Once in a great long while, there is a performance that so far surpasses any other performance you have seen in cinema in a great many years, for me… that performance was Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line. Johnny Cash’s infamous greeting was “Hello my name is Johnny Cash”, and as those words left his mouth, Phoenix completely embodied and became The Man in Black. His eyes showed every hidden sorrowful moment Cash went through in his life. This biographical story begins when Cash was a young boy and his brother, whom he was closer to than anyone else in his life, dies. Throughout the years Cash’s father (Robert Patrick, who gives a very raw and realistic performance) continues to blame Cash for his brother’s death. Now let me stop here for just a moment to tell you that I went into this movie not really knowing anything about Johnny Cash, I knew he was one of the biggest country singers of our time…and that’s about it. I had no idea that he actually started out as rocker touring with Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis (Tyler Hilton, who was cast perfectly as “The King”). This movie really got into the heart and soul of who Johnny Cash was and how he struggled to have his music heard. It shows his very heart-wrenching early addiction to alcohol, his miserable marriage to his first wife and his undeniable love and admiration to June Carter (Reese Witherspoon, who in a word is breathtaking) whom he spent many years of his life trying to woo. This film is beautifully directed by James Mangold (Copland) and has something to offer every moviegoer. It portrays truth, love, addiction, music (all of which is performed by the actors themselves) and some of the best performances you will see in cinema this year. I highly recommend this movie, in fact I will go as far as to say it will most likely take home the Oscar this year. This movie offers a great deal of dialog for the visually impaired and is also available in MoPix to fill the spaces that don’t. I hope everyone has a chance to see this movie at least once in their lives.
(20th Century Fox)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick and Tyler Hilton
