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Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro »

Two outstanding performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon elevate this above a lot of other films in the now tired biopic genre. Plot for plot this is not much different than other films about musicians but there is something more natural about the way the events of Cash's life are played out here as opposed to the more convoluted dramatizations of last year's Ray.

I've been getting into Cash's music lately but didn't really know the specifics of his life so I can't comment too much on any of the theatrical liberties taken here. However, I was surprised that Cash, who always had a reputation for being a man who was atoning for his past sins, wasn't shown doing anything any worse in his life than Ray Charles did. He took drugs, cheated on his wife, was never around for his kids, got busted once, and carried the pain of his brother's death with him his whole life. Typical rock star life, really. Pretty much the same story as Ray.

It's a really enjoyable film though, especially the live performances in which both stars suprisingly do their own singing and pull it off perfectly. Phoenix really seems to transform into Cash. Look for both Phoenix and Witherspoon to be nominated at Oscar time.

Posted at November 22, 2005 10:11 AM

I quite enjoyed Walk the Line as well, especially the performances of the two leads. My only quibble with it remains the basic Hollywood Freudism of the main character, implying that his issues and guilt were all related to his issues with his father. Perhaps a bit too pat and easy for the movie. But otherwise, pretty good. I loved the parts where they were on tour with the proto Country/Rock and Roll founding fathers.

Posted by: brent at November 26, 2005 05:20 PM