"Phoenix and Witherspoon Cash In"
by Scott Mantz

"Walk the Line"
Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
Directed by James Mangold

A little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll!  Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix make beautiful music together in "Walk the Line"

If you’re ready to see one of the year’s best films, then run – don’t walk – to the nearest theater to see “Walk the Line,” the extraordinary new movie about the formative early years of country/rock/blues pioneer Johnny Cash.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Cash fan or not – you’ll be blown away by the magnetic, Oscar-caliber performances of Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary Man in Black and Reese Witherspoon as his muse, partner and best friend, June Carter.  You’ll be moved by the enduring power of their all-American love story.  You’ll be electrified by the vibrant energy of their music.  Heck, you may even walk back in line to see it again!

Of course, comparisons are bound to be made between “Walk the Line” and last year’s Ray Charles biopic, “Ray.”  Both films – which started generating Oscar buzz even before they premiered at The Toronto Film Festival – are about self-destructive music legends who triumphed over poverty, drug abuse and personal demons to change the face of popular music.

But despite Jamie Foxx’s Oscar-winning performance, “Ray” was a conventional, straightforward biopic that fell into the episodic trappings commonly found in the genre.  “Walk the Line” avoids those pitfalls by focusing more on Cash’s relationship with fellow musician June Carter, and where Foxx’s vocals were overdubbed by vintage recordings of Ray Charles, Phoenix and Witherspoon sing every note themselves – and damn, they’re pretty good!

Back in the mid-50’s, during the earliest days of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash packed themselves into beat-up cars and drove from gig to gig, where they played to screaming girls in sold-out halls.  But while his peers were shaking their hips and singing upbeat rockabilly tunes, Cash sang raw, blistering songs about heartbreak with steel-eyed intensity and a voice as deep and black as the night.

Cash blazed a trail for rock, country, folk and even punk and rap, but the one thing he wanted most was something he could never have – the reciprocated love of June Carter.  Despite their undeniable attraction to each other, Cash’s own family prevented a romance from ever developing between them.  But over the years, circumstances changed, making it right for them to finally embrace their love, get married and spend the rest of their lives together.  (June died in May of 2003, followed by Johnny just four months later.)

Based on the books “Man in Black” and “Cash The Autobiography,” “Walk the Line” is framed by the crowning achievement of Cash’s career – his unforgettable 1968 concert at Folsom Prison.  From there, director (and co-writer) James Mangold breezes through his dirt-poor Arkansas childhood.  After his brother dies in a freak accident, Cash grows up, joins the air force, takes up guitar, gets married, has a kid, moves to Memphis and knocks on the door of music producer Sam Phillips to audition his band.

And that’s when the movie really begins.  From then on, Mangold keeps the focus on his courtship of Carter, which makes the movie resonate on a more emotional level.  And thanks to Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett (the Grammy-winning producer behind the soundtrack to 2000’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?), the exhilarating, foot-tapping stage performances will leave you spellbound.

To that extent, who knew that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon could sing?  It would have been one thing for them to give terrific performances, which they do so effectively that Oscar nominations are practically guaranteed, but to go above and beyond by actually performing the music themselves gives the film a genuine sense of authenticity.  Both actors are beguiling in these career-defining roles, particularly Witherspoon, who lights up the screen from the moment she appears on stage for a bubbly performance of “Juke Box Blues.”

As for the supporting players, Robert Patrick does his best with an otherwise cliché-ridden role as Cash’s disapproving father, but Ginnifer Goodwin (“Mona Lisa Smile”) is particularly impressive as Cash’s long-suffering first wife, Vivian.  She elevates the role from being a stereotype, and her standout performance should not be overlooked when the awards season kicks into high gear.

By making Johnny Cash’s story so commercially accessible, James Mangold’s “Walk the Line” is easily the most entertaining music biopic to hit the big screen since 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”  And it’s worth noting that if you buy the soundtrack, you’ll be hearing the voices of Phoenix and Witherspoon – not Cash and Carter.  But that’s okay, since they more than do right by this timeless, terrific music.

So what are you waiting for?  Stop reading this review, and run – don’t walk – to the nearest theater to see “Walk the Line!”

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