Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Walkin' the Line


I saw "Walk the Line" on DVD today. I had meant to see this during my Houston exile, but it opened the day before we moved back here, and the local theater situation in Slidell remains bleak, with both of the tiny moviehouses still closed, and who wants to drive 20 miles just to see a movie? Okay, so I've driven farther than that many times to see a film in a theater where my feet won't stick to the floor. I just haven't wanted to lately. We are finally getting that multiplex we've been promised for years, I suspect thanks to that theater chain getting an insurance check for its property in New Orleans.

Oh yeah, the movie. The lead acting performances alone make "Walk the Line" worth seeing. I don't know whether the songs were recorded in the order they appeared in the movie, but Joaquin Phoenix's singing sounded more confident as the film went on, and, by the end, he was pretty much channeling Johnny Cash, complete with Cash's mannerisms and stage presence. He also managed to play Cash well, acting like a total jerk much of the time without losing sight of Cash's considerable natural charm or becoming entirely unsympathetic.

The relationship between Johnny and June Carter is the main plot element of the movie, and Reese Witherspoon doesn't disappoint as June. One question I had, however, was what kept her attracted to him. I got the impression that the movie version of June Carter Cash was more disgusted by him, and felt sorry for him, than she was attracted to him. Perhaps a little more exploration of her emotions might have been helpful there. Posted by Picasa

4 comments:

Ms-Chievous said...

Hehe, new release Tuesday!
I also watched this movie tonight.
I know it's movie land but I wish they could have adequately recognised the 35 years they were together.
I was sad when he died, but I cried when she died.
I think you really can die of a broken heart.
I think June always loved him, but waited for him to grow up and walk the line (although I think his proposal was very unfair).
I also watched "Ray" this week.
I was completely amazed by Jamie and Joquain.
I also watched "North Country", and now I intend to watch a few weeks of Barney and Sesame street, where no one does drugs, is raped, or dies.

Ann said...

This is one of the bunch of movies I've wanted to see this year but haven't.

Walk the Line
Good Night and Good Luck
Syriana
Capote
New York Doll

and these are just off the top of my head.

The only movie I saw post-Katrina was Wallace and Grommit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and I liked it a LOT.

Randy said...

I haven't seen "North Country," "Syriana," "Capote," "Munich," or "Brokeback Mountain," but I did see "Good Night, and Good Luck," which was very well done, and which speaks highly of George Clooney as a director. I've tried to watch "Crash" on DVD, but it's nearly unwatchable to me--a vastly overrated movie, IMHO. My reaction to the hour or so I sat through of it was, "okay, people are racist and that's bad; I knew that already." Anyhow, if liberal politics is your bag, "Good Night, and Good Luck" is a much better movie than "Crash."

doug said...

"I've tried to watch "Crash" on DVD, but it's nearly unwatchable to me--a vastly overrated movie..."

I almost gave up on Crash in the first half hour. The movie demands a lot from the audience, perhaps too much. IMO you aren't really rewarded until the end of the film and that is a bit much to expect.

Did you get to the part in the film where the child is shot as she is running out the house to protect her dad? It was at this point that I stopped being antagonistic with the movie, but that was well over an hour into it.

I am going to watch "Walk the Line" today.

But what I am most excited about is that my niece(aka SomeSchmo's daughter) is in town and we are gonna play.