Walk the Line
Many years ago, my parents got the film with Chinese subtitles and saw it without me. Afterwards they told me that they really loved the film. That was a time when I had no idea who Johnny Cash is and why I should care about him. In fact, the last film I saw about a country singer, namely “Crazy Heart” didn’t impress me all that much. But now that I have been in the city of country, Nashville, and learned a few things about Johnny Cash, I naturally became interested in seeing the film. Incidentally, I also have not seen Altman’s “Nashville”, but maybe I’ll see that one soon. This trip has been adequately accompanied with music and movies, by rewatching “Mystery Train” and seeing “Walk the Line”, and I think that’s a way of travelling I should pursue in the future as well.
As a film, there really is nothing special. Direction is pretty average and the storywriting is typical at best. Even the ending annoyed me a little bit, because parts of the characters were just not that believable. Johnny Cash is something like a legend, and it is obviously impossible to tell his entire story crammed into a film. Nevertheless, I thought the film did a good job, mostly thanks to Joaquin Phoenix’ and Reese Witherspoon’s impressive acting. Especially June’s character came to life here, and Joaquin Phoenix reminded me of Philip Seymour Hoffmann whose marvelous treatment of Truman Capote’s strange way of talking is the benchmark for these kinds of performances.
“Divorce is an abomination” is going to become a winged word for me. The film, despite its blandness, is especially strong in these kinds of elements which are so true to life in their simplicity. I thought it was great to learn about Cash’s life, and the film felt very believable depicting the respective characters. They even turned Ginnifer Goodwin into a southern belle, which I thought is quite surprising after I saw her looking like a silly country bum in Mona Lisa Smile.
I think my parents mostly saw “Walk the Line” as a good love story, or rather as a realistic story about a relationship which had to overcome 13-year-long hurdles for them to finally get together happily. For me, there was the added bonus of all the country music and the Johnny Cash persona. But the film is no more than that, and perhaps that is perfectly enough for a Hollywood love drama/biopic.