Walk the line - film review

Declared interests - I own more than 15 johnny cash albums and I have read his second autobiography. I am a fan.

I'd been looking forward to seeing this film for a while. I was a bit suspicious of the choice of Joaquin Phoenix as Cash. I wasn't sure about how this film would come out. It was OK.

Johnny Cash was such an icon that he meant a lot of different things to different people. I'm sure that he means something different to a redneck in bible-belt america than he does to me as a white liberal in sunny Scotland. I like him for his music and his general 'honesty' (although this film does highlight just how 'showbiz' Cash was). His voice was amazing like dark chocolate or a rock. A good, solid voice.

Johnny Cash is something I have in common with my dad. He had a bunch of his LPs that I stole when I was a kid. 'A boy named sue' is funny when you're 12.

So, the film. Not overly sentimental. Johnny is not made into a saint. There are a few slightly cheezy in jokes about his songs early on in the film (the sign that reads 'RING in case OF FIRE' was just daft). Phoenix and Witherspoon are warm and they imitate the stage presence of Carter and Cash well. The vocals are well done on the performance segments.

Some of the drug abuse sections are unintentionally funny. The scene where Cash smashes up the stage lights in Nashville made me piss myself. This might have been intended as a serious scene but it didn't work like that for me.

Witherspoon was great as June Carter. She showed a lot more depth than I had seen before. Much better than 'legally blonde'. Could it be the hair dye?

The film focused on the religious side of Cash a fair bit. I guess it has managed to capture the dichotomy of Johnny Cash - mad junkie rock star and devout christian. These contradictions make Cash interesting. I'm not religious and I'm not a mad junkie rockstar (ignore the rumours) but it was nice that a commercial film did not try and gloss over any of this detail.

Two episodes of his life were not seen in the film. In one of his autobiographies he describes a time when he went off to a cave and basically lay down to die. There was also an episode where he was nearly killed by his pet ostrich. Both of these scenes would have been cinematic gold although I realise that they may have happened during the '70s (after the end of the film). They could make a sequel.

My conclusion - an entertaining film the tells the world about Johnny Cash. That can only be a good thing. 7 out of 10.

You would be better to try his CDs. 'Live at san quentin' is great, as is 'American III - solitary man' and 'American IV - the man comes around'. Any recent greatest hits CD should fill in the blanks. His second autobiography is good too.

Funky