On the one hand I feel a films primary goal is to tell a strong story, and in most circumstances when this comes into conflict with accuracy I will fall heavily on the side of the interesting lie. But on the other they carry the expectation of documenting the subject, that knowledge about them will be gleaned through it's viewing. That authenticity has it's own value. Especially if like Walk The Line the subject is either living or did so within recent memory.
There are a number of points in the film that made me question it's reliability, convenient elements, such as the Foghorn Leghorn qoute that are almost certainly fiction. And while much of the tale may be true, I don't know enough about The Man in Black to say which is what and the upshot being that I was left uneasy about it's nature throughout.
Which is a shame, because there is much to be said for the film. I had to check several times that Joaquin Phoenix was indeed lending his voice to the obviously excellent soundtrack, his imitation is most impressive. And not just of his voice. It's a remarkable performance, from mannerisms to presence he was easily believable as the troubled singer/songwriter. Witherspoon is less exacting (almost certainly a positive thing given June Carters....unique diction) but was engaging all the same.
It makes clear in an extremely subtle yet powerful way why his music is so important in one of the films numerous memorable scenes. Oddly though the thing that stuck in my mind most was a piece of trivia the plot throws up: After recording his first record he goes touring with a traveling show, the line up of which includes Johnny and his Tennessee Three, Jerry Lee Lewis and one Elvis Presley, all on the same night. That is one hell of a show.
Obviously, if you're a fan of Cash you're likely to get a lot more out of this than otherwise, but I think it might also serve well as an decent introduction to one of the great performers of our time. A strong performance of a strong performer, but one that likely needs to be taken with at least some small amount of salt.
I wasn't much of a fan of Cash. I'm still not really. But I LOVED the performances in this film. The story.. well..meh! But the songs and music done brilliantly and..actually in my opinion.. better than the original!
ReplyDeleteI've hunted high and low for the version of Train to Witchita that he does in the movie.. NOT the one he recorded for the soundtrack.. but the one where he brilliantly builds slowly into the song. It improves upon the original to no end.. the original is of course good but its a studio recorded polished tune.. Phoenix's version is better because it has the raw amaterish appeal of a real live performance by a performer who is destined to be great... in my opinion.
The song he sings in the recording studio? That's Falsom Prison Blues, and ya, I couldn't possibly say "better" myself, but that was definitely the moment in the film where it became clear that they "got it". That they understood their subject and his music.
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