A New Documentary Tries To Portray Johnny Cash As A Christian Role Model: Here’s Why It Fails

(REVIEW) Well-known Christian filmmaker Jon Erwin and friends have been on a bit of a kick in recent years to showcase the faith of the heroes of their youth. Erwin directed the documentary “The Jesus Music” about contemporary Christian music’s defining artists with his filmmaker brother. Erwin also directed the documentary “Steve McQueen: American Icon” with collaborator Ben Smallbone, based on the book of the same name by Harvest Church pastor and author Greg Laurie. Another collaboration between Erwin and Laurie —  “The Jesus Revolution,” a narrative film about Laurie’s mentors and spiritual revivals of Christianity in the 1970s — will be released next year. 

Read more: 'The Jesus Music' Explores Christianity From The Perspectives Of Iconic Artists

It has to be said that Erwin and his collaborators are doing more than any other creators in the effort of reviving interest in this group of mainstream Christian influencers.

“Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon” is the latest documentary of this kind in Erwin’s body of work; it’s also based on a book of the same name by Laurie. 

The documentary is a solid yet unremarkable film about the country star’s faith journey that only fails when it tries to turn Johnny Cash into a Christian role model.

It follows Cash from his childhood to his death, chronicling his complicated relationship with his father, his brother’s death, his rise and fall in the entertainment industry and how reconciling with God put him on the right path again.

The documentary is expectedly heartwarming and conventional with very few surprises. It’s similar to other documentaries about a rock star from this era, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

The filmmakers clearly have a passion for their subject, and interviewees have meaningful stories to tell. Cash’s family conveys a deep love for him, and celebrities interviewed — including Laurie, plus others like Alice Cooper, John Schneider and Franklin Graham — share the deep impact Cash’s life had on them.

As a Christian artist myself, I always find it interesting to see how Christians navigate the intersection of faith and art in a way that doesn’t claim the art is propaganda to push a Christian message.

“The Redemption of an American Icon” argues that Cash integrated his faith with his art by simply being honest. He loved Jesus, just like he loved many other things in life, and he wrote about what he loved and experienced. That included — but wasn’t limited to — Jesus. 

Many people in the film, including Christians, praised Cash’s commitment to honesty, even when his work said something painful and sad as a result. That impressed me, particularly since Christians in movies and TV often try to downplay negative aspects of life in their art. 

It’s ironic because the documentary downplays Cash’s life in the same way.

This is nowhere more evident than the way that the movie handles Cash’s affair and the destruction of his first marriage. 

He cheated on his wife with a married woman while he was in his “downward spiral,” and even when he found his way back to God, he didn’t reconcile with his wife. Instead, he ran into the arms of the woman he’d been having an affair with and let her save him before he married her. The documentary barely addresses the immorality of that. Maybe it’s understandable, but it’s also very ordinary. It’s not something that testifies that God must have been involved in this recovery.

The film tries to say that Cash was extraordinary because of his faith. The truth is, every aspect of the story was exactly the same as every other legendary artist. He had the amazing voice, the big dream, the dad who didn’t understand him, the big break, the drugs, the affairs, the fall and then the redemption — and plenty of artists with the same story weren’t even Christians. As a result, nothing Cash did stands out as a testimony to God because what he overcame are things men have overcome on their own.

None of this is to slam on Cash. He never claimed to be a hero or a role model for Christians to aspire to. But the documentary wants to use his testimony to give God glory. And I don’t think it’s as persuasive in that as it thinks it is.

Some Christians seem to have a deep insecurity that they’re so uncool, and they swoon when they find out a mainstream celebrity is Christian. As if they can say, “See? There’s a cool person who is like us! That makes us cool too!” Look at how easily Christians lost their minds at the mere suggestion that Shia LeBouef might become a Christian.

There is value in showing that someone like Cash was a Christian. Billy Graham was able to bring Franklin Graham back to faith and evangelize in part by having Cash come to several of his crusades. Something about having a person who the world thinks is cool turn out to be a Christian shows that those two aren’t mutually exclusive.

But I think people are more cynical now. Sure, there are cool people who are Christians. But there are a lot more cool people who are not Christians. So why not be a cool person who’s not a Christian? There has to be proof that Christianity adds something that sets a person apart from people who aren’t Christians. “The Redemption of An American Icon” seems to think it’s provided that proof for Cash, but it hasn’t.

For fans of Cash who are interested in how his faith impacted his life, this documentary is worth checking out — but it doesn’t have anything more to give.

“Johnny Cash: Redemption of An American Icon,” is playing as a limited release in theaters December 5-7 only.

Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York City. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.com, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers.