Walk the Line (2005)

I am not a country music fan, nor have I ever (knowingly) heard a Johnny Cash song. I'd heard of the man, of course, but didn't know a thing about him, his life, or his music. Nor was I interested in learning about those things. So why on earth would I choose to watch a movie -- Walk the Line -- that was expressly about those three things? Because both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were nominated for Oscars for their lead roles in the film. Witherspoon won for her portrayal of June Carter, and I'd heard nothing but great things about both of these actors since the movie was released.

Still, since Walk the Line was about Johnny Cash, I wasn't in a complete rush to get to it. I knew I'd eventually see it though, and that's exactly what happened today.

Walk the Line tells the story of how Johnny Cash rose up from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest music stars in recent memory. The movie opens with a shot Johnny waiting to go onstage at Folsom County Prison for what was to be a groundbreaking concert. As Johnny is waiting, he sees a table saw, which reminds him of a traumatic incident from his childhood. We then go back to his childhood and find out that Johnny's older brother was killed in a sawing accident at the age of 12. Johnny's father (played by Robert Patrick) never quite got over his eldest son's death and actually blamed Johnny for it. This guilt would fuel Johnny's musical fire as well as his ambition to succeed.

Like most other artists, Johnny went through a few struggles on his way to the top. He first went into the military and was stationed in Germany during the Korean War. It was during that time that he began jotting down some lyrics and strumming his guitar. Then he came back home, married a woman named Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), and took a job as a door-to-door-salesman. He wasn't good at sales, but fortunately was able to audition for Sun Records, where he made an impression on Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts). They soon put out Cash's first record in 1956 and he was on his way to becoming a star.

While touring to promote his new record and songs, Cash meets a woman named June Carter (Witherspoon). June comes from a musical family and has been on the stage ever since she was a little girl. Cash is immediately attracted to her, but June is involved with someone else, and of course Johnny is married. The two see a lot of each other over the next decade and it's not too long before Johnny realizes that he is completely in love with June. He repeatedly asks her to marry him, but she keeps putting him off because of his drug addiction and womanizing. Finally, 12 years after they first met, June agrees to become Johnny's wife. Their marriage lasted 35 years and is almost as legendary as their music.

I thought Walk the Line was a fantastic film. I can't believe I waited so long to see it, particularly since you don't need to be a Johnny Cash fan to enjoy what was happening on the screen. In fact, to me Phoenix and Witherspoon could have been playing two unknown musicians and the effect would have been the same because, above all else, this was a love story. Everyone can understand and appreciate true love, so we don't have to rely on famous people to make those kinds of stories interesting.

I can't say enough about how wonderful Witherspoon was as June Carter. Granted, I never saw or heard the real June Carter, so I don't know how accurate the portrayal was, but that didn't detract from my experience at all. I thought Phoenix was excellent too, but this movie belonged to Witherspoon. I just wish she had even more scenes (I don't think she appeared until about 30 minutes in).

Overall, I have to say that Walk the Line was one of the best movies I've seen this year. It has interesting storylines and compelling performances that are sure to keep you captivated throughout the entire film.