This film tells the story of the life of Johnny Cash, covering the years from 1944, when he was a young boy working on his father’s farm, until his groundbreaking concert at Folsom State Prison in 1968. The film concentrates on Cash’s rise to fame, and addiction to drugs, and his relationships with his first wife Viv, and his second wife, country singer June Carter (later June Carter Cash).
Johnny Cash personally approved Joaquin Phoenix to portray him (having apparently enjoyed Phoenix’s role in Gladiator) and June Carter Cash approved Reese Witherspoon to portray her. (Sadly both Johnny and June died before the film was released.) I thought that both Phoenix and Witherspoon were terrific. Both were nominated for an Oscar for their performances in this film, and Witherspoon actually won. (Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Best Actor award, beating both Phoenix, and Heath Ledger for his role in Brokeback Mountain. Personally, I would have loved either Phoenix or Ledger to have won.)
What is quite amazing is that both the leads learned how to play the instruments which Johnny and June Cash played, and they also performed all the singing themselves. And frankly, I thought they nailed it. Phoenix may be a reluctant star, but he certainly has bags of talent and charisma. He gives a note-perfect turn, and I really believed in his performance.
Ginnifer Goodwin was also great as Vivian Cash, Johnny’s long-suffering first wife. It has been strongly suggested that the character portrayed in this film was unfair to Vivian, and that she was actually far nicer than shown in the film (Johnny and June’s son John Carter Cash, was an executive producer on this film, and he has acknowledged the criticism and said that he wanted to show the love story of his parents. Roseanne Cash, Johnny and Vivian’s daughter, has been critical of the film also.)
The story was fascinating, showing how Cash always blamed himself for a family tragedy which occurred when he was a young boy, and which contributed to the very strained relationship with his father (Robert Patrick). It chronicles his early struggles to make it in the music business, and his subsequent success. Naturally, there is some excellent music throughout! It is a gripping and sometimes very sad tale, but it is ultimately uplifting. The chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon is almost palpable, and the play off one another very well.
I would have liked to have seen the story continue past 1968, and perhaps show more of Cash’s social and political views; it perhaps concentrated too heavily on the love between Johnny and June, but maybe this film is better viewed as a love story, rather than a complete biography. Either way, the superb music and atmosphere, and the two incredible performances at the heart of the film make this well worth watching, even for those not familiar with Johnny Cash’s music.
(For more information about Johnny Cash, please click here.)
Year of release: 2005
Director: James Mangold
Producers: John Carter Cash, Alan C. Blomquist, James Keach, Cathy Konrad, Lou Robin
Writers: Johnny Cash (book ‘Man in Black’ – based on) (book ‘Cash: The Autobiography’ – based on), Patrick Carr (book ‘Cash: The Autobiography’ based on), Gill Dennis, James Mangold
Main cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Waylon Payne
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