a stunning biography of johnny cash

Rating: 10/10 (16 October 2006)

wow!!!i'd heard this was a great film,so i finally decided to watch it.i have to say,it exceeded my expectations.the acting was amazing in this movie,as was the direction.i really liked the fact that it showed cash at his worst,as well as his best.there was a great back story to walk the line,beginning with cash as a twelve year old child,and how he had a less than perfect childhood.his father was a jerk,to put it mildly ,while his mother just stood on the sidelines,allowing young john to be treated poorly.the supporting performances were also very good.but it was joaquin phoenix (as a grown up cash, and reese witherspoon,as june carter who would eventually agree to marry him and become june carter cash),who were both brilliant.there was great chemistry between the two,and you really wanted them to get together.i really liked the interplay between the two.the dialogue was well written.i also loved the old songs,from the 50s and 60's. this film showed cash as a rockabilly type singer,before he became famous for his country songs.he was very popular as a rockabilly singer,much more popular than i think most people realize.he wasn't a perfect person,by any means. he had his problems,but was deep down a good man,and really tried hard to turn his life around.you felt sympathy for him and felt his happiness when june carter finally agreed to marry him.this is one of the best movies i have ever seen.great movie all around.wow!!!i highly recommend it.even if you are not a johnny cash fan,(which i wasn't),you will be entertained. as an aside apparently both phoenix and witherspoon did all the singing themselves,making their performances even more amazing. 10*