James Mangold
Walk The Line

The film genre known as biopic, referring to those musicians who have stood out in the rock and related areas, has seen a substantial commercial success in recent years. But as I already noted for "The Doors" directed by Stone in 1991, this type of film has an intrinsic flaw as it focuses in a limited way on characters with complex and multi-faceted personalities. And in this vein falls "Walk the Line" (When Love Burns the Soul) made by James Mangold in 2005.

Here, inspired by the autobiography "The Man in Black," the director follows the events of Johnny Cash, one of the fathers of rock and roll who, starting from a country and gospel setting, matured into an eclectic style, crossing folk and rockabilly sounds. Showing a strong interest in music from a very young age (and experiencing firsthand the tragic work-related death of his older brother), Cash achieved success in the mid-50s. But this rapid rise did not spare him from a series of problems related to both the pressure of the show business of the time (with related use of amphetamines and dependency on these, a constant also for other musicians), and a troubled love affair with country singer June Carter (and divorce between Cash and his first wife). Leading to the turning year in Cash's career, which was 1968 when, amid a thousand doubts from record executives, he held an unforgettable concert at Folsom Prison in front of 5,000 ecstatic inmates and subsequently married June Carter.

Presented this way, the plot adheres to the scheme of the hero's damnation and redemption with an inevitable happy ending (indeed, the romantic intrigue between Cash and Carter has a sugary quality and will inevitably cheer the hearts of hopelessly romantic spectators). And one cannot help but praise the acting of Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (in the roles of Johnny Cash and June Carter, respectively), so talented that they perfectly perform the original songs of the two on stage. What, in my opinion, the director does not adequately delve into and only hints at is the conflictual relationship between Cash and his father (who considered him indirectly responsible for the death of his favorite son and Johnny's older brother). This background would mark Cash's psychology, so attentive in the lyrics of his songs to themes of guilt, consequent atonement, and attentive to the daily life of the losers of the American dream.

It's no surprise, in fact, that director Mangold, before making the film, met and spoke with Cash and, asking him what his favorite film was, received the reply: "Frankenstein". And this for the simple reason that in the story of that monster born from the combination of various defective parts, Johnny recognized himself and felt motivated to manage to redeem himself from an original state of handicap.

A man, therefore, psychologically fragile but animated by an inner strength that saved him. And this would have deserved, in the context of the film, more attention, rather than the love story between Cash and Carter. What is shown in the film is mainly an example of the cursed life of a rock star and reminded me of what the Rolling Stones sang in one of their most successful tracks titled "Sway":

"Did you ever wake up to find/a day that broke up your mind /destroyed your notion of circular time / it's just that demon life has got