The early life of music legend Johnny Cash

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2015)

This film tells the story of Johnny Cash from his poor childhood till he marries June Carter. It isn't an easy life; he loses his brother while still a child then gets married while unable to support a family. He dreams of becoming a singer but even when that dream comes true his life isn't easy. Constantly touring he is away from his wife and children for long stretches of time and finds himself falling in love with fellow singer June Carter. She is also married with children and constantly rebuffs his advances but that doesn't stop him loving her.
Johnny Cash is the country singer people who don't like country music like so it isn't surprising that this film contains some great songs; performed not by Cash himself but by actor Joaquin Phoenix, who puts in a great performance as Cash. He is more than ably supported by Reese Witherspoon who puts in an Oscar-winning performance as June Carter. The two worked well together making their difficult relationship believable. While these two are the backbone of the film the rest of the cast is fine too; most notably Robert Patrick who plays his father and Ginnifer Goodwin who plays first-wife Vivian. Given Cash's drug taking and infidelity this isn't a happy 'rise to fame' story but it does entertain and we get a happy endingÂ… although of course it isn't the end of the story as Johnny Cash and June Carter had thirty five years together and that was all after the film ended. I don't know how much was changed for dramatic reasons but I feel that whether one is a fan of Cash or not one can enjoy this film.