It was quite interesting to watch “Walk the Line” and “Beyond the Sea” back to back. I found Spacey’s motion picture more cerebral, given a nontraditional structure remarkably similar to “De-Lovely,” which I thought was also very entertaining. Actually, both Porter and Darin were consummate American “feel-good” entertainers and their tribute flicks should come off accordingly. Kline and Spacey have just about cornered the market on “do-anything” talent in Hollywood, and I suppose that’s why Joaquin Phoenix blew me away with his wide-ranging portrayal, because I honestly wasn’t expecting him to be so outstanding in the role.
The Johnny Cash story hit me more at the gut level, just as it was intended to do, I believe. Everything about the movie was clearly geared to creating a powerful sense of intimacy. I’ve never been a Johnny Cash fan, so maybe that enables me to be convinced that Phoenix pulled off a monumental challenge with superb skill and dramatic fluency. If so, he’s elevated his stature to the upper tier in his generation and will surely be rewarded with ample nominations for top awards. I hope the same is true for
Reese Witherspoon. Show me something this young woman cannot do. I thought it might take a while to see another highly versatile actress grow up on the screen like Jodie Foster did, but here she is. I’d love to see her in a production with Foster, Laura Linney, or Jennifer Jason Leigh, but somebody has to be able to write a screenplay worthy of the sheer incandescence. And, of course, there’s always Broadway. Just wait. We’ll eventually see her tackle that, too. One thing is for sure—you’ll no longer see anyone do a biopic of a famous singer without personally recreating all the music.
Speaking of growing up on the screen, Kate Bosworth reminds me of a young Lynda Day George, with a pinch of WKRP-era Loni Anderson mixed in. I don’t remember her in “The Horse Whisperer,” and I’ve missed all her other films, so it was a treat to watch her so ably inhabit Sandra Dee… well, to watch her—period. She’s impressive. Now I’m looking forward to seeing if she makes us forget all the other Lois Lanes of the past 60 years.
I’ve gone on long enough. I don’t even have time to be watching movies, much less ramble about them, so let me just close with this:
As much as “Beyond the Sea” is a mental movie and “Walk the Line” is an emotional one, I find that it’s the Johnny Cash lyrics that I continue to mull over in my mind, and it’s the Bobby Darin melodies that I feel like whistling cheerfully throughout the day.