Biopics of legendary performers are perhaps the most ambitious examples of big-budget Oscar bait, though, ironically, they all roughly follow the same fundamental formula. Since movies about these rebels and risk-takers are rarely unconventional, skill and creativity must be exhibited in the telling of the story.
Every serious biopic comes armed with a dedicated cast and a built-in audience, but too many fall into the subgenre's traps'specifically, the urge to cram in too much. A tightly-focused approach is absolutely necessary, and James Mangold's terrific Johnny Cash biopic, 'Walk the Line,' will be seen as the contemporary model for an economical, crowd-pleasing portrait of a great musician.
Now, I seem to be one of the half dozen people in the world who doesn't like 'Ray,' last year's Oscar-winning biopic of Ray Charles. While Jamie Foxx's performance was inarguably fantastic, I found the film to be bloated and wildly uneven, veering repetitively from event to event. Instead of providing much insight behind Charles's music, 'Ray' simply connected the dots. By no means do I hate the film, but I consider it to be an overrated, superficial exercise masquerading as a passionate ode to Ray Charles.
'Walk the Line' is the film that 'Ray' wanted to be'it's absorbing, beautifully acted, written and directed, and it contains little to no excess. In the hands of co-writer/director Mangold, the film explores how the shy, earnest J.R. Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) became the immortal Man in Black. It briefly touches on his childhood and his fragile relationship with his eternally dissatisfied father (Robert Patrick), then skips ahead to his ill-fated marriage to Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and early stardom. Mangold wisely doesn't linger on Cash's struggles to become a star, as he instead chooses to explore Cash's ongoing infatuation with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), the spunky singer whose career he's been following since childhood.
Their romance on the road together is punctuated by additional marriages and divorces and Johnny's growing dependency on pills and alcohol. Although they're obviously smitten with each other, June's frustrating reluctance and Johnny's self-destructive behavior put off the inevitable. Johnny pines for June for the majority of the film, and even though we know the outcome, their love story is urgent and riveting. If you had to stand five feet away from the love of your life every day, watching them keep pretending not to love you, you'd be popping amphetamines and throwing sinks too.
It helps that Phoenix and Witherspoon give career-best performances, and their wonderful interplay is nothing short of this year's best love story. Phoenix sounds and moves just like Cash'his singing is flawless, and his transformation into Cash is equally as laudable as Foxx's Ray Charles. Witherspoon, on the other hand, is a genuine revelation; she plays June with merciless aim, becoming exactly what Johnny sees'the most desirable woman on the planet. Equally full of warmth, piss and vinegar, Witherspoon exudes irrepressible charisma and the kind of firecracker personality that defined Carter's onstage career. It is one of the best performances in any movie this year, and she will almost definitely win Best Actress.
Although it's surreal seeing the Man in Black moseying around in high-water pants and selling things door to door, it's downright exasperating to watch him have to deal with his nagging, shrewish first wife. Mangold knows the best way to make an audience sympathize with one of the coolest people of our time is to show him having problems getting the girl. In 'Ray,' Ray Charles seems to do everything for the hell of it, but in 'Walk the Line,' Johnny Cash's wayward behavior is given a poignant purpose and relevance.
The film is far from a flawless masterpiece'like a whiny concertgoer, my biggest complaint is that 'A Boy Named Sue' never gets played'but it's one of the best films of the year. Mangold's biopic simultaneously leaves you with a wholly satisfying and tender love story, a showcase for Phoenix and especially Witherspoon's ample talents, a better understanding of Cash and the overpowering craving to immediately download at least a dozen Cash songs. Unless you don't like Johnny Cash, get out there and see 'Walk the Line.'
