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Biographical Drugs Musicians Rock and Roll

Walk the Line begins with a concert by Johnny in which Johnny is suspiciously absent. After a few minutes of the band looking around with puzzled expressions on their faces, the camera finds him playing with the saw in the prison shop. Cut to a much younger John, and his brother Jack, at home in bed discussing their relative talents. Cut to the fields and an argument between Mom and Ray, Johnny's father, regarding the piano. Cut to Jack and John cutting wood. Cut to Johnny fishing. On the walk home, an angry father tosses Johnny into the truck and, at home, Johnny discovers that Jack has been the victim of a wood cutting accident while Johnny was out goofing off. Cut to an angry Dad giving Jack a hard time about his brother's death.

Cut to Johnny as he leaves for the Air Force. Dad still seems to blame him for his brother's death, and it doesn't seem like there's a lot of love lost between the two anyway. He does say goodbye to Tommy and his sister. Cut to Johnny calling his "girl" Vivian. Vivian's dad doesn't seem to like him either. Cut to Johnny watching a movie about Folsom Prison. Cut to Johnny writing a song about the place.

Cut to Johnny waking up next to Vivian. The baby cries, Viv reminds him that he needs to sell stuff and we watch Johnny get turned down at several homes. Cut to Johnny walking through the streets, staring into the back door of a studio and practicing in the back yard. After an argument with Viv about the state of their finances, Johnny goes to talk to Mister Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Sam doesn't care much for John's gospel so Johnny does a couple of the songs he wrote in the Air Force, Sam likes what he hears, they make a record and we cut to Johnny on stage with folk like June Carter and Jerry Lee Lewis.

While on the road he spends a bit of time with June and, at home, he spends a bit of time listening to Viv complain. Back on the road, he spends more time with June and Jerry and the boys then a bit more time with June and a bit less time with the boys. Eventually, Johnny falls in with a pretty fast crowd; drugs, groupies, drinking, bombs and even Elvis. Of course you know the way these things go; Eventually the drugs and fast women get the better of the guy. He ends up touring with June and, of course, they fall in love while Viv whines herself into oblivion. Drugs? Well, drugs don't do anyone any good...

This is a nice, warm, film about the birth of Rock and Roll with some excellent performances both on and off the stage. It's pretty easy to tell that these guys aren't the folk they're emulating but, they do an impressive job of emulating some pretty legendary folk. Personally, I think Reese's performance is probably the best. Phoenix has got some pretty huge shoes to fill and only falls a few sizes too short. I don't think that's really his fault either. This does tread awfully lightly in a few places that I think they could have spent a bit more time with and offers a sort of cleaned up, Hollywood version of Cash's life and loves and so on. Phoenix is simply playing within the parameters set out for him. At any rate, it's a nice job and a nice tribute to the man. It just wanted a bit more edge.

Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for Actress In A Leading Role and Phoenix was nominated for Actor In A Leading Role, Arianne Phillips was nominated for Costume Design, Michael McCusker was nominated for Film Editing and Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill and Peter F. Kurland were nominated for Sound Mixing.