Walk The Line (2005)

20th Century Fox/Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: November 18, 2005 (USA)
Director: James Mangold

Review by Dan Hansen

I’m not a huge fan of stories that recap a person’s life because I don’t know how much is fact or how much is fiction. There is so much talk of “Oscar” for this picture, yet I don’t see it, except for “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” for both Joaquin and Reese. I know what it takes to learn to play an instrument and then there was vocal training for six months. I feel if they don’t get Oscars for their performance then Jamie Fox ought to return his, because al he did was imitate movements and lip-synced. As far as Best Picture I feel that ought to go to “An Unfinished Life,” but that’s my personal opinion.

“Walk the Line” is a chronicle of the country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton), Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne), Carl Perkins (W.S. 'Fluke' Holland) and, to become the love of his life, June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). Johnny would be proud of this piece because I feel it caught the essence of who he was as a man and artist.