Walk the Line

RG and I, plus some family members went to see the new Cash biopic at a theatre near Nashville Saturday night. The place was sold out and people seemed very psyched to be seeing it (clapped at the end - which I haven't experienced at a movie in a while).

I thought it was very, very good. It left me thinking a lot and I'd like to see it again. The theme of redemptive love was just beautfully done without beating you over the head. There was obvious, palpable sexual chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon, which is pretty rare in movies these days. You could really feel their longing for each other from beginning to end and yet there was almost zero explicit portrayal of their physical relationship. It was all in the way they looked at each other.

I was interested to see how Cash's first marriage would be handled, since I know the Cash family (including his daughters from the first marriage) were really involved in the making of the movie and the bottom line is that his pining away for June Carter broke that marriage up. I felt like it was handled fairly and sensitively. You really came to understand that unless John Cash had June Carter by his side, he couldn't be the man he was meant to be. But again, this never seemed maudlin or over the top. And they gave fair attention to the fact that Cash was very torn over the fact that he had fallen out of love with his wife and in love with another woman. He was never flip or callous about it.

The supporting cast was top notch, too. The folks who played Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis were spot0on without resorting to caricature. The people who played June Carter's parents had really small roles but were terrific...

And the music was great!

Highly recommended.