Joachim and Mangold hit a home run

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2005)

Done in the same vein as "Ray", this bio from the early part of Johnny Cash's life and career is simply superb. As with Jamie Foxx's uncanny portrayal of Ray Charles, it's Joachim Phoenix that makes this film. His performance is amazing, off stage and on, avoiding trivial imitation yet making you feel you are watching the Man in Black. Hard to imagine after seeing "The Village", but more like what we knew was in this guy after seeing him upstage Crowe in "Gladiator". And the movie is more than that, with Reese Witherspoon's coming of age, and the riveting music sequences from T. Bone Burnett. Credit Mangold for exposing the essence of Cash's motivation, making us understand a man that touched a nerve in everyone who cares about popular music, whether it be rock and roll or country. And isn't it great that one doesn't even think about the artificial lines defining those two genres when watching this film? I came away from the movie feeling that Cash was about people, about the choices they made, about the earth they dug, about the God they feared, and most importantly, about the music that expressed their life.