A Film Review: Walk The Line
A Film Review
Walk The Line
By
Heba Wageih.
Walk the Line, starring Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix, is an Academy Awards best actress and actor winning film for 2005. It is based on the true life story of Johnny Cash since his childhood till his marriage to June Carter. It is a biopic that attempts to comprehensively tell Johnny Cash’s life story or at least the most historically important years of his life. It depicts his hatred towards his alcoholic father that affected him since his childhood and helped in forming this legend. It also focuses on the time when Johnny cash joined the air force, where he composed his first song “Folsom Prison Blues”. It also deals with the husband-wife relationship. It also dramatises Johhny’s first audition in an extraordinary scene. The movie sheds light on love among the members of June Carter’s religious family. It also deals with the love story of Johnny Cash and June Carter, and how it drove Johnny Cash to addiction to forget about his miserable life. It also sheds light on religious ideas like forgiveness and divorce.
“Walk The Line” is a title of one of Johnny Cash's songs. It is about Cash staying faithful to his wife whereas she is on the road: I find it very, very easy to be true / I find myself alone when each day is through / Yes, I’ll admit that I’m a fool for you / Because you’re mine / I walk the line. Along the whole movie we find a collection of Johnny Cash’s wonderful songs. Every song in the movie represents a period of his life. “Folsom Prison Blues” represents his childhood growing up in a prison, as he grew up with an alcoholic father in the house which led him to shut himself up in his room and listen to music.
The movie takes place in Folsom prison in the year 1956, where Johnny was at the back stage staring at an electric saw. From this moment on the action starts to develop in a flash back, and it takes us to the year 1936 to Arkensas, where Johnny Cash spent his miserable childhood starting by the horrific death of his older brother Jack in 1944. Time passed on and he joined the air force and left to Germany. Then he fell in love in 1954, married Vivian and lived with her in Tennassee. There he started his singing career when he recorded his first record . From this point he started touring. He met June Carter and fell in love with her ; he tried about forty times to propose to her in many different ways but she refused. Along the tour he also started his addiction , but with the help of June and her family he regained control on his life. And finally in the year 1968 he married June Carter after she accepted his proposal while they were singing “Jackson”. Then we return back to the present moment in Folsom prison, where the movie ends in a wonderful scene that I will talk about later in details.
Johnny cash lived suffering all his life because of his father, who always blamed him for not being there when his brother had his fatal accident. There was an internal conflict within him: he always felt guilty for his brother’s death. On Thanks Giving day he confronted his father and asked him where he was when Jack had the accident, but as usual his father put him down. He was an out-cast from his family. June Carter, too, was an out-cast but from society, because she was a divorced mother. She suffered a lot from people’s talk, and this may be the reason that in every time Johnny proposed to her she refused . That was also the cause of her internal conflict. Religion played a great role in their lives. Johnny knew every single word in the Holy Gospels and had the talent that helped him to sing them all, just like his mother. While June’s religious family taught her compassion and mercy to help the miserable people, they were the main reason that she helped Johnny when he lost everything. June was a very responsible passionate mother, while Johnny was an addict irresponsible father.
The brilliant ending scene brings us back to reality, to Folsom prison in the year 1956. He was dressed up all in black and he looked like he “was going to a funeral”. He was indeed going to the funeral; he was putting an end to his past life in which he was imprisoned for years. On stage he holds up a cup of yellow dirty water that the prisoners drink; it symbolises the worst that could ever happen in life. He says, “I thank God that I do not have to drink this water that you drink” then throws it away and breaks it into pieces; he is telling them to hold on and wait – salvation will come soon with God’s mercy and forgivness.
I think that the power of love together with the presence of the alcoholic father in Johnny Cash’s life controls the whole development of the action. When Johnny was still a child, he badly wanted to get out of the house where he lived with the beast – his alcoholic father – ; as soon as he got the opportunity to leave he did and joined the air force, for his house was lacking the loving father-son relationship. When he was married to Vivian, he was motivated by her love to work hard and make her happier and more comfortable ; when problems started to increase between them, he again tried as hard as he could to engage himself with the tour. This is also clear when he first saw June Carter and fell in love with her ; he tried proposing to her several times , but on every time his proposal was refused, he shifted to drugs to forget his miserable life. Yet June’s loving family, out of religious beliefs, were trying with all their heart to help Johnny get out of his crisis. They believed that God is merciful and forgiving, so they helped him. At the end Johnny was rewarded by marrying the love of his life, June Carter. She was also rewarded with a good loving husband whom she loved, a reward for her mercy towards him and for helping him when he was an addict. It’s only when both of them started to get closer to God and “walk the line” that they were awarded by what they wanted.
Finally, I see that the movie Walk the Line deserves to be an Academy Awards winning movie, as both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix did their best in the movie. They both took vocal courses; and Reese Witherspoon learnt to play the autoharp to dramatise the life of this legend in its most perfect way they can. In addition, James Mangold, the director, successfully tackled chronologically all of Johnny Cash’s life from his childhood till his marriage to June Carter. I admit that I did not know Johnny Cash before watching this movie – which is something I should be ashamed of – as I was never introduced to know such a legend. The movie was successful: I know him now!
