By-the-Numbers Biopic

Rating: 4/10 (19 November 2005)

This is a very run of the mill biopic that doesn't provide any significant insight into Cash's character or his music. I was never an admirer of Cash's sound, so this depiction of a tortured drug addict merely came off to me as an annoying and self-centered man instead of a compelling one. The film's great saving grace is the performances of Juaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who provide highly watchable impersonations of their country-western counterparts (although their relationship frequently borders on being more obsessive than romantic, especially as Cash's descent into drug addiction worsens).
But the story itself offers no surprises as a formulaic presentation of a troubled artist saved by the love of a good woman. When Cash first attempts to start his career by going into a small-time recording studio and singing a sappy Gospel tune, he is chided by the producer that "that's something we heard a hundred times before." The makers of "Walk the Line" might have listened to that advice themselves.