Walk the Line
Decided to watch Walk the Line the other night. The movie tells the story
of Johnny Cash. Now, I am not a Johnny Cash fan, per se, but I can
appreciate his music. He is someone I knew very little about so I was
intrigued to find out more.
This movie was great. Joaquin Phoenix played Johnny Cash and Reese
Witherspoon played June Carter (Cash). Both actors did an extraordinary
job. I truly felt they were Johnny and June. I never once felt they were
acting. I had read about the work they both did and how they learned to
sing and such to become these characters. All that work paid off cause they
were amazing to watch. Joaquin is someone I never thought of one way or the
other, but he has certainly become quite a wonderful actor. From Gladiator
to Ladder 49 he has shown he can play good and evil, ugly and sexy. And
Reese. Well what is not to love about Reese. She plays a smart, yet dim
girl like no one else in Legally Blonde but in Walk the Line she shows there
is a lot more to her than just comedic value and a cute smile. She won an
oscar for this role and I must say it is one of the few choices to which I
would agree with the academy.
Similar to Ray (with Jamie Foxx), you finish watching this movie and feel
like this legend, this icon you had heard about and built up in your mind
was not only a real person, but a real person with real problems that in
some way parallels your own. It further confirms to me how the music of
both Johnny (and June) Cash and Ray Charles can move so many people and
seems timeless. These musicians truly experienced life and were therefore
able to convey that experience to the public in a way that made you believe
they felt your pain, shared in your joy and spoke your heart. I doubt we
will ever be able to say the same about Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan.
I would give Walk the Line an overall grade of A.
Walk the Line gets a grade breakdown as follows:
Story: A. True story with all the important elements of life.
Acting: A+. Reese and Joaquin were superb!
Enjoyability grade: A. Even without a vested interest, this movie keeps
your attention.
Overall grade: A. Too good to pass up.
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