Joaquin Phoenix stars in the upcoming Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line“. It looks fantastic and already a lot of people are whispering “Oscar”. I’ll withhold any comment until I see the film myself… but the buzz and the trailer are looking very good.
I became a big Joaquin Phoenix fan for his work in Gladiator. He was nominated for “best supporting actor” at the Oscars that year… and by all right he really should have won it. He played his character with all the complexity that could be mustered. It was an inspired performance.
Slowly but surely he’s been making his mark as an A-list leading man… and Walk the Line looks like it’ll be the project to solidify that position for him. The good folks over at TimeOut have a wonderful interview with him. Here’s an excerpt:
And it shows on screen. Phoenix achieves much more than a good impression of Cash. Physically, he inhabits the singer; his arched lip, his sluggish walk, his unique way of hunching his shoulders and holding his guitar up-high when playing live.
Emotionally, too, he carries Cash’s raw nerves, miming to great effect the singer’s inability to feel truly comfortable unless performing. It’s a wired, jagged performance that smacks of research, dedication and commitment.
‘It’s not a method, it’s an act of desperation,’ Phoenix shrugs, trying to explain the tunnel-vision that he chooses to adopt for each new gig. Only complete immersion works for him, he says, quite a task when playing a character as troubled as Cash in the 1960s. It’s little wonder that Phoenix had problems when the shoot for ‘Walk the Line’ was over. The role had become his life.
It’s a great article that I highly recomend you take some time to read over here. Walk the Line opens nation wide on November 18th 2005.
The movie is phenomenal with amazing cinematography by Phedon Papapmichael (Sideways, Identity, Million Dollar Hotel). It is a must see and a movie that will blow you away!
I saw this at TIFF as well. I absolutely loved it. I thought Phoenix was great, but Witherspoon totally stole the show. She’s phenomenal and it would be a huge disappointment if she’s not nominated for an Oscar.
Caught this at this years TIFF. Solid, but not as good as I thought it would be (my expectations were huge, and it almost met them)…But utimately this is more of an actor film than a ‘story’ film…The question that everyone is asking is “Will Joaquin Pheonix be good as Johnny Cash”…The answer to that is a resounding YES (and Reese Witherspoon is fantastic as Ms. Carter-Cash!)….BOTH OF THESE ACTORS ARE TOTALLY LOCKED IN AS OSCAR NOMS…without a shadow of a doubt…the movie is a bit of oscar bait, but is very, very good.
o, u used the picture of joaquin pheonix from quills. he was so dreamy in that movie. i’ll definately see “walk the line”. he’s a good actor and i smell oscar nominee. u know whaat, we should do an early oscar nomination prediction posting, i’ve already started mine.
Damn, waiting and waiting, and finally November is in sight! I can’t wait for this movie any longer!
Can’t wait for this one. I’ve been a big fan of Cash for many years. His autobiography is one of the best I’ve read. Phoenix is going to be huge in the next couple of years. This is going to give him the “nudge”.