My Darling Vivian (2020)

An often Moving testimonal movie on the life of Johnny's first wife Vivian Liberto. Life for wives and families of celebrities in the 60s was unsurprisingly overwhelming, chaotic and incredibly hard to navigate. No one has seen such a celebrity craze before that time, and the universal worship of these people did a lot of harm.

I feel like if Johnny Cash had been anybody other than Johnny Cash, he probably could have stayed married to Vivian to the end. It's very sad though that he made all those promises in the Love letters the daughter share, promising undying love to Vivian and didn't keep them. I'm sure he didn't intend to break them in the beginning, I mean who really knew how famous he was going to get so quickly?

But it's pretty plain to see soon into the marriage that he was not thinking of what was best for his family when he moved the mall to California, or when he brought home caravans of pets to an overwhelmed wife, or the final move to the isolated Wild mountain top home. I'm not saying this to condemn Johnny Cash, I liked the man. It's obvious though that his family got forgotten in his pursuit of what he wanted.

I appreciated all of the rare home movie footage of Vivian, even if it was silent. Vivian's book was difficult to relate to, and the intimate personal moments you see in the footage help someone to empathize.

I do wish though that Vivian had not fretted so much over what Johnny was out doing on on his long tours, or fretting over the affair with June so much that she nearly killed herself. I wish she had loved herself a little more. Honestly, the best decision she made was to divorce Johnny Cash.

You do get a better sense in this documentary that Vivian found contentment of a sort after the divorce, and she looked happy in some of the photos. Too bad she didn't learn to let go of a man who betrayed her, that would have been the ultimate victory for her. To forgive and not let the past make her unhappy anymore.

However, though I say that it is worth watching, I would caution people not to get carried away and say that this is the real story. It is definitely an important story to hear, it's Vivian's perspective of her life. But it is not the full truth because we were not there when everything happened. And even the stories that Vivian tells don't always ring true with what Johnny says happened.

I hope this dear woman found peace.