Walk the Line - Here comes the man in black

‘Walk the Line’ is the biopic of a popstar called Johnny Cash who actually made it big without going on X-Factor or American Idol.  Therefore, for the younger generations, this film may come as a surprise that a singer can become world famous without having to survive Simon Cowell’s ‘hilarious’ put-downs.  However, what Cash and those who gain fame through phone-in voting on Saturday nights have in common is that they both led pretty hectic (and some might say tragic) lives.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Cash, with an (Oscar-winning) Reece Witherspoon as the ‘other woman’ in his life, June Carter.  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 catalogue, the songs felt as organic and natural as any spoken dialog in a great narrative.

You don’t have to be a fan of Cash and Carter to appreciate this.  It’s a great story of tragic love, set against a time when music was more than the race for the Christmas Number 1.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one