Walk The Line

Really I should’ve watched Walk The Line on it’s release some 3 years ago but alas I did not. When it was released it didn’t really catch my eye and I didn’t really think much of Johnny Cash’s music.

Thankfully I finally got round to watching it and despite me still not really liking the style of Johnny Cash I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so I went out and purchased it (for 5 quid, along with a Johnny Cash CD – also 5 quid). Obviously the film is about the career of Johnny Cash however there is much more to it than that. You find out about his family life, his personal life, his drug and drink problems and everything that goes with being a rock star.

There was times in the film where I disliked Johnny Cash but overall you end up really loving his personality. Joaquin Phoenix (who wanted to be known as Leaf Phoenix as a kid because his siblings were called River, Rain and Summer) delivered a performance like no other. To think that Joaquin Phoenix played Commodus in Gladiator is unbelievable when you watch this performance of Johnny Cash. It really put Joaquin in a different light, and then when I found out he was vegan I liked him even more so. Reese Witherspoon collected the Oscar for Best Actress at the Academy Awards and rightly so because her performance was excellent. However, how Joaquin Phoenix did not win Best Actor is one of life’s bizarre mysteries I suppose.

The film is a sensational story of Johnny Cash but it is made by the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. When I see a real picture of Johnny Cash then think of how Joaquin looked in the film it is remarkable how much a like they looked. What is even more outstanding is that Phoenix sung all the songs himself and sounded just like Johnny Cash. Someone who I was talking to actually thought Joaquin was miming and could not believe it when I informed them it was him singing.

What makes this film so brilliant is the way one minute you have a moment of laughter closely followed by a moment of seriousness to then a moment where you are going through the emotions with the characters. Not forgetting the outstanding casting of the actors, the exceptional performances from the lead characters and of course the sublime soundtrack.

This film has everything you’d ever want from a film.

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