Movie Walk the Line

Run Time: 2 hrs. 13 min.
Drama/Biography
Rating: PG 13 (language, drug use)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick, Ginnifer Goodwin, Larry Bagby

Oh, I loved this movie! We went to see it last night. My husband loved it slightly less, but it was because he didn't think Joaquin did a great job because his singing wasn't that great. I said I didn't think Johnny Cash sang that well, so Joaquin sang just like him! Although I never really followed Johnny Cash, I can see now why people loved him so much. Although he wasn't the BEST singer, he sang with heart and people could relate.

A note on Joaquin & Reese...they were amazing! They really brought out the spirit of Johnny & June, their acting was amazing. As most people probably already know, they had to really sing for this movie. They're not singers, but did a great job catching the sound. Joaquin hit those low notes, just as I remember Johnny doing. I also never realized that June wrote ring of fire. That was an interesting tid bit to learn.

Well, the movie starts out showing Johhny as a child. He grew up on a farm picking tobacco? I'm not sure what the crop was, but the whole family picked it. The father was an angry man. Johnny's older brother was Johnny's best friend. Johnny asked him why he was so good? He was a hard working, nice boy always doing what he was supposed to. His brother soon dies and Johnny is left with his Dad saying that God took the wrong son. Johnny struggles much of his life with his relationship with his father.

Johnny grows older and goes into the army. He asks his girlfriend Vivien to marry him after knowing her for a month. They have a child together & are struggling financially. Johnny crashes as a salesman & tries out for a record deal. He fails miserably singing a hymn lacksadasically. The producer tells him if he has 1 song left to sing before he dies, sing to sum up yourself, your life, your experiences. Sing like no one else has. He get's it and here a star is born.

Johnny begins touring, and meets June Carter who is a funny, vivacious and sweet young lady also singing on the tour. Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis & Roy Orbison are also featured on this particular tour. The actors portraying these parts didn't do such a great job. There were a few funny parts, but overall I had to work to guess who each actor was trying to portray. The Elvis portrayal falls VERY short! He was not only not nearly as goodlooking as Elvis, but didn't have the moves, not even close. My hubby commented on this also, I think this was a terrible portrayal of "the King".

Johnny is married with children, but his wife seems to not understand his passion for the music. I can see how she would be equally frustrated for he was gone much of the time, not tuned into family life, and there were girls throwing themselves at him. She also knew of his affection for June Carter.

Although June didn't heed Johnny's advances, you could see the clear chemistry and caring between the two. He hired her for his tour and tried to do his best to keep her nearby as much as possible. Early on in the movie; June was also talking with Johnny in a restaurant, and it seemed like he could open up to her in a way he did with no one else. She really understood, and that was endearing to Johnny.

June Carter gets a divorce, and a lady in a store tells her that divorce is an abomination. Coming from a religious background I think she really feels that and feels like a failure. Johnny keeps trying for her, and she keeps pushing him off. Johnny falls into a spiral of drugs after being introduced to them by Elvis. His drug/alcohol abuse intensifies through the years and he ends up being arrested. He goes home & he and his wife argue, and a fight ensues where the children are watching. She leaves with the kids and he is left in a drug induced state for some time. In this movie it never seems like Johnny and Vivien ever had much of a relationship at all. It just seemed like they were roomates, that was how it was portrayed with the wife being frequently angry and Johnny frequently tuned out to her.

In comes June Carter and her family to "save" Johnny from his serious drug addiction. She see's that though he's done some bad things, he is a person who is hurting, but a good person. This is a real cute part as June Carter's Dad chases the drug dealer away with a gun! She tells Johnny when he doesn't feel worthy, and is at his lowest point he has a second chance, and this is his second chance. He takes it.

Johnny goes to Folsom prison to sing to the inmates. The producer is worried that he will lose his Christian base singing to inmates. He replies that if that's true, then they're not Christians to begin with. Point taken!

Johnny says he has asked June to marry him 40 times with 40 no's. Finally he asks her on stage, puts her on the spot & she says yes. The joy is evident and long-time coming. They had a son together & lived for 35 years happily married. She dies from complications from heart surgery, and he dies 4 months later. I know he died from diabetes, but you have to wonder after seeing their love, and the strength she gives him throughout, if he dies so soon after she from a broken heart. If he is unable to go on without her. Romantic standpoint I took.

It was a true romance, and this movie was excellent and uplifting and also can teach valuable lessons. Both were married & divorced, Johnny was a drug addict, and they have second chances and find true love. They picked themselves up & were truly right for each other. They were also truly nice people. If you want a heartfelt look into this legend's life, I highly recommend this movie!

Throughout the whole movie, you couldn't hear a pin-drop. It was so thoroughly well done you become so drawn into their world. I also saw Ray, and enjoyed Walk the Line so much better, hands down. I think Jamie Lee Fox did an amazingly incredible job acting the part in Ray, but still don't know why they made that movie. I actually liked Ray Charles before the movie, and he was so devoid of redemption/likability, I didn't like him so much after that movie? Ray never became a better person through his hardships and this is where the difference in the movies is for me. This movie walk the line; however, show how you can go through horrible things, make mistakes and come out ahead and as a good person. This movie teaches many life lessons, and I found it much more thoughtful, uplifting & redemptive.