Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Walk the line.


On the whole, I thought this was a very well done film. Pheonix was convincing and the chemistry between Cash and Carter worked well. Johnny Cash is my father's favourite, so I've grown up listening to Cash's music (much against my will for the most part) and have a sort of love/hate relationship as a consequence.
I really do hate country & western music (and I don't think hate is an overstatment in this case) and find it self indulgent and depressing, but I've never really seen Cash in the light of C&W since his music always seemed to me to be something more akin to an American folk music in the same way as Paul Simon (another favourite of my father) or Bob Dylan, where as C&W is more like a self contained genre with its own mythology and symbolism. Cash transcends these and reaches heights which can't really be described in genre terms. His music is good, his voice superb and his lyrics poigniant.

2 comments:

marinergrim said...

I thought it was a great film and thoroughly deserved the awards it received. The two main performances were fantastic with only Robert Patrick letting the film down with his acting. It was a film that didn't leave you with any emotions for Cash but some sympathy for the two women in his life, neither of whom deserved the treatment they got.

moif said...

Yes, although it was indicated that Cash settled down after he won Carter's affections and they lived 'happily ever after'.