Movie Reviews Net

Johnny Cash was a pretty cool guy. I like some of his music, I have a few of his Sun records, but I can’t claim to be his biggest fan or anything. Mainly I just find the guy to be interesting. When I heard that they were making a movie based on his life, I was rather unsure what to expect, since Hollywood adaptations tend to be either horrible or amazing. In the case of Walk The Line, it’s a bit of both.

My main problem with the film is that it doesn’t cover enough of Cash’s most turbulent periods much, instead opting to make the film into a two dimensional dramatic love story. While both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Whitherspoon do good jobs at acting, I really wanted to see the darker side of Cash’s life in full detail. What they do show of Cash’s life is pretty good, though as previously stated, the focus on Cash’s relationship with Carter bugs me. It just seems rude to completely paint over the fact that Cash was a really intense drug addict for a large part of his career. I think this is something that would really effect your life, and since it went on for decades, I think it is worth documenting, if only to fully understand his recovery from addiction. But that aside, this is a pretty decent picture. Could have been a lot better, but it could have been a lot worse too.