My Father and the Man in Black (2012) Reviews

• An unexpected treasure

  smudder2013-10-23

  I loved this film! It spoke to me on many levels, because it has so many shades and layers. On the surface, it is a fascinating biopic of Johnny Cash that offers genuine insight into the dark side of an icon (in a way the filtered, Hollywood blockbuster barely attempted to do). That is just the first layer, however. The turbulent, codependent relationship between Johnny and his manager (and driving force) Saul Holiff is totally absorbing and central to the story; and the underlying dysfunction between these two men highlights a heartbreaking parallel portrait of Saul's strained and abusive relationships with his sons, especially Jonathan, the film's director. As tortured as he was by Johnny's indulgent and self-destructive behavior, and as much as he showered his client with time and attention, so did Saul torture and neglect his own family. By appearances a level-headed businessman with a charmed life and family; on the inside, Saul was controlling, abusive, alcoholic and self-destructive in his own right. The film drew me in immediately with an unexpected bang: a dramatic reenactment of Saul's calculated and unexplained suicide. No, he did not leave a note, which led the director on an unintended journey to rediscover his estranged father. He found answers in a long-forgotten storage locker that housed a treasure trove of original Johnny Cash memorabilia, newspaper clippings, photos, gold albums, and written correspondence and never-heard audio recordings between Johnny and Saul. Interweaving reenactments with a wealth of found materials, archival footage and the original audio recordings, Jonathan allows the story to unfold through his own voice and the actual words of Johnny and Saul. I was particularly impressed with his attention to detail and unique production style choices, from his artistic use of stills and found materials, to shooting with actual film in trueness to the era. True, the story is wrought with tragic undertones, but crafting this film was clearly a cathartic experience for the director, who through its making was able to come to terms with his father's complicated life and death, and ultimately break the cycle of dysfunction. This alone makes the film incredibly poignant and, ultimately, even uplifting.

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• My Father and the Man in Black

  ody42013-10-22

  This heartfelt documentary is as much about family as it is about showbiz. I particularly was intrigued by the recorded letters, telegrams, diaries, home movies and audiotapes that Jonathan brought to the screen. This was a well written labor of love about a son's search for the understanding of his own father. You cannot help but be a part of Jonathan's journey to learn more about his father who was never home. His father's audio diaries tell a sad story of a father who was never around always distracted and somewhat distant. I felt a deep connection to Jonathan's struggle to find answers as to why his father acted the way he did. Perhaps he will never know the 'real' reason...however in my heart, I believe he found some closer while sifting through evidence of a life he never knew. Kudos to you Jonathan for a job well done!

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• Great voice-over; lots of personal emotion in the voice.

  annuskavdpol2014-02-05

  My Father and the Man in Black is the story of the manager of Johny Cash. The story was told from a personal perspective, namely from the son, Jonathan. (I wonder if his father named him Jonathan because he had such a close connection with Johny Cash). I remember sitting and watching this movie with popcorn in my hand and when the movie started I had only eaten two pieces of popcorn. Then the voice of the narrator of the movie came on and the voice was in the voice-over scenes as well. It described the intertwining roles of Johny Cash with his manager. It was the soul in the voice that mesmerized me. It was like I was hypnotized by the power of the narrator's voice. Perhaps it was the soul that danced through the words or perhaps it was the underlining emotion which seemed to lead me on a labyrinth through the back hallways of Johny Cash's life, including his turbulent and dark and light past. The film-maker, Jonathan, was somewhat rejected by his father (the manager) and perhaps his sadness and his own loss was traced and imprinted in the audio of the film and perhaps, as a viewer in the audience of watching this movie, I could empathize and pick-up intuitively on his personal unresolved despair. So perhaps this is not a documentary about his father and the man in black - but rather a personal story that was unconsciously told in order to process a hurt that was so deep that even a metaphorical dagger could not have touched. Perhaps the magic resides in the camera work and in the voice-over and the narrative. Perhaps this whole movie is about personal redemption after all.

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• The Father Son Conundrum as sung by Johnny Cash

  gradyharp2013-10-08

  Jonathan Holiff has courage. He has created a story about his own sense of isolation and loneliness and disregard by his father and unlike so many men who have had the same submerged life of regret, Jonathan Holiff has worked through his - through soul searching, agonizing recollections, the death of a father that was so distant, and through research that unearthed years of recorded tapes made by his father that explain many of the problems Jonathan never understood. Jonathan Holiff's father, Saul Holiff, was Johnny Cash's personal manager from 1960 to 1973. This film is the untold story of 'bad-boy' Johnny Cash, his talented but troubled manager, Saul Holiff, and a son searching for his father in the shadow of a legend. But what the film delivers in a sophisticated approach to a documentary (mixing many clips of historic clips and conversations on tapes with live actors standing in for the featured characters of this tale) is another look at just who Johnny Cash really was - from a mediocre country singer to a drug addict and alcoholic to a wreck of a human being who failed to show up for concerts, to his gradual comeback via his unique recordings from prisons and then to his fall again as he became a radical fundamentalist born again Christian, through two marriages and a divorce, his fame with June Carter Cash and his eventual death from complications of diabetes in 2003. Tat is not the Cash the public knows and the fact that he sustained the glow of fame is in large part due to the tireless efforts of Saul Holiff, himself an alcoholic and tormented man. But at what costs? This film allows us to connect most closely with Jonathan Holiff as he comes to grips with the man who as his father was carrying on the tradition of emotional frigidity with his son. The young Holiff knows just how far to push the buttons and when to back off, and the end result is a very powerful film on so very many levels. Grady Harp

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• In Search of the Father

  clarkj-565-1613362012-06-16

  Just saw the premiere of this movie at the NXNE Music/Film festival in Toronto last night. This is a very personal tale for the producer, trying to recreate the life and experiences of his late father, the manager of Johnny Cash. I think many of us who grew up in Canada during the 50's and 60's had fathers who were reclusive and uncommunicative. At the time it is easy to criticize and make judgement calls. In the case of Jonathan Holiff, he is stunned to realize that his father has left a storage locker of material summarizing his management career with Johnny Cash. When he listens to the numerous tape recordings that his father has made as a running dialogue, he begins to realize the accomplishments that his father made along with the nightmare reality of managing a supremely talented but incredibly self destructive artist such as Johnny Cash. The movie is made in quite an original way, with actual video footage, photographs and real recordings. I think the important point in the movie is when Cash crosses the line and really insults Saul Holiff. He immediately resigns. This is the important lesson we learn from our fathers. Some things are not negotiable in life, like your honour.

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