A great portrayal of a one of a kind artist and personality

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2005)

Joaquin Phoenix bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Johnny Cash and in my opinion does a spot on interpretation of him. Reese Witherspoon has all the humor that June Carter used to have and they have a wonderful on screen chemistry. John Carter Cash and some of Johnny's other close friends had a direct input into the movie and from all accounts everything is based on facts with a little added Hollywood flair of course. They also have great acting by Tyler Hilton as a young Elvis and Shooter Jennings as his father Waylon in their short scenes. Jerry Lee Lewis also is portrayed in this film.
I gave it a 10 because Johnny Cash is one of my all time favorite American artists and personalities and I came away from the movie completely satisfied. In my opinion, Joaquin Phoenix was able to capture at least a little bit of the magical personality that Johnny Cash possessed. He also did a very good job matching his singing voice, though of course Johnny Cash's voice is one of a kind. It is just a great movie and a way of remembering a great musician and singer as well as a great American personality.