This superb bio-pic may walk a tight line between fact and fiction...

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2008)

...but packs such a satisfying emotional wallop thanks to well-crafted storytelling from start to finish, that one easily forgives whatever inaccuracies might be noticed. "Walk the Line," carefully directed by James "3:10 to Yuma" Mangold, features a pair of finely realized performances by its top-rank leads, Joaquin "Spacecamp" Phoenix and Reese "The Man in the Moon" Witherspoon. Despite lacking any real resemblance to Johnny Cash and June Carter, both actors capture the essence of their characters with remarkable skill, having both trained intensively to sing as well as play their respective instruments with authority. Only Witherspoon took home the Oscar gold, and even though I feel that Felicity Huffman should have won that one for her role in "Transamerica," I still found Phoenix and Witherspoon to be utterly compelling. I haven't seen such a powerhouse combo since "Pollack" with Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden. It didn't hurt having a fine script from Mangold and co-writer Gill "Return to Oz" Dennis that outlined Cash's rise to stardom and eventual marriage (his second) to June Carter. Kudos must also be given to Ginnifer "Mona Lisa Smile" Goodwin as Cash's long-suffering first wife, a role she plays with great sensitivity; why she didn't garner an Oscar nomination for supporting actress is beyond me. The rest of the ensemble is equally fine, along with all the attendant production values one would expect in a film of this rank. Highly recommended not only to Cash/Carter fans, but to anyone who enjoys a well-told tale of the triumph of love over adversity.