TIFF - Walk the Line review

It was fun being able to attend a world premiere last night during the film festival. We were stuck with an obnoxious couple in the line who spoke to each other as if it was scripted. It was very surreal, he would stare right at me and say something, I would attempt to reply, but my words would not faze him. He simply carried on his "routine" with his wife. Weird.

We entered Roy Thompson Hall and grabbed excellent seats, just behind the Air Canada reserved row. I suggested one of the TIFF volunteers should have attached barf bags to the backs of seats in front of them. Heather thought it would be hilarious if a couple of them got up to show us where the emergency exits were in the case of an emergency. We had a great laugh (we're also easily amused!).

Like most films during the festival you're stuck in a line most of the time. Once you have been seated you're stuck waiting for the actors and dignitaries to arrive before curtain/projector. In other words the movie started around 40 minutes after the scheduled 6:30 screening time. Perhaps the Air Canada reps should have announced that the delay was due to a mechanical issue, or some luggage was unaccounted for.

Finally, the lights went down and Noah Cowan walked to the podium on the stage. He appeared to be very tired, and I'm sure he must be! He read his scripted thank you notes to the sponsors, and introduced the film and it's cast and crew.

The row of photographers stood in front of the stage like teen girls at a Beatles concert, salivating for that perfect shot! Out walked the stars of Walk the Line, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (did they cast on goofy names or what?). The audience went nuts and the flash bulbs fired away.

Heather and I both really enjoyed the film. It was freaky to know that all of the singing in the movie was actually performed by the cast. Joaquin did a good Cash; he really looked the part too. Witherspoon, who I thought strangely cast (at first) did an awesome job. Witherspoon hit all the right notes to create an authentic sounding June Carter.

Now the film itself was good, but not great. Put it this way - it's been done before - kind of. Picture if you will a film about a famous musician, grown up poor in the U.S. south. His sibling dies in a tragic way. He dedicates his life to his music. He is a horrible family man, who both sleeps around on his wife and gets heavy into drugs. The artist struggles to over come the addiction, overcomes the addition, and finally lives happily ever after. Am I talking about last year's big Academy Awards darling, Ray? Nope, but you get the idea.

Overall the film is worth seeing, especially if you dig Johnny Cash, which we both do! The movie isn't that memorable, but the acting and music is worth it. There are some shots that are stylish, but not enough of them. The Folsom Prison scenes were cool, they reminded me of the Jail House Rock scene from The Blues Brothers.

Walk the Line will probably do well in the theatres, but I'm guessing even better as a DVD if the proper "bonus materials" are included. Of course, you can wait until you're hungover on the couch on a Sunday years from now watching TV. That's where I was when I watched: The Buddy Holly Story, La Bamba, Great Balls of Fire, and any number of Elvis movies.

The story was interesting, but we still want to know the story behind "A Boy Named Sue"!