"Folks like a story bout a fella makes a great record an falls over a time or two, mayhaps he'll be redeemed afore the end, surely t'God, they love it, that sorta thing, they just love the fuck out every inch."
An' they do, too, an' ain't a reason in the world why they shouldn't.
So Mangold's film Walk The Line attempts to tell the tale a Mr Johnny Cash an' his wily ways, the successes an' the terrors an' the love that makes it all worthwhile.
Look here! Joaquin Phoenix doin' his thing cross the plains a the celluloid folds, look at him nailin that "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash", look at him singin yonder songs 'thout the aid o' some faceless nameless Proper Singer, look at him all afire when the frustration sets in far side o' a couple dozen tours.
An' look here! Reese Witherspoon as Mrs June Carter Cash singin' better than the woman herself ever did, however unpleasant such sentiments may be; look at her there all defiance an' confidence, an' yet wi an air o' uncertainty 'tween the gaps a those perfectly glistenin' teeth.
These two folks are fairly wonderful. The cinematography is beautiful. The music is glorious. The emotional up's an down's all present an' correct, yessir, from Johnny as a youngster out in yonder fields all sharecropper allocation, right through to yonder prison concerts, cuttin' on a high afore the record companies start lookin' in the direction a the soulless ballad an the aw shucks pastiche for their country wares, afore the heartbreakin slide t'wards disease an' death. In those final years Johnny Cash, with the immeasurable assistance of Rick Rubin, made some a the greatest music he ever lay that baritone across, but anyone shivered through the Hurt video knows it ain't the sorta thing ever gonna end your run a the mill Hollywood feel-good biopic.
An lo, therein lies the trouble.
In its rush to keep the ol' A B C's in check, in its demented race t'wards What Folks Dig when it comes to your lavish, gloriously enjoyable flickery, what Walk The Line misses is any Johnny Cash.
Where's the fella stood afore an audience all high on National Pride an' said "Hang on, y'see what we did there, I take it, when we rampaged cross these plains rapin an stealin an killin, y'saw that, I'd wager?"
Where's the fella crawled into a cave to die, returnin only when he heard the very voice a God tellin him to get the fuck back out there, y'big slab a mental?
Article comments
1 - Mat Brewster
Wow, I think that's the harshest criticism I've seen from a Duke review. At least in a long while. I really enjoyed the flick, but it does totally gloss over some immensely important parts of his life.
It's interesting to me that they chose the Folsom Prison concert to book end the film. Leaving out his lying-in-the-gutter-waiting-to-die conversion is just stupid. It is an intense moment that could have made for great cinema.
2 - Rodney Welch
Duke, I always love your opinions and I'd love to comment on what you say here if the whole Shane MacGowan act didn't make it so unendurable to read from the first sentence. For heaven's sake, drop the phony accent.
3 - DJRadiohead
I agree, Brewster.
Duke, this is a terrific review and I am glad I actually read it before seeing the movie. I will still likely watch it but you made some fantastic points and observations and the like. Particularly the part about leaving out the man's faith. One of my favorite Cash albums, first only available in the Unearthed box set but now available separately is My Mother's Hymn Book. Just The Voice, an acoustic guitar, and songs he grew up singing and that some people will have known for years. Just amazing stuff.
In fact, most of Unearthed is worth a person's time even if it isn't the place to start.
Well done, Duke.
4 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Mat and DJ, thanks for comments, good sirs. Maybe this is indeed too harsh a criticism for a flick that is, at the end a the day, an enjoyable couple hours. There's just so much glossed over or ignored, though, that it's impossible to see it as anythin other than a horrendously missed oppurtunity.
DJ - i love that record too, an i agree about Unearthed. staggerin box a wonders, that is.
Rodney - Thanks for the criticisms, man, an sorry you ain't diggin the scribbles. In my defence, i'll go ahead an say the accent ain't phony an the notion of the shane macgowan act didn't enter my head till here an now, although it makes me chuckle, the thought of it. Pretentious as it may sound, i just go wi how the words feel best. However far off the mark i may be, i try for some sorta flow that SOUNDS right, even if it takes a time to READ right. or maybe i'm way off an this neither sounds nor reads like anythin other than a phony accent or an unintelligble mush. I dunno. but thanks for bringin it to my attention, an i'll mull it over.
5 - DJRadiohead
What your review has done, in addition to illuminating some of the flaws of this flick, has forced me to go listen to Unearthed. In fact what it made me reach for is something I know you approve of, Duke. You played it on one of your podcasts. Cash and Strummer covering Marley. It's not a combination I would have conjured. It is one of the finest and most transcendent duets. Inspired. Inspiring. Masterful.
6 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
DJ, that's a truly blessed recordin right there. The Unearthed box in its entirity (really really awful name aside) is magnificent. One a my favourite box sets, alongside Clash On Broadway an Bob Dylan Bootleg Series 1-3. Gorgeous stuff. Look out for some Cash on mondo 15 also, which i hope to record in the shortly-times.
7 - Nathaniel Winn
I find the Duke's writing hugely enjoyable, and having heard some of his speaking and singing, can vouch for the authenticity of his voice.
And I cried more for J R Cash than I died for my own grandfather.
And the movie just made me want to read his autobiography again. (IOW, I agree with the Duke that it was lacking.)
8 - Aaron Fleming
Whoa, your enthusiasm and passion for the man and his music really comes through strongly here. Major kudos.
I have yet to see it, but I'm sure your criticisms are justified and not "too harsh", you gotta tell it how you see it, and you see it as a devoted and knowledgable fan of the Cash. Which makes your opinion extremely valid on the issue.
