I knew a few phrases from maybe 3 or 4 Johnny Cash songs before I saw this movie. I knew he had gone to prison (though I wasn’t sure why), and that he married June Carter. I also was pretty sure he was a Christian by the end of his life and that he wore black all the time. Other than that, I went into this biopic with no idea at all what to expect.

The first thing that struck me after the movie was how similar it was to Ray in structure. Famous musician starts off life dirt poor, his brother gets killed and he feels guilt about it (which haunts him all his life), he enters the music scene years later, get introduced to drugs, gets famous, gets addicted to the drugs, cheats on his wife, falls in love with another woman, gets arrested for the drugs, gets clean, and lives happy. Both movies end at seminal events long before the performer’s death.

But the way those same beats all played out in the two movies were vastly different. The focus in Ray was how he beat his inner demons and their effects. The focus in Walk the Line was Johnny pursuing June, and the addiction, while integral to that story, was secondary. I think Ray had me more emotionally invested, but I enjoyed Walk the Line more.

Though they went through some very similar experiences and made some of the same horrible choices, I felt myself pulling more for Johnny Cash than I did for Ray Charles because Cash was moving toward something, while Charles was trying to escape. (See also Bryce Zabel’s comparison of the films in his Movie Smackdown series.)

I do think there were some lost opportunities in Walk the Line, though, in his relationship with God. My wife filled me in on what she knew of that, and it’s a shame that wasn’t portrayed with a little more emphasis. There are clear indications of his relationship to God waning and reawakening, but I don’t think the movie portrayed the conviction that Cash apparently had. It was interesting to hear the director’s commentary on the deleted/shortened scene when June takes Cash to a Baptist church. He said that in large part it was deleted because they were never able to capture the power of that scene as strongly as intended (and after seeing the scene, I agree with the choice). That’s the kind of thing I think would have helped - just one or two tweaks or extensions to scenes, nothing major.

(By the way, if the commentary on the deleted scenes is any indication, I can’t recommend listening to the commentary on this movie. This was the least interesting commentary I’ve heard on any movie, and I always listen to the commentary on the deleted scenes, if available, and sometimes on the whole movie. There was so much wasted opportunity to provide more information about the scenes or the process of movie-making. Really a waste of time.)

I also applaud Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon for their vocalizations (they sang all the songs themselves). They did a great job. Can’t say that it sounded exactly like Johnny and June, but they were worthy tributes.

All in all, I think it was great movie. A solid four star effort.

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