Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL, will host a 2005 film on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, beginning at 2:00 p.m. “Walk the Line” tells the story of the young Johnny Cash and June Carter. The film ends with Cash giving his landmark concert at California Folsom Prison, with June by his side, as she would be until they died within four months of each other in 2003. The movie is remarkable for its story, acting, and, of course, music.
Cash, the son of an Arkansas sharecropper, serves a stint in the Air Force in Germany. He longs to be a recording artist but his wife, Vivian, thinks John should stop singing and find a job to support her and the kids.
In an audition for Sam Phillips at a Memphis studio, a fire is lit under John’s singing career. During his time on the road playing and singing in clubs, he meets and plays with Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Ray Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The movie is a piece of musical history.
Johnny also meets June Carter, who comes from country royalty, the Carter family, headed by Mother Maybelle Carter. June is a firecracker. She meets Johnny backstage when her dress gets tangled in his guitar strings. The comedy routine she makes out of this encounter impresses Johnny, but they both are married.
Reese Witherspoon as June and Jaoquin Phoenix as Johnny are dynamite, with great chemistry. As June waits for John to “walk the line,” giving up booze and drugs, she matures before our eyes and hopes the man she loves will catch up. Phoenix works miracles showing the sensitive side of Johnny Cash. His acting truly demonstrates an artist who blends into his music.
Both actors do their own singing, and audiences will not be disappointed. This is truly the sound of Cash and Carter at their best. Come for an afternoon of both a story and music that is at the “top of the charts.”