The following is an article I wrote for my church newsletter. It’s a review of the movie Walk the Line from a Christian perspective.

 Walk the Line is a movie about the life of Johnny Cash. The Man in Black is played by Joaquin Phoenix, and Reese Witherspoon plays the role of June Carter, Cash’s longtime touring mate, friend, and eventual wife. Johnny Cash’s life is a tale of success mixed with failure, accomplishments tainted by shortcomings. Beginning with his childhood, Johnny’s life is marked by inadequacy: in an early scene, Johnny asks his older brother Jack, who hopes to become a preacher, why he’s able to be “so good.” Johnny sees his own affinity for memorizing music from his mother’s hymnal as less valuable or meaningful than Jack’s love of the Word.

 

When Jack tragically dies in an accident with a saw while Johnny is off fishing, it becomes clear that Johnny’s father feels the same way. Johnny’s father is angry with God, demanding to know why Jack—the “better” one—was taken from him, instead of Johnny. This leads Johnny into deep-seated feelings of unworthiness, feelings which are intensified over the course of his life as he struggles with making a living as a door-to-door salesman and has difficulties in his first marriage.

Johnny tries to escape from his feelings of inadequacy by diving into music. He finds commercial success playing songs about flaws, failures, and struggles, songs that reflect the feelings deep in his soul. Even in Cash’s success, however, there is failure. Johnny’s father is unimpressed by his rock-star status, and Johnny’s relationship with his wife continues to deteriorate. Johnny tries to compensate for the emptiness of his success by drinking heavily, becoming hooked on amphetamines, and having affairs with female fans.

All the while, Cash gravitates towards June Carter, who he has idolized since childhood. June represents purity and goodness to Johnny, a goodness that he has never been able to attain. Johnny tries to get closer to her and she rejects his advances, knowing of the damage that could be done to his family. This rejection only deepens Cash’s sense of unworthiness and leads to further self-destructive behaviour, as he trashes dressing rooms and fails to care even for his own body. Johnny is acutely aware of his own imperfection and inadequacies, as evidenced by his final confrontation with his wife, when he shouts, “You think you’re perfect?”

In the movie, Johnny is redeemed by the loving friendship of June Carter. Carter cares for Cash, nursing him out of his self-destructive habits and addictions. Johnny is saved when he stops trying to earn people’s love and instead realizes how loved and valued he is. However, while the movie suggests that Johnny Cash found his worth in the love of June Carter, the truth is that he found the love he needed in God, in returning to the message of the hymns he knew as a child, the foundation that was the source of his music from the beginning. Johnny Cash’s redemption came from realizing that he didn’t need to earn God’s love at all; God loved him despite his flaws and failures. Knowing that he was loved by God, Johnny Cash was able to let go of his failures, let go of his feelings of unworthiness, and become the great Christian man who had such a remarkable positive impact on the world through his love and his music.

Walk the Lineis worth seeing as an introduction to Johnny Cash’s life. It’s an entertaining drama and a good story, though it does contain some profanity and themes that may not be appropriate for younger children. When watching the movie, though, don’t stop and take the movie’s message at face value. Try to see the hand of God that was the true source of healing and redemption in Johnny Cash’s life.

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