The Lost Highway: Walk the Line
Posted by Mary Markham on 03.11.2006
"Hope you boys brought yourselves a pine box cause nobody follows The Killer."
I realize that Oscar week is over (thank god!) and that I personally am sick of any talk of "Brokeback Mountain", "Capote", "Crash" (nope!) or any other over bloated celebrity ego! However I did watch "Walk the Line" the other night and very simply I was moved to tears and blown away at what a beautiful and simple film it is. I'm really glad Phillip "Capote" Hoffman won best actor but in my own reality it went to Joaquin Phoenix whose performance as Johnny Cash was nothing short of stunning. Everyone was caught up in the buzz over Reese Witherspoon's performance (and let me just say I adore her and think she is one of the smartest and gifted actresses in Hollywood) but Joaquin brought Johnny Cash to life for me.
We all know Johnny Cash. We all know his songs, his swagger, that he's the man in black. What I didn't know was a lot! People say this film didn't deliver on the level they expected and spent too much time chronicling his struggles with addiction and self degradation. However I disagree. See these are the things I didn't know about him. I knew nothing about his abrasive childhood or that he had a brother who died. I didn't realize he was in the service or that he had married someone else before June Carter. I also did not know that he was horribly addicted to pills and that Elvis was the impetus for the habit! So all of these things I did not know. My question is to all the naysayers: What more do you want?
The film envelops you in a world that seems archaic and probably is. It is a world of hard living, hard working, poor families in the south who are trying to be good Christians while toiling away to feed their children. This is a time when everyone helped out including the women and children. A time where the only distraction was the little old box radio that hopefully tuned in to another world. A simpler time. Perhaps this simplicity is what allowed Johnny Cash his outlet. His love of music was innate within him even as a child and that is what eventually saved his soul.
Watching this film I found myself nostalgic for a time that I myself never knew. Where rock music was a new invention and offered a fresh, individual perspective on small town living. I loved the strangeness of the organized tours that these musicians went on. Most definitely the birth of the rock concert. Can you imagine attending a show where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash were all playing on the same stage?? It's mind boggling. Young talent who carved their sounds in stone on stages all over the U.S.of A. The good old days!
Johnny Cash's story is not atypical of many southern families of that time. A hard working father who's stern, demanding ways often damaged his children's psyche, fracturing their self-esteem with every ferocious word. That was just the way it was. In Cash's case he was indirectly blamed for the accidental death of his brother Jack. The golden child in his father's eye. In the film John's father, Ray Cash (played effortlessly by the often underused Robert Patrick) tells him it should've been him that died. Those were the damning word for the already sensitive John. Those words and the sentiment behind them were responsible for his blossoming career and the downward spiral that was to come.
The pain that I felt throughout the film was that I understood. I understood why there was always a hint of sadness behind his beautiful eyes and why he was quiet yet charming at the same time. He never believed he was worth a goddamn thing. And that is the tragedy. Here was a man whose simple songs moved millions of people. They all related to those words and the driving rhythm behind them. He was singing about all of them. And yet every night he would lay his head down in shame or frustration. He battled the gift within him daily. The other part of his pain was his eternal love for June Carter and just how long it took him to finally win her over. Ultimately she was the reason he dove headfirst into his addictions because the rejection and his lack of self worth were just too much to bear. His demons were dark shadows that followed him everywhere. His uniform of black at first practical became a place to hide.
Lastly what hurt the most was the lifetime of damage that a single human being can inflict on another. John's father shattered any trust he may have had in himself. He snuffed out the light that was so special and caused his son to always question was he really worth it. To the bitter end John's sole demon was his father. And I honestly don't think Ray Cash was every really proud of his immensely successful and brave son. And that is the real tragedy. It's a mistake parents will continue to make for the remainder of our time here on earth.
"Mister big shot, Mister pill poppin' rock star. Who are you to judge, you ain't got nothin', big empty house, nothin', children you don't see , nothin', big ol' expensive tractor stuck in the mud, nothin'."
Amongst all this pain, Johnny Cash triumphed in the end. He may not have believed in himself but he believed in his music and that prevailed over every other obstacle. That and his abiding love for his own angel, June Carter. And that gives me hope.
