Saw it tonight and loved most of it, though I thought it was a little too schmaltzy during certain parts and seemed to really demonize Cash’s first wife as a psychopath who hated his career (when all accounts I’ve heard refer to her as a tolerant and long-suffering saint who only finally left after years of Cash’s infidelity and drug use) in order to make the romance between johnny and june more sympathetic.
What is the story on that, anyway? I’ve always heard that Johnny and June only got together by leaving their respective spouses, but the film makes it look like both situations were long over before they ever got together.
I also thought that Reese Witherspoon was a terrible choice for June; Eddie Murphy would have been better casting for the role. Strangely, Shelby Lynne would have been perfect, but was instead cast as Cash’s mother.
I haven’t seen it yet, and I absolutely DESPISE Johnny Cash and anything he’s ever done, but I love a good performance. I’ll rent it when it comes out on DVD. I love Phoenix and Witherspoon.
I loved the Sun tour parts, that was awesome. Tuckerfan is right on, that is a major ommision. I was VERY dissapointed that the movie forgets the end of his life, the American Recordings sessions with Rick Rubin. Had I produced the film, I would have given the last 5 minutes to the American Recordings sessions and the late career Grammies, then rolled the credits against the Hurt video.
As a huge Cash fan, I was impressed with Phoenix’s job. He had me convinced.
On a side note, the day Johnny died, two of my friends and I took a CD player in the woods and drank Jack Daniels and listened to Johnny Cash songs all night.
I completely agree on that point! They portrayed her as a pesky, nagging wife who could’ve potentially hindered Johnny’s development as a musician if he had let her. Whether true or not, I feel like the audience didn’t get a very good perspective on that situation. Of course I also sympathize with her because I was in a very similar situation with a musician at one point in my life. I left a lot sooner than she did though, because I didn’t want to be that woman.
Great movie! I’ve also heard from several sources that Joaquin was hand-picked by Johnny. I think he didn’t really look a thing like Johnny Cash, but he’s still very handsome and I can’t think of anyone else I would’ve rather seen in the role. Except maybe Ashton Kutcher. KIDDING!! Also, the little boy that played young JR was freakin’ adorable!
The whole movie was really similar to Ray, especially that
his brother dies and he feels responsible for it and is haunted by it the rest of his life. Still, very well done. And I like these kinds of movies, so it doesn’t bother me. At least they aren’t making it up just to mimic the success of another film.
Another huge Cash fan weighing in to say it was terrific. I thought Phoenix’s singing was fine, but Reese Witherspoon … my goodness, the second time they sang “Jackson,” I was blown away by how much she sounded like June Carter. I saw it with a professional actress, and she was raving about the performances.
My only complaint would be that they focused so heavily on the romance that they left out parts of his story that important; namely the very strong religious faith they both had. His unapologetic but also unpretentious Christianity was a big part of who he was and is what drew me to his music 15 years ago and it only gets a couple lines-- though one is great – in this movie. Omitting the facts that one of his closest freinds was Billy Graham and that Cash was a regular at Graham’s crusades at the same time he was going in and out of rehab, or that he was performing straight, sincere gospel tunes at the exact same concerts he was doing “Cocaine Blues” misses one of – I think Cash himself would say the – central thing that people needed to understand about him.
It also was important part of their romance, for that matter; the fact that both of them took their marriage vows very seriously, even when those marriages had gone bad and they were in love with each other, was part of what kept them apart and made the relationship so difficult. The film makes it seem like the only disapproval of divorce was external – the snotty lady at the store – when in reality it was far more an internal struggle for them.
I guess the answer is that you can only do so much in one movie; but I still can’t help but feel that this was a bit like making a movie about FDR and only focusing on his relationship with Eleanor, and barely touching on how Polio shaped him.
I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t really familiar with Cash’s life story going into it, so I don’t know what was true or what wasn’t. Although my mom said both Johnny and June were heavily involved in it before their deaths, so any biases may be a result of that.
I will also be the first heretic - I liked Phoenix’s singing better sometimes.
