As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Reese Witherspoon, so I watched Walk the Line last night. (Also because I've had the DVD for about three weeks and need to order a film on Netflix for an Econ project. And also because "Ring of Fire" came up on my music player on the way home...)I vaguely remember Torgo's lukewarm review of the movie, so maybe that biased my viewing experience. Because other than the scenes where there's singing, I thought it lacked depth. For a movie that was supposed to be about Johnny Cash's singing/songwriting talents and his drug problems, it didn't have the necessary passion, angst, or grit to make it all compelling. All the family arguments and drug/womanizing scenes seemed a little too clean and edited to be effective at any level. The only thing it did slightly better was really hammer home the point that Johnny was really hankerin' after June somethin' fierce. (Joaquin Phoenix's clumsy movements were reminiscent of Hrithik Roshan's lovelorn puppy dog eyes in Jodhaa Akbar.) But at times even their supposed deep friendship and romance wasn't conveyed very well onscreen -- most of the time it was depicted as just June being there for John during his periods of heavy substance abuse. Oh, and there's a fishin' scene that also united them. But that's really about it. It was pretty sterile.
Having said that, though, it was a little addictive, and I couldn't stop watching it, even though it was pretty long. I kept waiting for more scenes with singing. Also, I thought Reese Witherspoon did a convincing job of portraying a complex woman facing social double standards who thinks she has to mask her own struggles with a smile. The title is apt.
The songs were all good, though. And I've been humming "Folsom Prison" all day...
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