"Walk The Line" Feels All Too Familiar

REVIEW: Walk The Line

This has obviously been a long time coming seeing as how the movie came out a little while ago, but better late then never.

The movie centers around the life and drama of the acclaimed singer/songwriter Johnny Cash. Struggling through a multitude of problems, Walk The Line exposes almost every trouble that Johnny Cash must have gone through. Echoing in the wake of last years Ray, WTL has a similar feel, including all too familiar scenes from the singer's childhood life on a farm, drug abuse, affairs, and much much more!

While this movie may differ from the type of music being sung, this seems to be the carbon copy of last year's Ray. So naturally, WTL expresses similar upsides, and drawbacks. Like Ray, WTL provides for amazing performances in almost all the characters.

Mr. Phoenix plays Johnny Cash with ease and brilliance, making sure that each moment of silent reflection is as powerful as his spoken ones. In some of Cash's more down-trodden of experiences, phoenix truly shines, showing that the power of a scene does not have to be compassion and sympathy for a character, but can be equally effective with the reaction of pity and sorrow. We know the potential of Cash, and it literally hurts us to see him stumbling around amidst the judgment of his supposed peers. Successfully, phoenix so brilliantly portrays Cash's downfall, that the subsequent upward climb feels all the better to the viewer. Phoenix will most likely, like Jaime Foxx, receive his second Academy Award nomination.

Reese Witherspoon is the other star of this movie. In some scenes, she even outperforms her co-star. Playing with June Carter's constructed hilarity, while simultaneously embracing her innocence and blind love, Reese Witherspoon is nothing more than a joy to watch. The brilliance of the performance comes with the complexity of June Carter's defense mechanisms. She sees her true love on a downward spiral and tries to protect herself from the pain she can only assume will hit her head on. The true brilliance of the performance however, comes not with Witherspoon's ability to show these defense mechanisms, but her ability to show how fragile they are. We see her trying to distance herself, but at the same time, it so apparent that the steps she is taking to keep herself from being involved with Cash are seemingly futile. In the film's pinnacle scene (involving a proposal on stage), we see those carefully constructed walls crumble...And we couldn't be happier. Reese Witherspoon, snubbed for her performance in Election, will surely get her first nomination for Best Actress. Along with Felicity Huffman, Reese Witherspoon is one of the category's only locks.

Unfortunately, the talent and performance of the individual actors far outdoes the quality of the film, a problem many had with Ray. WTL is a brilliant character movie, but never ventures away from its "Made For TV" feel. With awkward editing and a few second-too-long closeups, the movie has its flaws. We, as viewers, can watch and appreciate the characters and their interactions, but never truly become involved with the film. WTL lacks the quality that truly affects the viewer, a quality that Million Dollar Baby easily possessed. While this film may get its nomination for Best Picture, it will suffer the same fate as Ray and The Aviator, a worthy nomination and a reputation for being known as incredibly acted bio-pics.

RATING: B+