Walk The Line
2005; Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
Directed by James Mangold
When Walk the Line came out, I was anticipating it for weeks. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash, both from our stereo and from my father’s voice singing me to sleep. I dug up all of Johnny Cash’s albums hits and listened to them over and over in the weeks leading to the film’s release. I read about the film whenever I saw an article on it, adding to my trove of knowledge facts that are now well known. Like that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (playing Johnny Cash and June Carter) did their own singing and that Phoenix learned to play the guitar as well. The day before I went to see Walk the Line, I realized that I might have built it up too much in my mind. Yes, I love Johnny Cash and I love Joaquin Phoenix, but I was setting myself up for disappointment, right? So I reeled in my enthusiasm and went to see the movie in a sceptical mood with great expectations bubbling beneath.
This is one of those occasions that I thank God I’m not a film reviewer. If I had had to rush home from my viewing and write up a neat review of Walk the Line for the next day’s paper, it would be nothing but a gushy love letter. I left the film saddened, (because Johnny Cash’s life was an ultimately hopeful one but touched with extreme sorrow) but certainly not disappointed. Walk the Line is a story of lasting and sacrificial love and it surpassed my expectations, not least in Reese Witherspoon’s singing. Yes, Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing as the Man in Black, but he had to be for the film to work and I knew he would be. I wasn’t sure about Reese Witherspoon, but she sang and acted just as strongly and perfectly as Phoenix, which is saying a lot.
On to food…. It started with a southern preoccupation. Johnny Cash was from Arkansas and I was thinking of southern food. A few months before seeing this film, I had checked out a pile of back issues of “Bon Appetit” magazine from the library. There was an interview with Roseanne Cash in the July 2004 issue. Ms. Cash said that her grandmother was a fantastic cook and that “every meal had at least three entrees, six side dishes, corn bread, biscuits and three desserts.” She also mentioned that her father used to crank homemade ice cream on the porch. I located this magazine again while writing this and thought, ‘Biscuits, that’s it!’
The thing is, I don’t want to eat much while watching Walk the Line. It’s too riveting, too poignant, too sad to want to use my non-film-watching-senses. But biscuits are soft and warm, gentle on the palate, southern, comforting, reminiscent of a mother’s love (whether your mom made these or not) and easy to eat. I'm not sure if a Southerner would think they were authentic and as a Canadian, this isn't really my area of culinary expertise, but I stand by my biscuits. This recipe, which I'll admit I came to through trial and error, is very easy and tastes divine served warm and slathered with butter.
2005; Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
Directed by James Mangold
When Walk the Line came out, I was anticipating it for weeks. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash, both from our stereo and from my father’s voice singing me to sleep. I dug up all of Johnny Cash’s albums hits and listened to them over and over in the weeks leading to the film’s release. I read about the film whenever I saw an article on it, adding to my trove of knowledge facts that are now well known. Like that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (playing Johnny Cash and June Carter) did their own singing and that Phoenix learned to play the guitar as well. The day before I went to see Walk the Line, I realized that I might have built it up too much in my mind. Yes, I love Johnny Cash and I love Joaquin Phoenix, but I was setting myself up for disappointment, right? So I reeled in my enthusiasm and went to see the movie in a sceptical mood with great expectations bubbling beneath.
This is one of those occasions that I thank God I’m not a film reviewer. If I had had to rush home from my viewing and write up a neat review of Walk the Line for the next day’s paper, it would be nothing but a gushy love letter. I left the film saddened, (because Johnny Cash’s life was an ultimately hopeful one but touched with extreme sorrow) but certainly not disappointed. Walk the Line is a story of lasting and sacrificial love and it surpassed my expectations, not least in Reese Witherspoon’s singing. Yes, Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing as the Man in Black, but he had to be for the film to work and I knew he would be. I wasn’t sure about Reese Witherspoon, but she sang and acted just as strongly and perfectly as Phoenix, which is saying a lot.
On to food…. It started with a southern preoccupation. Johnny Cash was from Arkansas and I was thinking of southern food. A few months before seeing this film, I had checked out a pile of back issues of “Bon Appetit” magazine from the library. There was an interview with Roseanne Cash in the July 2004 issue. Ms. Cash said that her grandmother was a fantastic cook and that “every meal had at least three entrees, six side dishes, corn bread, biscuits and three desserts.” She also mentioned that her father used to crank homemade ice cream on the porch. I located this magazine again while writing this and thought, ‘Biscuits, that’s it!’
The thing is, I don’t want to eat much while watching Walk the Line. It’s too riveting, too poignant, too sad to want to use my non-film-watching-senses. But biscuits are soft and warm, gentle on the palate, southern, comforting, reminiscent of a mother’s love (whether your mom made these or not) and easy to eat. I'm not sure if a Southerner would think they were authentic and as a Canadian, this isn't really my area of culinary expertise, but I stand by my biscuits. This recipe, which I'll admit I came to through trial and error, is very easy and tastes divine served warm and slathered with butter.
BISCUITS
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined and moist clumps form. Don't overmix or the biscuits will be tough. Shape into 12 biscuits and place on a greased cookie sheet. (You can see from the picture that I'm not Martha Stewart-ish in my biscuit shaping.) 
Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes or so, until the bottoms are golden-brown and the tops are beginning to be golden as well. Serve warm with butter, jam, or just as is.
Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes or so, until the bottoms are golden-brown and the tops are beginning to be golden as well. Serve warm with butter, jam, or just as is. 
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