Walk the Line

This afternoon I went to see Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. I could go into extreme detail on it, but I'll give you a few bullets and let you see it for yourself.

This is a good movie, and it's worth seeing at least once, particularly if you have any interest whatsoever in Johnny Cash.

The acting is outstanding. Joaquin Phoenix was a perfect choice as Johnny Cash, and there were several times during the film that when I looked at him, I didn't see Commodus from Gladiator; I saw Johnny Cash. I have no clue whatsoever about June Carter Cash, but Reese Witherspoon's performance is amazing.

The movie's got a lot of scenes of Johnny Cash being a lunatic and a drug addict, and it gets a little bit tiresome, but my guess is that was a large part of Johnny Cash's life, and a large part of the reason why his story, and the story of his eventual marriage to June Carter, was so amazing. Johnny Cash's early life (pre-1970) is portrayed for what it was: an outpouring of talent, punctuated by a series of stupid mistakes that ruined his life until those who really cared about him forced him to clean his life up.

At its base, this film is about a man who loved God, and who was found by God when he had fallen from grace. It's about a man who was redeemed not because of any inherent virtue he had, but through the love of God, and the love of a woman who was God's instrument.

I'm not going to say that this is a must-see film that everyone who's reading this should go out and see immediately; you should have done that with The Island. This is, however, a movie that's worth seeing if you have the opportunity, particularly if you have an interest in Johnny Cash.

I remember my own experience with Johnny Cash. When I'd first qualified as a DJ at the college radio station, I took a few time slots during the weeks preceding the actual beginning of the 2003/2004 school year. I was on the air on 12th September when Johnny Cash died. For the better part of two hours I tried to find anything I could in the archives and recurrent room by Johnny Cash; this is pretty much useless when you spin records at a station that prides itself on being "independent", even though it's financed by the state. Finally, as I was about to give up, I was on AIM with my friend John in Tennessee, and he reminded me (because I'd had no clue) that the last song on the U2 album Zooropa is sung by Johnny Cash instead of Bono. It's called The Wanderer, and I got to play it that day.

I went out there, in search of experience; to taste and to touch, and to feel as much, as a man can before he repents.

So, there you have it. Now, I'm going to go relax on my Friday off. Keep it real, folks.