Witherspoon very good but an Oscar? C'mon!

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2006)

I caught the film on DVD recently and thought it was very, very good. Better than Ray (storywise)and the equal of Coal Miner's Daughter. Joaquin Phoenix gets better with each role. I thought he was stellar and should have gotten an Oscar for Gladiator and the same goes for this one although between him and Phillip Hoffman and Heath Ledger's knockout original performance in "Brokeback" there could have been the first 3-way tie. In any event, I like Reese Witherspoon, that's for sure, but I saw her role as more a supporting one than a starring one and she was more or less "Reese Witherspoon" if you know what I mean. Not too much different than her "Legally Blonde" persona albeit in a different setting. I'm not suggesting someone else should have played the part but if Phoenix didn't win best actor then I certainly don't think she should have one either. Still, Phoenix is A-1 as Cash. In the scene in the diner when he tells June that he no longer talks about his brother because other people tired of it, I'll bet he channeled memories of his own brother, River. I also appreciated the way Cash's contemporary stars (Jerry Lee, Elvis, etc.) were used. Good enough to own at home.