A walk between success and failure.

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2006)

James Mangold has proved himself as a diverse director, tackling crime and corruption within the police force (Copland), angst and suicidal tendencies amongst a group of female patients of a mental institution (Girl, Interrupted), and a horror whodunit mystery located at an isolated motel (Identity). Now, Mangold offers up the biopic genre which has recently been showcased as a guaranteed Academy highlight.
The line which has been traversed by Johnny J.R. Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), hasn't always been a straight one. Beginning in childhood with the endless days working in his Kansas home's cotton fields, the tragic death of his brother, and the strained relationship with his father (Robert Patrick), Cash emerges from the ruins of his personal life by pursuing an entirely new persona.
From the moment he purchases his first guitar and walks into a recording studio to sell his first song, down to his infamous performance for a crowd of inmates at Folsom prison, Cash's rags-to-riches journey is rife with highs and lows. He encounters initial rejections of his material, begins neglecting dull family obligations alongside his wife Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), and his children, in favor of extensive concert tours, and ultimately descends into a spiral of addiction, all of this happening, just as he begins to get recognized, and collaborating with newly-introduced legends such as Elvis Prestley, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Along the way, he finds his salvation, lifelong performer June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). Carter is sweet as pie, which heavily contrasts with Cash's rough edges, but they nonetheless make a connection, both as a professional and romantic duo, as they embark on a ten-year road together before they can actually be reunited. Carter's strong will and emotional investment towards Cash's condition, soon begin serving as the anchor that kept him from sinking even lower.
Both Phoenix and Witherspoon are an electrifying presence on stage, Carter's spunk serving to complement Cash's brooding demeanor, and their chemistry is highly palpable. It also becomes quite obvious that the only time Cash is ever really in control of his life is when he has his guitar in hand, using it as an outer expression of his inner feelings, commanding full attention from his audience, a feat that will no doubt be repeated with movie audiences, as well.