Electrifying

Rating: 10/10 (5 January 2006)

This is a thoroughly engrossing film, wonderful for its music, for its acting, for the direction of James Mangold, for its costumes, and for its examination of only a portion of Cash's life.
The music is Cash's music but all the performances which we see Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon do belong to them. Their performances are not lip-synched performances of Cash and Carters' renditions. Phoenix captures Cash's gravelly bass fantastically. Cash's voice was so deep and is so distinctive that it is truly a credit to Phoenix that he could do a credible version of Cash. He captures the huskiness, the throatiness, and the depth of Cash's voice wonderfully. Phoenix has charisma to burn and in his embodiment of a man who gets caught up in the excesses of the "rock 'n' roll lifestyle", is haunted by the loss of his brother and whose conflicted relationship with his father maddens him, Phoenix captures a big-hearted, generous, soulful man who is vulnerable to the temptations available to him on the road.
Phoenix is phenomenal throughout the movie - from his early desperation to support his wife which leads him to perform an inspired version of "Walk The Line" for Sun Records founder Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts), to a scene in a diner in which he has a lengthy chat with June Carter (Witherspoon), to a scene in which a down-on-his-luck Cash stumbles on foot through the rain to Carter's house outside Memphis to beg for her affection, to a scene in which he figuratively thumbs his nose at the warden of Folsom State Prison and fires up the inmates by performing with extra vigor when the warden had asked him not to.
Reese Witherspoon is not to be outdone though. June Carter was as big-hearted as her husband but stronger than him - unwilling to tolerate his carousing or pill-popping. She is obviously attracted to him but keeps her cool until he gets his act together. The whole time, she deals with being a divorced single mother in a conservative area where she is subject to the judgment of locals about some of the life decisions she has made and all the time she remains upbeat. Reese Witherspoon is as convincing in her role as Joaquin Phoenix in his. This truly is a masterclass in acting from two very talented actors in which they fully sketch out the interior lives and inhabit their complex subjects. They are not alone in fantastic acting. Ginnifer Goodwin as Johnny's long-suffering first wife shows great patience but also exasperation in dealing with his many problems. Also great is Robert Patrick as Johnny's taciturn father, Ray Cash, Shelby Lynne in a small part as Johnny's mother Carrie, Sandra Ellis Lafferty and Dan Beene as June Carter's parents, and Waylon Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis.
The direction and screenplay from James Mangold are amazing. To elicit such great performances from so many, to have the film look so good, and to capture with such depth and feeling a crucial part of a great American artist's life are the highest tribute to Mangold's film.
I said that it was a great film for showing only a portion of Cash's life. That it focused on his start in the business until the time he kicked drugs allowed Mangold to capture what he thought was Cash's search for redemption. I found the dramatic arc which concluded with his quitting drugs and committing to June very satisfying in a way it wouldn't have been had it ended with Cash's death or a less dramatic latter moment in his life. Truly this is an amazing film.