Very good, all around

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2005)

OK, nothing is perfect, but this movie comes about as close as any. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the music, especially considering I really don't like Country music. I've never been a big fan of Johnny Cash, and I honestly don't know if I'd heard of June Carter before this movie. So, with all that said, I was surprised by the amazingly good performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. I even like some of their song version better than the originals. I had admired the acting of Reese and Joaquin in other movies, and with this movie am convinced that they are both deserving of Oscar nominations in my very humble opinion. Of course much credit has to be given to T. Bone Burnet and James Mangold for bringing out a story that looks, sounds and feels real. A rare thing with today's formulaic Hollywood films. As a bonus, it was clean enough that I felt fine taking my 12 year old son, who is now a JR Cash fan... Go see it, and hopefully this film will be rewarded in March, if we ever hope to see more fine films like this made.