[Potential Spoilers Ahead For Viewers Unaware of Johnny Cash's Life]

Even though people are the sum of their experiences, there are defining moments that shape our character and persona. Johnny Cash had several defining moments that helped form his identity, which had the possibility to strengthen, or destroy him.  Walk the Line offers an opportunity for the audience to see how he responded on these moments.  It also displays the importance that other people have on an individual’s existence, as Johnny would not have succeeded, or overcome his predicaments without the love and care of others.

Johnny Cash’s life was everything, but easy, to which his songs are a testament.  Early on Johnny suffered the loss of his older brother, a death his father blamed on him.  He had a love hate relationship with his father, as he continuously sought his father’s love by trying to please him.  However, every attempt was met with a put down.  The absence of his supportive and encouraging older brother left a large rift in his life, as it also continued to haunt him with agonizing guilt.  Besides the guilt, Johnny had to endure emotional neglect and abuse from his father who projected his own shortcomings onto him, which did not only continue to foster guilt, but also poor self-esteem and more anxiety.

In the small home, where Johnny grew up he could not escape his father’s physical presence, but he sought emotional refuge in music.  The radio and his mother’s soothing singing offered him in moments of unease a chance to escape in spirit and mind.  Eventually, he came of age to leave home and a not a day too late he joined the Air Force.  Johnny ended up stationed in Germany during the Korean War for which his father also ridiculed him, as he did not fight the war like other real men.  The cut downs did not cease in Johnny’s adulthood.  His father upheld the same loveless relationship with Johnny.

Being an outsider, Johnny did not really fit in the military lifestyle. Again, he sought refuge in music, as a cure to his solitude. He acquired a guitar and taught himself how to handle the instrument. Soon he began to write his own material reflecting on the environment around him while letting his feelings steer his pen and fingers over the guitar strings. It is in this cerebral state where Johnny discovered peace and joy, but it also began the sanctuary where Johnny could exorcise some of his personal demons.

Despite Johnny beginning to feel freer through music, he still hampered his own growth by trying to please others such as a future father-in-law and his father.  For example, his marriage to Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), doomed from the beginning, displays his noble attempt to please others while in the process slowly killing the joy within him.  Not that Vivian was a bad person, but they were not right for each other as Johnny merely tried to make everyone else happy.  The desire to make others like him ran deep within Johnny, who acquired this personal trait in a young age by constantly trying to prove himself worthy of his father’s affection.

Thus, it is easy to see how Johnny fell in love with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) in their first encounter.  The upbeat beauty had a wondrous voice and a great sense of humor that brought about laughter, which must have been something Johnny dearly must have lacked during his upbringing.  She did not judge him, but shared her willingness to appreciate him and his music. June made him feel alive, worthy, and free of judgment.  Yet, Johnny could not enter her life, as he was married and she has recently got out of a bad divorce.

Despite the distance between Johnny and June, he continued to long for her.  With the years his affection only grew stronger, until he came to a crossroads of pain where he once again was forced to face his demons.  Alone, he sought alternative ways of tranquilizing the agony within through a heavy drug addiction, which began harmlessly while partying with the other great musicians such as Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne).  The drugs affected him to the point where he no longer could interact or perform with others.

The many experiences and life defining moments in Johnny’s life show a scarred battling fighter trying to overcome his excruciating past with love and music.  The black outfit serves a fitting symbolical value to Johnny, as a reminder of his past transgressions.  It is also here that Johnny Cash’s greatness rests, as he does not pretend to be someone else.  He sings about the daily struggles that many suffer.  It provides something that people can relate to, but also find that they are not alone.  Thus, before a performance when Johnny Cash said with his unique voice, “Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."  It convincingly echoed within each listener – his is one of us.

There are several aspects of Walk the Line that make it a brilliant film.  First of all, James Mangold is the perfect director for the film, as his profound understanding of human psychology only seems to improve, which also heavily influenced his previous films Girl, Interrupted (1999) and Identity (2003).  Several of the actors provide solid performances, especially Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix in the leads.  However, the supporting cast also helps bring out the emotional qualities in the main characters.  One must naturally also include the music, which is superb throughout the film.  Ultimately, these and other aspects of the cinematic process deliver remarkable cinematic experiences that will not fade in memory.

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USA

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