Tagline
Love is a burning thing.
Plot
How do you start a film in which music plays an important part? By playing that music. Next, how do you find out which musician belongs to that music? Of course, by showing his most famous show. We hear thumping music, we are at Folsom Prison, and we know the man we’re bound to see is Johnny Cash. Instead of his head, however, we see his thumb gliding over a saw, and we follow him in what seems to be a big flash-back of his life; from his early childhood through the years he was addicted to alcohol and sleeping pills, to his present life. A life he owes his one and only true love, June Carter. But like every dream-come-true story they have to take a lot before they finally find each other: they both marry someone else, Johnny has his addictions and a bad relationship with his father, June has two daughters and she’s had too much misery in her life to give herself to him without further ado.
Acting
This film won one Oscar: Best Female in a Leading Role (Reese Witherspoon). In my (humble) opinion, Joaquin Phoenix (as Johnny Cash of course) certainly deserved one too. They both play phenomenally. And although there are some boring parts in the film, it never gets really bad because the music keeps up the rhythm. Random fact: both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix did their own singing. How cool is that?!
Verdict: Go see it before it’s too late! Beware though: I had ‘Ring of Fire’ stuck in my head for days after watching it. Apart from that you’ll have a great time, even if you’re not into country music (in his early years, Johnny Cash was more the Rock-‘n-Roll type).
Malin