Sunday, November 27, 2005

Walk the Line

We saw Walk the Line yesterday afternoon. First, let me say this: go see it. I was reluctant. Johnny Cash is a huge cultural figure to me, and very much an iconic figure - how could anybody fill his shoes? It would be like casting an actor to play Bob Dylan. That said, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon laid down fantastic performances. The Folsom Prison performance sequence was magical, as was the sequence where Johnny and June sang Jackson together in Windsor, Ontario, and he proposed.

Well done!

Now, the film I would really love to see would be the film of a later chapter in Johnny Cash's life, beginning on the day when a somewhat burnt out Johnny Cash meets Rick Rubin and begins a marvellous artistic rejuvination. If any of you are somehow or other not aware of Johnny Cash's work on American records, start with the first one, American Recordings. When I first heard that record, all I could say was WOW, where the hell did this come from?

2 comments:

greatwhitebear said...

I saw this thursday night and really enjoyed it!

zydeco fish said...

I guess I should see this. I am not a Reese fan, but that shouldn't hold me back, I guess. Maybe they should make a sequel with the same actors a few years down the road. I've heard that Johnny Cash chose Joaquin Phoenix to play him in the movie. I wonder if that's true.