Walk the Line

Have you seen Joaquin Phoenix? I don’t think you have unless you’ve seen Walk the Line. Along with Reese Witherspoon, as his co-star, this movie is a must-see. This film, in my opinion, was one of the biggest films of 2006. It is a drama and documentary on the life of the singer Johnny Cash. The director, James Mangold, definitely let his skills shine with this picture.

Joaquin Phoenix played Cash and represented him down to a tee. From the body language, to the singing voice, you have to look hard to find a flaw in his marvelous performance. I don’t think that anyone could have made Cash shine as Phoenix did. Witherspoon as June Carter Cash, did such an amazing job fulfilling the role she won an award for her part. I think that the two worked very well together to depict the chemistry that the Cash’s had in their relationship. The director could not have picked a better pair.

At first, you notice that the color is black and white. I think that this sets a somber tone for the film. Color is added to show time progression. Then it’s flashed back to when Cash was a young child and shows how his father was not proud of him. His brother was his father’s favorite and this feeling is let known thought-out the film. When the father is around Cash, the demeanor of the two is distant and grudge-like. His brother dies after a wood cutting accident when the two were young.

The music is mostly Joaquin