Pendulum
arts & ENTERTAINMENT
Thursday, December 1, 2005 • Page 19
Cash captured in ‘Walk the Line
^ndrew^ince
RevJevve?
Walk the Line” is an absorbing
lopic about the late, great Johnny Cash.
IS film reminded me a lot of last
y^ar s Ray;” the parallels between
®^h’s life and Ray Charles’ in their
®spective films are almost scary. They
came from very humble families,
th tragically lost their brother and
haunted by it, both suffered from
addiction. “Walk the Line” is com-
P^^tely devoted to Cash’s story; we do
how his fame grows as much as
his life changes and how the people
him change.
"S Phoenix (“Gladiator"
j-Q *Sns ) piayg Johnny Cash and the per-
^^nriance is probably up to par with
Ch'^T performance as Ray
arles, which was great. When I saw
®y.” I completely forgot it was Foxx
Charles and thought I was
® ‘^hing Ray Charles himself I cannot
onestly say the same thing happened
I saw “Walk the Line,” not that
s performance was not convinc
ing it was very much so, but Foxx did
something special to completely envelop
himself in the character of Charles.
Having said that, Phoenix’s performance
might be more impressive if you consid
er that he actually sings all of Cash s
songs himself, no lip-syncing, which is
something Mr. Foxx cannot say that he
did.
Reese Witherspoon (“Sweet Home
Alabama”) plays Cash’s love interest,
June Carter, and she is one of the most
likable characters in the film. She is
charming and witty, but vulnerable and
sensitive. She is not liked by a lot of the
public because of her two failed mar
riages, but loved by just as many because
of her voice. Witherspoon also does all
of the singing in this film herself
The movie starts in 1968 in the pnson
where Cash would make a best selling
album. We are taken back to 1944 when
Cash was just a boy on his father’s fam.
It was then that a tragedy occurred that
would haunt Johnny through adultho^.
Later on, he would find Vivian (Ginmfer
Goodwin) just before he went off to
serve in the Air Force in Germany,
where he wrote some of his songs.
He eventually marries and has
children with her. It is kind of fas
cinating to see Johnny’s relation
ship with Vivian unravel; she
seems willing to tolerate Johnny’s
busy schedule and his drug prob
lems, but eventually it is June that
causes Vivian to leave, in a scene
that is a good example of pure
film.
Like “Ray,” “Walk the Line”
works in a lot of ways: its story, its
performances, the music. It is
absorbing, too. After watching
this film, I wanted to know more
about Johnny Cash, I wanted to
hear his music, it made me care,
and Joaquin Phoenix really has
that voice down.
Contact Andrew Prince at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Photos courtesy of http://www.movies.com
S
noin us for a ‘}{oCicCay ‘Reception for students
Wednesday, ‘December /
4-6pm at the ‘Maynard^ ^ouse
Sduttfe service Jff
*Come see £fon''s annuaf Luminaries
^fiursdav, Vecemkr i at 6ym
On front of^famance
tome witness tdis
^^y^i^*-leaclership-excellerice