One biographical tidbit is accurate – the movie shows them having one sexual encounter on the road while both were still married – and they did, even though they’d always denied it before teliing these filmmakers
I think it was a good choice to focus on the Johnny/June relationshp and end it how and where they did. One thing that was really missing from Ray was a strong ending. Yeah, more would have been better, but you can’t have everything. And if they tried to cram in more of, say, his “Man in Black” sticking up for the little guy, they would have had to cut out something else. And that probably would have meant cutting down on the music. And I wouldn’t have that.
I just got back from seeing it, and as a lifelong Johnny Cash fan, I have to say I was really impressed.
I liked that this film didn’t make a saint out of anyone. I thought it showed johnny’s first wife Vivian as a human being and that she left Johnny because of his boozing/doping, whoring and being away all the time. It also showed the jealousy she had for June Carter, which was understandable. The film showed Johnny Cash honestly as a drug addict He was a flawed and sympathetic character, exasperating, likeable but not trustworthy, like most drug addicts. And he may well have invented the rock-star-trashing-hotel-rooms cliche.
I thought Joaquin Phoenix did an excellent job as Johnny. He nailed Johnny’s performance of Ring of Fire. Reese was also phenomenal as June. Her voice was perfect.
I liked the Sun tour too, especially that they included a few things to show the character of the musicians. Things like Jerry Lee Lewis saying that they were all going to hell (something he told Sam Phillips once) and the beer bottle scene. I’d read that story and I’m glad they included it in the film.
Saw it today and all I can say is that Reese Witherspoon has an amazing voice. Made the movie for me since before seeing this movie I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between Johnny Cash and John Denver.
I didn’t get this. The Vivian in the movie came across to me as a basically good woman who would have been a good wife for someone who wasn’t a traveling musician. So, I more agree with BMax.
I think furt made a good point about Johnny’s and June’s religious faith; this was an unquestionaby an important part of who they were. But that might have come up more if they had extended the story past 1968.
I’m just curious, what do you find despicable about his work? I mean, I can see people calling it boring, tritely melodramatic, and otherwise not their cup of tea. But I’m honestly curious as to why you despise anything he’s done?
I see that you could find his boozin’, pilling & womanizing despicable, fair enough.
But it seems there might be another reason. Is there, a hopefully enlightening to me, reason?
I need some help, though. In the trailers, I’m getting a total “Hey! It’s that guy!” vibe from the record producer (?) who has the line about “If you were hit by a bus blah blah one song to tell God who you are blah blah”. Can anyone give me the actor’s name? Or even the character’s name? Thanks very much.
The character was Sam Phillips, the real-life head of Memphis, TN-based Sun Records, who released albums by not only Johnny Cash, but also Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and a guy named Elvis Presley.
I have to agree that Johnny Cash’s charm wasn’t given enough space in this. If all I knew was this movie, I would have wondered why June loved him. IMHO, the movie was not nearly as good as Ray.
I can not objectively score this film. I went into it this weekend expecting a good story and did get same.
However, I spent most of the time, just bug-fuck over Phoenix’s performance.
??? I did NOT go there to be a critic, but I just have to say it was the only time in my whole life that I just was swept away in looking at the professional plying his trade, and doing so magnificently.
I DON’T KNOW if the movie was good or not. But Phoenix gave me chills with the way he took this movie and ran with it. ManNIFICENT performance. I am blown away by Joaquin Phoenix.
I will rent the DVD and maybe next time I can pay attention to the story itself and also to Reese W’s fantastic performance, too.
I saw it yesterday. 10:10am, big brand new theater, rocking stadium seats, only me and 2 other people in the whole place at that time of the day. I walked in during the opening credits, sat down, and was completely transported.
F*cking fabulous flic.
I laughed outloud when June and her family chased off Johnny’s housecalling pill supplier with shotguns.
That scene totally resonated with me and the rural vigilante justice I grew up with. Ask me about the time some grand theft auto was thwarted in my hometown using a cattle trailer pulled across the road, sometime…
I thought both Phoenix and Whitherspoon did an amazing job. The acting was impressive, especially considering the singing. It is crucial to appreciate their performances beyond the (barfable) But can they sing? mentality. Not only can they both sing, but both sing well in character, and as character.