Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a review from BigTuna on WALK THE LINE. I love Cash's voice and know very little about his backstory, so I'm anticipating this flick even more than normal. Everything I've seen and from the majority of the word out there, this one could be fan-fucking-tastic! Here's BigTuna on the flick!
Hi Harry, BigTuna here with my thoughts on "Walk The Line". The new James Mangold directed biopic about the life of Johnny Cash.
I just saw it at the Toronto Film Fest. It's a Very good film.
It shows Cash's life from his childhood on his family farm to right after his Folsom prison recording in 1968. It covers his life with his first wife, his battles with drug addiction and his rise to stardom in the music industry. Not to mention, his relationship with his future wife, June Carter.
His childhood scenes are the ones I wasn't too crazy about. They do get a little cliched and reminded me a lot of "Ray". There is a family tragedy involving his brother, Johnny feels responsible, and is haunted by it. I know this fact is true, I just wish the director, James Mangold didn't present it like so many other biopics we've seen before.
There is a rather strange appearance by Elvis in the film where he is basically a cartoonish version of himself offering Johnny some of his "Chilli-Cheese Fries" and talking a lot about food. It didn't bother me, but he was almost there for comedic effect. True Elvis fans might not be too crazy about it, although he is in it very briefly.
Phoenix is terrific as Cash. I do think it would have been a safer bet to just have him lip-sync his recordings as Cash as he had maybe the most distinctive voice in music. The early scenes with him auditioning for a recording contract do make his singing seem weak as there's very little music to drown it out. The film later shows Cash in concerts, and that does make Phoenix's voice seem much more stronger, like Cash's.
Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash was maybe even better. She's so charming and "Cute" as June and I thought her singing was even better. There's a scene near the end of the film with her singing where you'd swear she was a professional. This is the best performance i've seen from her.
Overall, very strong biopic. I was a little worried that Mangold didn't seem like the right person to make this film, but he does a fine job. I found "Walk The Line" to be better then last years' "Ray".
If you like Cash, it's coming out November 18. I'm sure it will get many Oscar nominations.
BigTuna.
