Recently, Emma and I saw Walk the Line:
Lauren: Walk The Line - what did you think, Emma? Even more boring than Brisbane?
Emma: Well put! I would say: Almost more boring than Brisbane. I certainly checked my watch more times than is ideal when watching a movie you've paid ten bucks for.
Lauren: Brutal honesty. I love it. As you know, I was strangely into this movie.
Emma: Tell us what you dug.
Lauren: Here are some things I've done since I saw it: Dyed my hair dark brown like June Carter Cash, as portrayed by Reese Witherspoon; eaten dinner at "Tennessee Mountain" bbq, albeit in SoHo; downloaded a “Walk The Line” desktop image for my laptop.
Emma: My goodness. It moved you considerably.
Lauren: Well, the interesting thing is that it just tapped into something else. Like, the movie was just okay…but I forgot what a singular time that era represents in contemporary American musical history, and I do have a secret crush on all things Rockabilly. I liked it for that essential truth - a brilliant story - but it’s still a decidedly unbrilliant film with no technical thrills whatsoever.
Emma: I can totally relate to that. I loved the look of the movie, and was very taken with all of Reese/June's costumes.
Lauren: Arianne Phillips, who did the costume design also did Madonna's Reinvention tour. She is a visionary (again, was compelled to research the look of the film on Friday night).
Emma: That's an interesting factoid. Yes, she did a brilliant job. What I also enjoyed were the small parts played by Elvis, by Jerry Lee Lewis, etc,. That was fun.
Lauren: Reese Witherspoon, whom I loathe like you loathe Kate Winslet (e.g. a total dealbreaker if she is in a film you might see), blew my mind.
Emma: She was pretty good. And she can sing OK, too.
Lauren: Joaquin Phoenix was similarly moving but not as surprising, since I've always admired his performances, since To Die For with Nicole Kidman.
Emma: It's odd. I agree he did a fine job but I was never wholly convinced by him. I certainly never pitied him or became seriously engaged with his supposed plight. But I think this was to do with the narrative structure.
Lauren: I feel like the main guise of the film was how faithful it was to the story as told by June and John, and that was the #1 priority, not necessarily an amazing script. There were some definite flaws in the narrative and the unevenness of certain parts of the film, e.g. the performances overall, the plot arcs, the tendency to portray people like Vivian, the first wife, and John's father, as one-dimensional villains.
Emma: Right - and it doesn't matter how faithful you are to material, you still have choices to make as a filmmaker. And in this case the arrangement and the structuring of the story was done in a way that didn't really dramatize everything in the best way.
Lauren: Totally. I just don't think it was the first priority, especially when the primary source is Johnny Cash's two official autobiographies, Cash and Man in Black.
Emma: Maybe. But it seems to me with such vivid true-life storylines and amazing characters to recreate, there's just no excuse to have a film that's ever boring - and I was often bored during this.
Lauren: It did feel like it was going to end five or six times, and then the last scene was far too group-hug-oriented for my taste. And slow motion: never acceptable.
Emma: Hee! Yes. It's weird, because it's hard to really pinpoint why it failed to fulfill its promise. And the stars did a great job. I think that I didn't really feel Johnny's falling out of love with his first wife, and in love with June: It happened, but it wasn't depicted in a fashion that convinced me.
Lauren: I think the script should have been written by some young hotshot, and it should have been directed by someone with more range, eg Allison Anders…
Emma: Right! Someone who would have played much left safe. Because I think that was the main problem: No risks were taken, there were no surprises.
Lauren: An indie phenom ready for the big league.
Emma: Absolutely.
Lauren: Exactly – "playing it safe" is nearly the opposite of the way Johnny Cash lived his life. Or even June Carter Cash, who was a total feminist phenom, even if she wouldn't have defined herself as such. What an amazing female lead that was for Reese -- such a juicy part.
Emma: An amazing, plum role for Reese. And to be fair, it's hard to imagine another box-office name who would have done even close to as good a job.
Lauren: Absolutely. And her accent was legit.
Emma: It seemed legit to me but I shall take your word for it!
Lauren: I loved the June character - so brash, so true. It's hard to think of a better part for a strong female lead in a film we've seen.
Emma: I know - and the scenes where she was on tour with "the boys" - Johnny, Jerry Lee Lewis and Co - were really funny. June stuck on a tour bus with a bunch of drunk men.
Lauren: Absolutely - a metaphor for the music scene and the professional world at large at the time, no doubt. Shooter Jennings did a nice job of portraying his dad, especially in the "down and out' scene in the apartment...
Emma: Yes, definitely. And the unknown actress playing John's first wife was interesting too - dull, bitchy and uncomprehending!
Lauren: The space between her eyebrows was her most memorable feature - rather wide, and oddly smooth.
Emma: I think I admired her eyebrows! I certainly recall admiring her hairdo.
Lauren: She didn't have much to work with -- that part! Those unattractive children! Being a love interest as a footnote!
Emma: Strangely unattractive children! Very odd. Still, I'm sure the actress was delighted to be cast.
Lauren: But Reese and Joaquin -- the world is their oyster in this film, which sadly fails to materialize as much more than a so-so mall movie.
Emma: That sums it up, I'm afraid.
Lauren: It does. I am going to see it again, though.
Emma: Will you wait for DVD?
Lauren: It's got heart. And great style, even if it skimps on flair. I am going to the theater! Do you feel three peonies is too generous?
Emma: I will definitely concur that it has style! Bags of style. No, it can have three. Two would be too few. Three is fair.
Lauren: I think so. One for the money, two for the show, three peonies for Walk The Line, and go Cineclub go!
Le Cineclub Rating:
(three out of a possible five peonies)
Previously: A History of Violence, Shopgirl, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Nine Lives, Dandelion, Going Shopping, Green Street Hooligans.
