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Review: |
Walk the Line, nominated for (5)
Academy Awards including best actor "Joaquin Phoenix"
and best actress "Reese Witherspoon" along with
nods for costume design/film editing and sound mixing tells
a biographical account of Johnny Cash’s (Joaquin Phoenix)
life up to the mid-point of his life. However, it does not
focus on his musical achievements during this time although
they are a major part of his life. Instead, the film efficiently
displays the maturation of his character. In the process,
the audience gets a poignant glimpse into the roots and soul
of his music. The film opens in Folsom Prison in 1968, as
Johnny fingers a circle saw while thinking of his childhood.
In one long flashback, the film provides a uniquely inspiring
and genuinely moving picture of his agonizing life and constant
search for something better. ***
[Potential Spoilers Ahead For People
Unaware of Johnny Cash's Life] ***
Even though people are the sum
of their experiences, there are defining moments that shape
our character and persona. Johnny Cash had several defining
moments that helped form his identity, which had the possibility
to strengthen, or destroy him. Walk the Line offers an opportunity
for the audience to see how he responded on these moments.
It also displays the importance that other people have on
an individual’s existence, as Johnny would not have succeeded,
or overcome his predicaments without the love and care of
others. ***
Johnny Cash’s life was everything,
but easy, to which his songs are a testament. Early on Johnny
suffered the loss of his older brother, a death his father
blamed on him. He had a love hate relationship with his father,
as he continuously sought his father’s love by trying to please
him. However, every attempt was met with a put down. The absence
of his supportive and encouraging older brother left a large
rift in his life, as it also continued to haunt him with agonizing
guilt. Besides the guilt, Johnny had to endure emotional neglect
and abuse from his father who projected his own shortcomings
onto him, which did not only continue to foster guilt, but
also poor self-esteem and more anxiety. ***
In the small home, where Johnny
grew up he could not escape his father’s physical presence,
but he sought emotional refuge in music. The radio and his
mother’s soothing singing offered him in moments of unease
a chance to escape in spirit and mind. Eventually, he came
of age to leave home and a not a day too late he joined the
Air Force. Johnny ended up stationed in Germany during the
Korean War for which his father also ridiculed him, as he
did not fight the war like other real men. The cut downs did
not cease in Johnny’s adulthood. His father upheld the same
loveless relationship with Johnny. ***
Being an outsider, Johnny did not
really fit in the military lifestyle. Again, he sought refuge
in music, as a cure to his solitude. He acquired a guitar
and taught himself how to handle the instrument. Soon he began
to write his own material reflecting on the environment around
him while letting his feelings steer his pen and fingers over
the guitar strings. It is in this cerebral state where Johnny
discovered peace and joy, but it also began the sanctuary
where Johnny could exorcise some of his personal demons. ***
Despite Johnny beginning to feel
freer through music, he still hampered his own growth by trying
to please others such as a future father-in-law and his father.
For example, his marriage to Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), doomed
from the beginning, displays his noble attempt to please others
while in the process slowly killing the joy within him. Not
that Vivian was a bad person, but they were not right for
each other as Johnny merely tried to make everyone else happy.
The desire to make others like him ran deep within Johnny,
who acquired this personal trait in a young age by constantly
trying to prove himself worthy of his father’s affection.
***
Thus, it is easy to see how Johnny
fell in love with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) in their
first encounter. The upbeat beauty had a wondrous voice and
a great sense of humor that brought about laughter, which
must have been something Johnny dearly must have lacked during
his upbringing. She did not judge him, but shared her willingness
to appreciate him and his music. June made him feel alive,
worthy, and free of judgment. Yet, Johnny could not enter
her life, as he was married and she has recently got out of
a bad divorce. ***
Despite the distance between Johnny
and June, he continued to long for her. With the years his
affection only grew stronger, until he came to a crossroads
of pain where he once again was forced to face his demons.
Alone, he sought alternative ways of tranquilizing the agony
within through a heavy drug addiction, which began harmlessly
while partying with the other great musicians such as Elvis
Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne).
The drugs affected him to the point where he no longer could
interact or perform with others. ***
The many experiences and life defining
moments in Johnny’s life show a scarred battling fighter trying
to overcome his excruciating past with love and music. The
black outfit serves a fitting symbolical value to Johnny,
as a reminder of his past transgressions. It is also here
that Johnny Cash’s greatness rests, as he does not pretend
to be someone else. He sings about the daily struggles that
many suffer. It provides something that people can relate
to, but also find that they are not alone. Thus, before a
performance when Johnny Cash said with his unique voice, “Hello,
I'm Johnny Cash." It convincingly echoed within each listener
– his is one of us. ***
There are several aspects of Walk
the Line that make it a brilliant film. First of all, James
Mangold is the perfect director for the film, as his profound
understanding of human psychology only seems to improve, which
also heavily influenced his previous films Girl, Interrupted
(1999) and Identity (2003). Several of the actors provide
solid performances, especially Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin
Phoenix in the leads. However, the supporting cast also helps
bring out the emotional qualities in the main characters.
One must naturally also include the music, which is superb
throughout the film. Ultimately, these and other aspects of
the cinematic process deliver remarkable cinematic experiences
that will not fade in memory. ***
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