[This post originally appeared in Dullicious, where I blogged as Barbie-dull for several years.]
Max advised me to go see “Walk the line“; he’d heard it was very good. Now I can tell him to go!
I didn’t really know Johnny Cash except a few enjoyable songs given by Amy (thanks!). I knew nothing of Johnny Cash and I had never even heard of June Carter (isn’t that some poor culture?)
It was a fantastic movie. The performance of the actors was simply amazing. I was totally mesmerized by Joaquin Phoenix whom I had seen only in Gladiator. I couldn’t get my eyes off of him. Reese Witherspoon was perfect. I totally forgot she had been Legally Blond in a former life.
And at the end of the movie, I was pretty sad it was over (the movie lasts 2 hours and fifteen minutes), and while reading the credits, I was bewildered when I saw Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon had performed the songs themselves. Incredibly good performance. I need the DVD and the soundtrack now 🙂
Also, I want to know more about their lives, more than what I learned from the movie that is based on the auto-biography of Johnny Cash.
I don’t know about “Mangold the Auteur”, and might need a bit more proof that this is really a director worth paying attention to, but this is a pretty watchable film. I found the story and film-making a bit predictable, like the usual bio-pic formula that you might expect if you’ve seen, say, coal miner’s daughter, or any other bio-pic of someone you love. What makes this movie stand out is the two lead performances. Reese is unbelievably convincing as June Carter Cash. She almost disappears into the role. And her singing! Who knew???
And Joaquin! We’ve been waiting for him to deliver a really spectacular performance for some time, and this is finally it. I, for one, resisted the idea that ANYONE could portray the man in black, but he does a pretty fine job. Not just an impersonation, but actually a performance worth watching. Really fine.
Watch for the Jackson duet. Really awesome.