A solid biopic elevated by heavyweight performances and slick direction

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2006)

Walk The Line doesn't quite reveal the full Johnny Cash story, and may have all the predictability of standard biopics that we've all seen before, but is executed with such skillful relish and expert performances that I really didn't care if I saw it coming. Like any good album it has you moving to the beat and miming the words. The film documents Cash's early life. As a child Cash witnessed the death of his older brother, which his dad always held against him. After leaving home, he then sets out to be discovered, despite having a band of mechanics who can't play for squat. Eventually he is discovered, and then goes on tour with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presly - and this is where he finds June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), whose relationship with Cash provides us with the heart of the film.
Johnny Cash loved Joaquin Phoenix ever since he saw him in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. So did I. Like his late brother River, he has this raw intensity that just grabs you in. He was certainly the finest thing in Oliver Stone's putrid yet compelling U-Turn, and stood toe-to-toe with Mel Gibson in Signs. This is definitely his finest hour. He walks, talks, moves and even sings like the "man in black". He is a tower of screen presence. And the most remarkable thing is Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash is even better. She is a fizzy mix of southern charm and sass, making June as likable as she is fierce. Phoenix is dead on but never astonishing. I still think Heath Ledger is the most deserving of the big Oscar gong, but Reese Witherspoon deserves all the awards she gets. When the film threatens not to work, their performances ensure that any liberties Mangold takes he gets away with easily.
No it isn't a deep insight into Cash's tormented soul. It is well documented that his problems existed with him deep into later life. But this is a fantasy vision of his love for June. It's not, and never aspires to be, a documentary of his life. Joaquin Phoenix is great, Reese Witherspoon is amazing and James Mangold has regained the form he showed with the likes of Copland. Sure it's flawed, but I loved the characters enough that I forgot how easy it is to assume that it'll pan out the way it does.