WALK THE LINE

Although this 2005 film by James Mangold only covers Johnny Cash’s life up to the late 1960s it still manages to include all the familiar tropes that we expect from a music biopic: the early struggle to break through, followed by meteoric success, a broken marriage, drugs and other temptations on the road.

The result is that I never got emotionally invested in the story.  In fact my favourite scene was a small and rather inconsequential one early on when Cash is auditioning to the legendary Sam Phillips (owner of Sun Records).

After that I was entertained OK but nothing more.  Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon do a fine job of imitating Cash and June Carter on stage but their relationship offstage, which is the main emotional focus of the film, never achieved lift-off for me. 

Ultimately I didn’t buy Phoenix as Cash, nor did I find him particularly engaging.  I would guess that the real Johnny Cash had presence and charm to spare but that didn’t come across to me from this portrayal. 

RATING: x Curb Your Enthusiasm