Walk the Line (2005)

Director:

James Mangold

Writers (WGA):

Johnny Cash (book)
Gill Dennis (written by) ...

Release Date:

18 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Love is a burning thing.

Plot:

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Prison | Johnny Cash | Germany | Concert

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 28 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	John R. Cash
Reese Witherspoon	...	June Carter
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Vivian Cash
Robert Patrick	...	Ray Cash
Dallas Roberts	...	Sam Phillips
Dan John Miller	...	Luther Perkins
Larry Bagby	...	Marshall Grant
Shelby Lynne	...	Carrie Cash
Tyler Hilton	...	Elvis Presley
Waylon Payne	...	Jerry Lee Lewis (as Waylon Malloy Payne)
Shooter Jennings	...	Waylon Jennings
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Maybelle Carter
Dan Beene	...	Ezra Carter
Clay Steakley	...	W.S. 'Fluke' Holland
Johnathan Rice	...	Roy Orbison

Also Known As:

Cash (USA) (original script title)
Walk the Line (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language, thematic material and depiction of drug dependency.

Runtime:

136 min | 153 min (extended cut)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Russian

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:PG | Norway:11 | Germany:6 | Australia:M | Czech Republic:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Brazil:12 | Spain:18 | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:U | Hungary:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | France:U | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Arkansas, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

When Johnny Cash wakes up on the tour bus, just after the Folsom Prison performance, he walks past a passed-out Luther Perkins (his guitarist) who has a lit cigarette in his mouth, and he puts out Luther's cigarette. Luther Perkins died months after the 'At Folsom Prison' recording/performance. He fell asleep in his Tennessee home with a lit cigarette in his mouth, and died from injuries sustained in the resulting fire.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the tractor hits the water, it has no engine or smoke stack. The tractor reappears later in the scene.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Warden: M-Mr. Cash? M-Mr. Cash?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

Soundtrack:

In the Sweet By and By

worthy of its subject matter, truthful

Whenever I see so much "Oscar worthy" tags/blurbs in an ad campaign I get nervous, see Cinderella Man. Usually you look closely at the fine print and see that the esteemed critic lauding the film is Joe Schmoe from the One Stop Light Bugle Press in Buttcreek, Illinois or a low level flunky who just happens to work for the media conglomerate that is distributing the film. So my heart sank a little when a film I have been eagerly awaiting was swaddled with such praise when the ads hit the air.

But they're right for once.

Joaquin Phoenix wears Johnny Cash like a suit. He isn't doing a Rich Little impersonation, you don't rub your eyes in disbelief, but he channels a man so distinct in appearance and voice to a level that is beyond admirable. One of the traits that made Johnny Cash a legend was that nobody sounded or looked like him. Short of a computer generated Cash walking around in his own bio-pic like one of those John Wayne beer commercials this is the definitive representation.

And yet Phoenix may not give the best performance in the film.

Reese Witherspoon more than holds up her end in a role that easily could have been reduced to a clichéd bumpkin. Witherspoon portrays the on-stage June in the way June portrayed her own "character", the stage persona that people adored, while giving her the resolve and inner strength to be the woman who tamed a hell-bent, grizzly bear of a man like John.

The chemistry of Phoenix and Witherspoon together in any scene, but their on-stage duets in particular, are truthful in a way that resonates long after the credits. I know that unless you have been living in a cave for the past week you have likely been bombarded with the word that the actors sing themselves without use of lip syncing. I have never been a fan of musicals, or even musical performances in a film. They generally seem forced and uncomfortable to me, the moment when I stop experiencing the story and feel reminded that I am watching a movie. I never felt that in this film. I never felt that their singing took the focus of the film, but the performances work with the story like no other music bio I have ever seen. I never felt as if I was being led through the catalog, the songs felt as organic and natural as any spoken dialog in a great narrative.

This film far exceeded my expectations and afforded me the first trip home from a theater with a true feeling of satisfaction in a very, very long time. Highly recommended.