While not a particularly easy film to watch, “Walk the Line” is still breathtaking in its gritty reality. I came away deeply moved by this Oscar-winning movie.
Joaquin Phoenix plays a young Johnny Cash, a man with a deep voice and an unusual talent for music. As a boy, he often sang hymns with his brother, Jack, who was studying to be a preacher some day. In a freak accident, Jack is killed, and their father never got over it, often saying that the devil took the wrong son. He never saw the good that was in the young Johnny.
Johnny joins the Air Force and immediately following his discharge, marries his girlfriend Vivian. Taking a job as a door-to-door salesman, he’s able to support his wife and new baby, but he’s got music in his soul and decides to organize a band to sing gospel music, in part to remember his brother Jack.
When he auditions for the owner of a record company, he not only catches his eye, but that of June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) as well. She’s married too, but that doesn’t keep the sparks from flying. Johnny, though, is heading down a dangerous path of drugs and alcohol, and June tells him that he’s going to have to straighten up, inspiring the song “Walk the Line.”
Johnny and June start touring together, and begin an affair. Vivian leaves Johnny, knowing for sure that something is wrong, and June is now divorced as well, but Johnny’s addictions are ruining his life. In one of the most powerful segments of the movie, June stays by his side while he dries out, subjecting herself to his wild tantrums and overwhelming sadness as the substances leave his body and he’s able to come clean. He wants to marry her, but she doesn’t accept—she’s concerned that he’ll have a relapse. It’s not until later that she agrees, and they begin a marriage which was legendary.
I appreciated how this movie showed Johnny’s past and the demons that haunted him. I loved June’s strength and how, even though she made mistakes in her life, she showed determination and devotion as she pulled Johnny through his drying-out phase. I was sad that June and Johnny chose to have an affair while he was still married, but I don’t think Vivian could have done what June did for Johnny.
The acting in this film was incredible, and the actors did their own singing as well, which was remarkable. I really can’t say enough about this film. It is rated PG-13 for language, drug use and sexual situations, but it’s one that I’m glad I saw and recommend it highly.
Related Blogs:
Joaquin Phoenix: Coming Into His Own
Roseann Cash: In Her Father’s Footsteps