is immediately smitten with June Carter (Witherspoon). Johnny begins spending all his time with June, who divorces her first husband. Now, this is where Johnny’s second heartache begins. As he pursues June and is still married, June rejects him. To cope with his feelings, like many other artists, they turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the pain. It’s usually cocaine and heroin that start the downward spiral. Things come ahead when Johnny persuades June to come out of retirement and tour with him. The tour is a success, and Vivian has words about June. After a Las Vegas performance, Johnny plays that Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On and the pair sleep together.
The story proceeds to show the downfall of Johnny from taking more pills, his divorce from Vivian, his pursuit once again to having June in his life, and his ultimate redemption by getting clean and reconciling with his father. The inspiring part is his redemption in rehab, where he receives fan mail from prisoners who love his outlaw image. Johnny gets an idea and rolls up to his record company to do a live album from inside Folsom Prison. His company is like, “Naw, that’s not a great idea.” Johnny, with his black shades, goes, “I’m doing it.” Walks out and does the album, which is a huge success.
Learning about a person’s life and hardships is always fascinating. Johnny Cash had some difficulties. If my brother died like that and my father blamed me, I don’t know what or how to survive at such a young age. That is some major trauma to deal with, and how does one recover from that. Even with all his success, Johnny seemed to need guidance on what he wanted from love and success. Well, more love because he pursued June to the extreme. This movie is more about Johnny’s pursuit of June, and his music takes a backseat. I’m always fascinated with how a person is influenced to write a song. Most musician movies skip that part.
The acting was the best part of the entire film. Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash was a great choice. Phoenix always brings some type of element to his performance. He looked like a person who was going cold turkey there for a while. Phoenix did most of the singing in the film, but I am not quite sure. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter was another perfect casting. Witherspoon was fun to watch as she showed the doubt and struggle she was dealing with Johnny and her own life. Witherspoon won the Academy Award for her performance and was a joy to watch.
Walk the Line is an above-average film about Johnny Cash’s life and his love for June Carter. The film is a jump-off point if you want to explore and learn more about Johnny Cash and his music. Spend some time learning about this legendary singer, and avoid ending up in Folsom.
