As a fan of Johnny Cash’s music, I looked forward to seeing this film but was leery as to how whitewashed it might be about The Man in Black’s early career. Cash fell into severe drug addictions and was quite a rough-and-tumble fellow. Fortunately, this biopic captures it all pretty well.
Growing up in the 90s made it clear to me that the rock n roll lifestyle was a dangerous one. The deaths of high profile musicians from bands like Sublime, Blind Mellon and most importantly Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain hammered home the fact that musicians can lead very troubled lives. Given that nostalgia paints a cheery picture of a simpler time where bad things just didn’t happen as often are largely false, and Walk The Line asserts these facts by showing the human side of Johnny Cash and his weakness for narcotics.
The film only focuses on Cash’s early career, when he breaks into the music scene, meets future wife June Carter and gets hooked on pills. The relationship between Cash and Carter develops at a rocky pace and Carter, initially turned off by Cash’s attitude and feelings, becomes his saving grace.
While the film really captures Cash’s life well, it’s also not the happiest film ever made. Bleak and depressing at times, the movie also seems to drag on in places and even seems to cover perhaps too much, leaving some parts feeling rushed and others overexposed. Nevertheless, Walk the Line is a solid film and a touching human drama.
As a fan of Johnny Cash’s music, I looked forward to seeing this film but was leery as to how whitewashed it might be about The Man in Black’s early career. Cash fell into severe drug addictions and was quite a rough-and-tumble fellow. Fortunately, this biopic captures it all pretty well.
No comments:
Post a Comment