Walk The Line
By
Heba Wageih.
Walk the Line, starring Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix, is an Academy Awards best actress and actor winning film for 2005. It is based on the true life story of Johnny Cash since his childhood till his marriage to June Carter. It is a biopic that attempts to comprehensively tell Johnny Cash’s life story or at least the most historically important years of his life. It depicts his hatred towards his alcoholic father that affected him since his childhood and helped in forming this legend. It also focuses on the time when Johnny cash joined the air force, where he composed his first song “Folsom Prison Blues”. It also deals with the husband-wife relationship. It also dramatises Johhny’s first audition in an extraordinary scene. The movie sheds light on love among the members of June Carter’s religious family. It also deals with the love story of Johnny Cash and June Carter, and how it drove Johnny Cash to addiction to forget about his miserable life. It also sheds light on religious ideas like forgiveness and divorce.
“Walk The Line” is a title of one of Johnny Cash's songs. It is about Cash staying faithful to his wife whereas she is on the road: I find it very, very easy to be true / I find myself alone when each day is through / Yes, I’ll admit that I’m a fool for you / Because you’re mine / I walk the line. Along the whole movie we find a collection of Johnny Cash’s wonderful songs. Every song in the movie represents a period of his life. “Folsom Prison Blues” represents his childhood growing up in a prison, as he grew up with an alcoholic father in the house which led him to shut himself up in his room and listen to music.
The movie takes place in Folsom prison in the year 1956, where Johnny was at the back stage staring at an electric saw. From this moment on the action starts to develop in a flash back, and it takes us to the year 1936 to Arkensas, where Johnny Cash spent his miserable childhood starting by the horrific death of his older brother Jack in 1944. Time passed on and he joined the air force and left to Germany. Then he fell in love in 1954, married Vivian and lived with her in Tennassee. There he started his singing career when he recorded his first record . From this point he started touring. He met June Carter and fell in love with her ; he tried about forty times to propose to her in many different ways but she refused. Along the tour he also started his addiction , but with the help of June and her family he regained control on his life. And finally in the year 1968 he married June Carter after she accepted his proposal while they were singing “Jackson”. Then we return back to the present moment in Folsom prison, where the movie ends in a wonderful scene that I will talk about later in details.
Johnny cash lived suffering all his life because of his father, who always blamed him for not being there when his brother had his fatal accident. There was an internal conflict within him: he always felt guilty for his brother’s death. On Thanks Giving day he confronted his father and asked him where he was when Jack had the accident, but as usual his father put him down. He was an out-cast from his family. June Carter, too, was an out-cast but from society, because she was a divorced mother. She suffered a lot from people’s talk, and this may be the reason that in every time Johnny proposed to her she refused . That was also the cause of her internal conflict. Religion played a great role in their lives. Johnny knew every single word in the Holy Gospels and had the talent that helped him to sing them all, just like his mother. While June’s religious family taught her compassion and mercy to help the miserable people, they were the main reason that she helped Johnny when he lost everything. June was a very responsible passionate mother, while Johnny was an addict irresponsible father.
The brilliant ending scene brings us back to reality, to Folsom prison in the year 1956. He was dressed up all in black and he looked like he “was going to a funeral”. He was indeed going to the funeral; he was putting an end to his past life in which he was imprisoned for years. On stage he holds up a cup of yellow dirty water that the prisoners drink; it symbolises the worst that could ever happen in life. He says, “I thank God that I do not have to drink this water that you drink” then throws it away and breaks it into pieces; he is telling them to hold on and wait – salvation will come soon with God’s mercy and forgivness.
I think that the power of love together with the presence of the alcoholic father in Johnny Cash’s life controls the whole development of the action. When Johnny was still a child, he badly wanted to get out of the house where he lived with the beast – his alcoholic father – ; as soon as he got the opportunity to leave he did and joined the air force, for his house was lacking the loving father-son relationship. When he was married to Vivian, he was motivated by her love to work hard and make her happier and more comfortable ; when problems started to increase between them, he again tried as hard as he could to engage himself with the tour. This is also clear when he first saw June Carter and fell in love with her ; he tried proposing to her several times , but on every time his proposal was refused, he shifted to drugs to forget his miserable life. Yet June’s loving family, out of religious beliefs, were trying with all their heart to help Johnny get out of his crisis. They believed that God is merciful and forgiving, so they helped him. At the end Johnny was rewarded by marrying the love of his life, June Carter. She was also rewarded with a good loving husband whom she loved, a reward for her mercy towards him and for helping him when he was an addict. It’s only when both of them started to get closer to God and “walk the line” that they were awarded by what they wanted.
Finally, I see that the movie Walk the Line deserves to be an Academy Awards winning movie, as both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix did their best in the movie. They both took vocal courses; and Reese Witherspoon learnt to play the autoharp to dramatise the life of this legend in its most perfect way they can. In addition, James Mangold, the director, successfully tackled chronologically all of Johnny Cash’s life from his childhood till his marriage to June Carter. I admit that I did not know Johnny Cash before watching this movie – which is something I should be ashamed of – as I was never introduced to know such a legend. The movie was successful: I know him now!
posted by Happy-Go-Lucky @ 11:14 PM
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