Cash And Burn

"Walk The Line", written by Gill Dennis and James Mangold; directed by James Mangold.

"Walk The Line" will inevitably be compared (at least from now until Oscar time) with "Ray", Taylor Hackford's popular biopic of Ray Charles. Is it a better movie? Is Joaquin Phoenix better than Jamie Foxx? And so forth. The answers, at least for me, vary quite at bit.

Mr. Phoenix's Cash is simply not as vivid as Mr. Foxx's Charles. His resemblance isn't as strong, and his vocals are initially shaky - the scene where Cash comes into his own during his first recording session isn't very successful - but he becomes more convincing as the film progresses. Perhaps because I have no knowledge of June Carter's music, Reese Witherspoon's singing is far more successful.

In general, though, I think "Walk the Line" is a more satisfying film than "Ray". Granted, I grew up with Johnny Cash's music, and consider him to be one of the best country performers of all time, so I'm not sure how objective I can be. What truly sets "Walk The Line" apart, though, isn't the music or the plot, but the choices of what the filmmakers decided to show us.

The films opens strongly with the Folsom Prison concert - beginning as a distant thrum outside its walls, slowing building to a roar as we make our way toward the performers. This bookends the film, with the main body of the story spanning about thirty years.

Perhaps inevitably, much of the film has a great deal of plot similarities with "Ray" - nascent beginnings, a troubled childhood, marital discord, infidelities, substance abuse, creative conflicts and triumphs. This familiar chain of events is a weakness, and keeps "Walk" from being a truly great movie.

Its main strength is that it doesn't try to encapsule all of Cash's life, but chooses instead to focus on one of its most emotional, sympathetic periods. His long term romance with June Carter is the film's true body, culminating in her acceptance of his proposal in 1969. Reese Witherspoon is terrific in the role, giving the film much of its spark and spine. It's a lively, heartfelt performance that makes Mr. Phoenix's passionate pursuit of her so convincing. Their chemistry together is strong, providing the film with extra heat.

"Walk The Line", then, reads more as a love story than a biography, which makes the inevitable summation paragraph (usually involving another forty or fifty years of the artist's career) less disappointing. "Ray's" attempt at biography was far more frustrating in this regard.

"Walk" also gets more help from its supporting characters. While "Ray's" supporting cast had a tendency to fade into the background, "Walk The Line" has a better spread of memorable performances, especially Waylon Payne's Jerry Lee Lewis, and Dallas Roberts making the most of his brief appearance as Sam Phillips.

The use of music in the film is also strong, supporting the emotions of the content, rather than receding (as can often happen) into montage wallpaper.

In the end, "Walk The Line" has its flaws, but is still a compelling and emotional story. Like "Chaplin" before it, I'm definitely motivated to dig up Cash's two autobiographies and learn more.