Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Johnny Cash

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2007)

I was 16 years old and was listening to the radio and heard this funny song titled "A Boy Named Sue" and I have never heard of this singer called Johnny Cash. From that day until now, I have been a true Johnny Cash fan, I watched his ABC series on TV and had gone with my parents to see him 7 times when he had a show close to where I lived. I bought his records/8 tracks and even learned to play the guitar so I could play his songs. I idolized him and watched him on TV every time he was on. I watched very closely every movement he made and listened to every word he said.
On "Black Friday" the day after Thanksgiving 2005 I went to see the movie "Walk The Line" - BUT - I went with the attitude that NOBODY would give a good performance trying to be Johnny Cash. He was a "legend" - and I watched Johnny Cash and listened to him on TV/radio/records/8 tracks and I was 100% convinced that whoever this Joaquin Phoenix was - he was going to "bomb". WAS I EVER WRONG! I had read about this movie before it was released and it said that both actors did their own singing of "his" songs. It wasn't long into the movie when I realized and said to myself "this guy is doing a pretty good job". By the end of the movie, Joaquin Phoenix got 2 thumbs up from me. He was wonderful. Reese Witherspoon did a good job too as June Carter. But I feel that he should have gotten the Oscar as well.
The "only" thing I found that he did NOT do like Johnny Cash did while singing and playing the guitar was that the real Johnny Cash "often" played the guitar way up on the neck - which was not done ONCE in the entire movie. But the acting and singing and even the movements of his mouth and the way he stood at the microphone was SUPERB. GREAT JOB!