Ring of Fire: The Television Movie

RING OF FIRE

Perhaps Ring of Fire was doomed before it started. The television biopic of June Carter Cash premiered in 2013, eight years after Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress Academy Award for playing June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. As such, there was always the risk that Ring of Fire was essentially playing as an also-ran against Walk the Line. For better or worse, Ring of Fire will always be in the shadow of Walk the Line. That is a bit of a shame, as Ring of Fire is not a bad production. 

June Carter is part of the Carter Family, one of the most preeminent families in country music. Mother Maybelle Carter (Francis Conroy) is particularly annoyed whenever their music is referred to as "hillbilly". June Carter for her part feels that she cannot measure up to her legendary family. She sings but has little confidence that she is good. She feels her forte is in cornpone comedy, blending her musicianship with jokes.

Eventually, June Carter (Jewel) strikes out separate from the Carter Family. Her star does rise at places like the Grand Old Opry. She also meets Carl Smith (Linds Edwards), a fellow Grand Old Opry performer. Catnip to the women, Smith finds that June Carter is the one for him. They marry but he is a poor fit for the more traditional and respectful Carter clan. 

Less of a fit is the highly talented country newcomer, Johnny Cash (Matt Ross). He is married himself, but he tells June that one day he will marry her. June is faithful to her marriage vows, but Carl is not. She is equally loyal to stockcar driver Rip Nix (Alan Heckner) though they eventually grow apart. Johnny is talented but troubled. June, who routinely tours with him as a "special guest" tries to help him despite his self-destructive ways. She is also unafraid of him, able to stand toe-to-toe with the Man in Black.

Eventually they do marry and have one son, John Carter Cash (Austin Stack). Johnny, however, cannot fully mend his ways. June does all that she can, but even she has her breaking point. In time, June Carter Cash and her husband come to peace through love and music. Only death can separate them.

Ring of Fire is meant to be June Carter Cash's story. I think on the whole it was a strong primer on the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. A successful biopic does not require for someone to look exactly like their subject. Jewel does not exactly look like June Carter Cash, at least initially. However, as Ring of Fire continued, she began to look more like the older June. 

I do not think people often think of Jewel as an actress. She is still remembered primarily for being a folk-like singer. I think that Jewel acquitted herself quite well as June Carter Cash. She has a solid moment when in a forced therapy session, she talks about the frustration that she feels. June has just seen Johnny yucking it up with fellow addicts. June feels that she has had no opportunity to enjoy her life, having cared for Johnny all those years. Now, here he was having the joy that she had not. Worse, he was not sharing that joy with her, but with strangers. Jewel was pretty solid as Carter Cash. She was funny in her comedy delivery and handled the drama well.

Matt Ross was placed in a pretty difficult situation. He already had a daunting task falling under Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-nominated turn as Cash in Walk the Line. He was also having to fall under the shadow of Johnny Cash himself. I do not think many people would have thought Ross was Johnny Cash. It was not a terrible job acting-wise. He had some good moments, such as his efforts to go cold turkey on his prescription addiction. He was hampered by not looking or particularly sounding like Johnny Cash. However, I think he got close to how Cash was, so it was not all for naught.

Francis Conroy was stronger as Mother Maybelle Carter. She was firm but in a gentle way. Mother Maybelle told the girls early on that she realized that they were missing out on a lot of things their peers did. However, she reminded them of two things. One, this was work. Two, that many people had paid to see them. This was not something to dismiss but to appreciate. 

Ring of Fire does not go very deep into some of the June and Johnny Cash story. Poor Rip comes and goes rather fast. The actual writing of Ring of Fire was given a very cursory scene. I never got what exactly inspired her to write this ode to dangerous love. However, Ring of Fire has other positives. Seeing Johnny and June perform together, especially whenever Johnny is falling apart on stage, makes for interesting viewing. 

Ring of Fire is entertaining if not particularly great. Jewel gives a good, solid performance. That, along with a respectful if perhaps thin overview of June Carter Cash's life and career makes Ring of Fire worth seeing if you come across it.

1929-2003

5/10