Walk the Line

I finally saw "Walk the Line" yesterday and really enjoyed it. I grew up in a Johnny Cash-loving home, so listening to his music is very nostalgic. Plus, the acting is just so very good; Joacquin Phoenix is mesmerizing. On the surface it's the same bio movie you've seen ten million times: tragic childhood, struggle to realize a dream despite many obstacles, first success, alcohol/drugs/bad relationships, eventual redemption and further success. I don't often like those kinds of films because they need to cover so much time that they brush along the surface of the main character, spitting out little melodramatic scenes that highlight key points in the person's life, but every scene is so IMPORTANT that it's almost too much. In contrast, "Walk the Line" had many small and quiet scenes, mostly intimate moments with Joacquin. The camera lingered on his face constantly, making it feel like a very personal movie. And Reese? I always love Reese, even if every twinkle in her eye brings back memories of Tracey Flick.

(My Reese/Renee confusion just kicked in as I tried to remember if I've hated any film she's been in, and was convinced that "Just Like Heaven" was Renee Zewelleger. Oops. Sorry, Reese, but maybe you were just tired when you took that role? )

A really good Reese film is "Freeway," a modern-day take on Little Red Riding Hood, with Kiefer Sutherland as an evil psycho (i.e., the Big Bad Wolf), and Reese as a troubled teenager trying to get to her grandmother's house before social services finds her.