REVIEW: Walk the Line · 7 December 05

I figured I would start my first movie review here on kimmelshue.com with one of this year’s best films.

Walk the Line is not without its flaws, but it is darn close to perfection for a biopic. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon perform the songs (voice and string instruments) for the film adding to the realism and depth. I have to hand it to T Bone Burnett and James Mangold for their direction with the music and actors respectively.

I am not that familiar with Johnny Cash’s music, nor am I familiar with his life story. I have to say after watching this film I have a greater respect for his music and how he came to fame. His music, as performed by Joaquin, is much better than I had anticipated especially performed “live” for the big screen. I found myself tapping along with each song.

I don’t normally enjoy Reese Witherspoon on the silver screen, with one or two notable exceptions (Election and Cruel Intentions). Here, in Walk the Line, she is fantastic. She helps convey the emotion of the odd love story. If she does not receive an Oscar nomination for her performance, I will no longer watch or even pay any attention to the Academy Awards. She was that good.

The strong performances by Joaquin and Reese coupled with the music performances by Tyler Hilton (as Elvis Presley), Waylon Payne (as Jerry Lee Lewis), and Johnathan Rice (as Roy Orbison) really carry this film through. There are scenes that drag along, and scenes that mimic the other notable biopic Ray, but Walk the Line is still different and has a different feel altogether.

Go see it. Go on.