9 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Nathaniel - thank you, i'm glad you dig the scribblin an so on, an yeah, most certainly Walk The Line tickets should be sold with a copy a that book. It's a good flick, but ain't nowhere near any sorta authentic portrayal of the man. This ain't Joaquin Phoenix's fault, mind, he's exceptionally good. Just that what he's given to work with is shallow as a puddle a piss on the roadside.
Sir Fleming -thank you also, that ol' dose o' Kudos'll get me through many a turgid spell. I often get annoyed when fans of books, for example, start screechin when the movie version doesn't capture the text in question. i usually yell about no, the flick an whatever inspired it have to be taken seperately. i can kinda see their point, though, in light of this.
10 - Mat Brewster
Don't get me wrong, your criticisms are extremely valid, Sir Duke. You just tend to write about whats good about something more often than the bad. I can really see the passion for Cash in your writing and the disapointment in that the flick didn't really carry that.
11 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Sir Brewster, i got you entirely. It is indeed fairly rare that i write about things underwhelm me, usually becuase it's hard to think of anythin to say. in this case, the underwhelming was of a rather violent (emotionally!) nature, so stood to reason that words would fall.
12 - Scott Butki
The accent - or whatever that was - did make this hard to read and I skipped paragraphs looking for coherent sentences. I assumed that was your way of channeling Cash' more drugged up days.
I've heard wonderful things about the movie - yours is the only diss I've heard and it sounds like you're not saying its done badly so much as they didn't do all they could have. But could they have in a two hour film or would they need more time?
I've preparing to watch and review the movie by renting Johnny cash concerts and documentaries via Netflix.
13 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Scott, i look forward to your thoughts.
There's a similar diss in this month's Uncut, i discovered whilst enjoyin it o'er dinner this eve. The thing about it being well-made an so on, well, the problem is it's shallow as hell. things can be enjoyable in an empty sorta way, and some things you expect nothin more than that, but when dealin with a story such as this, i don't think that's enough. All that had to happen was someone who knew who the hell Johnny Cash was wrote the screenplay. The three key elements of Johnny Cash - Religion / Politics / Tradition are completely ignored. it's not that they don't include every great story about the man (although, well, ONE woulda been nice), it's that this character could be ANYBODY from any time. i dunno that the fact the flick is well put together, which it undeniably is, is grounds enough to overlook the gaping absense of any sense of soul about the characters, especially when the lead is Johnny Cash!
An on to the writin style - i been writin like this for a fair ol' time, it's just how i'm most comfortable. i realise that maybe makes it difficult for some folks to get into these things, but at the end of the day, this site is filled to bustin with brilliant reviews, there's room surely for the odd one here an there that's written in a different, but no less fretted over, manner.
14 - Scott Butki
o sure we can rite diff't ways - that's no prob.
15 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
see, i didn't have no problem readin that.
16 - El Bicho
I dissed it as well a few months back because it's not a bio on Cash so much as a love story between he and June. The film stops with about 35 years left of the his life and it doesn't paint the entire picture of the man.
John was a powerful artist and I wanted a powerful film that would blow me away as much as his music. It's interesting that Duke mentions Scorsese/Schrader because upon walking out of the screening, my friends and I talked about wishing the film would have had the power of "Raging Bull."
It's a simple, straighforward Hollywood love story with very good performances and great songs. If you're fine with that, you'll like the film. Some of us wanted more.
17 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
El Bicho, you have my complete agreement on the matter.
Another interestin thing about the Scorsese / Schrader business is, for better or worse, when Jake LaMotta is mentioned, the first thing comes to my mind is Raging Bull. The thought that, potentially, from here on out folks'll think of Walk The Line when Johnny Cash is mentioned, well, that's incredibly sad.
18 - Scott Butki
I thought of this review when I saw friends who are big Cash fans make a big deal of buying the dvd the first day it was available like it was concert tickets or something.
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or to translate that for Duke:
I tho' this review when I saw friends - crazy bloody blokes the lot of 'em - who are fans of ol' JC make a big deal of buyin' the dvd the first day it was available, like it was concert tickets or something.
I tried to tell em this ain't it.
This is not the real thing.
y'unnerstann?
They asked why I was talkin' like this and i said wot ya mean?
19 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Ha! Scott, you done tickled the guts out my face there an then.
the hilarious thing also is that i'll buy the DVD too. i'll be sure an complain loudly whilst i'm doin it, mind, so as the clerk don't go thinkin i'm walkin any sorta line says "yeah, this is a fine tribute to johnny cash right here".
an whilst we're at it, since it's hard to tell o'er the old webnet an all, am i detectin any hint of genuine disgruntlement from yourself, or am i bein paranoid?
20 - John Spivey
I remember sitting in a pickup truck in the middle of a field with my dad back in the early sixties listening to Cash sing "I fell into a burnin' ring of fire." I haven't been to see the movie because I knew Hollywood couldn't deliver the goods. I wanted to feel the man's weight. The man isn't about sweetness; he is about a lot of hard won soul.
21 - Scott Butki
John put it nicely:
"I haven't been to see the movie because I knew Hollywood couldn't deliver the goods."
I've been getting ready for my viewing of this movie by listening to his albums, watching his shows via netflix and I'll be seeing it finally soon.
But I think my expectations are going to be high and I'll join you in being happy there is a movie about this great man but also frustated it couldn't be more.
And yet maybe he's not just larger than life, he's larger than can fit in a traditional movie structure.