Joaquin Phoenix has big black eyes and shiny black hair and when he’s dressed in a black suit, he is Johnny Cash. When he’s all jittery and whacked out on whatever it was he used to feed his addiction and can’t get out of the way of his own bones, just watching him makes your feel like you’ve joined him on the ride.
Reese Whitherspoon is perky as hell lin tiny waisted dresses, except when she gets tired of Johnny and then she is no nonsense Dorothy yelling at the wizard to deliver on his damn promises, already.
Johnny’s dad is the meanest porcupine of man with a narrow hard mouth and an evil dispositon. Viv, Johnny’s first wife, is tight and pretty and bubbling with barely contained frustration.
The acting is so believable that while you’re watching Walk the Line you think you’re watching June and Johnny. You know that they’re actors, you know that it’s not really Johnny and June, but still, there you sit, watching Johnny and June act out the stories of their early careers, hearing them sing in their own flawed voices.
Yesterday, after the movie, I went home and picked out “Folsom Prison Blues” on my uke. This morning, I’m listening to “Live from Folsom Prison.” Playing Johnny Cash this morning doesn’t make Walk the Line any less believable.
Yes! I’ve heard other good things about Walk the Line. Know what though? I think Netflix has spoiled me. I’m shocked at the movie prices since moving back to the mainland. I start thinking about going to a movie (and there are two complexes within 4 blocks of our house)…but then I think…hmm…if I just wait a few months, I can add it to my Netflix queue… Then again, that could be the school salary talking. 😉
You’re not kidding about the price of the movies. We paid SEVEN dollars for a matinee and then, because I was thirsty and wanted a soda, I had to shell out another 4 bucks for a 12 oz Coke. “Next size up for only a quarter more,” said the guy behind the counter. “Are you high?! Seven bucks for a matinee and four for a soda? You’re not getting another cent!” A-hem.
Still, in my underemployed mid day extravaganze of movie going, I have enjoyed the big screen. I would skip P&P, Prime, The Squid and the Whale, et al and wait, but Walk the Line is worth the big screen bucks. For that matter, so was Good Night and Good Luck. I caught Jarhead on a pass, but that’s big screen too. The personal drama and/or manners plays like In Her Shoes, that stuff ain’t worth the price of admission to see it full size.