My Father and the Man in Black

Many biographical documentaries wind up being hagiographies that make their subjects seem almost superhuman. Debut director Jonathan Holiff takes the opposite tack in My Father and the Man in Black, since Holiff believes that time spent with Johnny Cash contributed to his father's death. Saul Holiff served as Cash's manager from 1960-1973, a period of significant professional success and personal misfortune. In his somewhat wooden narration, Holiff says that the Cash biopic Walk the Line spurred him to re-examine the relationship between Cash and his father. Here, he draws from books, audiotapes, and interviews to recount his father's rise from retailer to restaurateur to promoter, which eventually led him to Cash. The two men hit it off and Holiff moved from Canada to California—into a world of pills, arrests, and cancelled concerts. On the plus side, Holiff teamed Cash with wife-to-be June Carter, and oversaw the release of At Folsom Prison, among other hit recordings. After leaving his unpredictable employer, Holiff returned to British Columbia where he drank too much, alienated his children, and wound up taking his own life in 2005. It's understandable that Holiff would harbor bitterness towards a father who treated him more like a client than a son, but there are times when this film feels like an attempt to settle scores rather than an illuminating account of the lives of a celebrity and his manager. Nonetheless, there is value here for Cash completists, particularly in terms of news articles, legal documents, and other rare materials. And credit must also go to voice actor David James, who does a convincing Cash impression. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)