Cash On The Barrelhead

Walk The Line
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon
PG-13; 136 min.

Since they're only a year apart, it's hard to watch the Johnny Cash-June Carter biopic "Walk The Line" without thinking of Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning turn as Ray Charles in "Ray." Both films are about deceased giants of American music. Both men lost a sibling at an early age. Both overcame poverty and addiction to reach the top of their profession. Given the public's acceptance of "Ray," and Foxx's hardware haul during awards season, comparisons aren't such a bad thing. Let the parallels begin.

"Walk The Line," directed by James Mangold ("Cop Land"; "Girl, Interrupted"), follows Cash from his childhood in Dyess, Ark., in the mid-'40s to 1968, the year of his historic concert at Folsom Prison and his marriage to soul mate Carter after years of circumstances kept them apart. Taking on the daunting task of filling such notable shoes for two hours and change are Joaquin Phoenix ("Gladiator") as Cash and Reese Witherspoon ("Legally Blonde") as Carter. Both are up to the challenge.

Phoenix doesn't bear the same striking resemblance to Cash that Foxx did to Charles, but he doesn't have the shades to help him out, either. The look and wardrobe are close enough to make him more than believable (think the cover of 1958's "The Fabulous Johnny Cash"). Phoenix does Foxx one better, though, by doing his own singing. When you're talking about an icon whose voice was the main element of his persona, that's no small accomplishment. What's more, he nails it with goose-bump-raising precision on classic Cash tracks such as "Get Rhythm," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I Walk The Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring of Fire" and "Cocaine Blues." It isn't exact, but if he got any closer he'd be sliding down the slippery slope toward caricature.

Phoenix's performance is more than just the voice, though. He channels Cash's mannerisms: the tall, stiff-legged posture on stage, arm wrapped around the end of the guitar rather than over the top; the head tossing between verses and cock-of-the-walk strut around the microphone; the wild-eyed look. Like Cash in his life and two autobiographies, Phoenix and the script (written by Mangold and Gill Dennis) also tell the bare truth by showing a complete picture of a man who could be described equally well by the terms "God-fearing" and "hell-raising."

Witherspoon handles her own vocals as well, and does a nice job of capturing Carter's well-known reputation as a comedienne. She and Phoenix duet well on "Jackson," "It Ain't Me, Babe" and "Ring of Fire." The strongest scenes in the film are the performances, many of which run full length. The on-stage scenes also exhibit the strongest chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon.

"Walk The Line" also has an advantage over "Ray" in that it's driven by the friendship-turned-love story between Cash and Carter. When they first meet they're married to other people, and the only time they can rightfully celebrate their blossoming love is when they're on stage together. Even though you know how the story ends, you'll probably find yourself rooting for them to get together.

There's a long and bumpy road to that payoff.

Cash's demons visit him early. When he's 12, his older brother Jack dies in a table-saw accident. To make matters worse, he's left living under the roof of a disapproving father who's angry that "the wrong son" was taken. Cash doesn't find fulfillment in the Air Force, either, but starts to take an interest in writing songs while stationed in Germany.

The transformation into world-famous musician comes slowly after his discharge from the service and marriage to first wife Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin). Cash gets his foot in the door with a desperate audition for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, but in a matter of minutes is blowing it because Phillips (Dallas Roberts) isn't buying his gospel and is sure the public won't, either. With his back to the wall, Cash starts a slow, a capella version of "Folsom Prison Blues," singing somewhat tentatively as he looks for a sign from Phillips and waits to see if his bandmates will join in. Phillips warms to the song, and before your eyes the voice becomes stronger, more confident, until Phoenix has morphed into the Man In Black. From here the story picks up steam as Cash quickly ascends to the ranks of first-generation rock stars. With that adulation and fast lifestyle come temptations too great to resist: groupies and amphetamines. Of the two, the pills take a bigger toll.

As Cash starts popping handfuls of speed like candy, his world starts to crumble. The drugs increase the strain on his already failing marriage. They start to affect his music, his friendship with Carter and his reputation when he gets busted with a small pharmacy hidden in his guitar case. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael's tight, almost claustrophobic shots help drive this point home. You get the sense that a drop of sweat might fall of Phoenix's upper lip onto the theater floor as he rides the clammy throes of addiction and withdrawal.

With the sin comes salvation, which for Cash comes in his love for Carter and her help in getting clean. Sobriety paves the way for his triumphant return, in a prison of all places.

"Walk The Line" isn't without flaws. For the purposes of storytelling, Vivian Cash is probably a little bit unfairly portrayed as unsupportive of Cash's career and bitterly jealous of Carter. Some situations and dialog are undoubtedly made up or placed in different contexts. If you are familiar with the concert recording of "At Folsom Prison," you'll notice that the script doesn't follow the show to the letter. It won't matter. The movie opens with the band boom-chicka-booming away on the Folsom stage, nervously waiting for Cash to appear. He's in the shop, pensively turning a table saw blade with his thumb. This leads to a flashback to Dyess and then Jack's death. So when the story winds back to Folsom, the stomping of the inmates' feet and the anticipation of Cash's appearance will outweigh any liberties taken.

Cast in supporting roles are young actors Tyler Hilton (from TV's "One Tree Hill") as Elvis Presley and Johnathan Rice as Roy Orbison. Also appearing are musicians Shelby Lynne as Cash's mother, Carrie; Waylon Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Holiday as Carl Perkins and Shooter Jennings as his father Waylon Jennings.

The use of relative unknowns as the other musicians in the film keeps the spotlight squarely where it belongs � on Cash and Carter, on Phoenix and Witherspoon. "Walk The Line" is placed on their shoulders, and they carry it off. Phoenix inhabits the light and dark of Cash completely, just like Foxx did.

So let the parallels to "Ray" begin. Let them continue, right down the aisle to Oscar.