best movie I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2006)

i am only nineteen years old and really had no clue who Johnny cash was. in fact when i went to see this movie i didn't have any clue what the movie was about. also i was in no means a fan of country music (espiecally from the 1950s/60s.) however i am a fan of great movies and that was exactly what this was. phoenix and Witherspoon give the top performances of the year and both deserved Oscars for their roles. the chemistry between them was unmatched. the only part of the movie that might seem a little slow is about a 15 min. period from after his childhood tragedy till the time he met june, but it is an important part in setting the stage and showing how he fond his sound. once reese comes onto the screen the movie just ignites. from the first encounter of them getting tangled to the big marriage proposal every single scene with them talking to each other brings something new. i cant remember the last time a saw a movie and was so intrigued and amazed by the dialogue of just two actors having a conversation. they just make u fall in love with them. also there are so many great intense and powerful scenes phoenix nails. from the smashing of his guitar, to him passing out on stage, to the fight with Vivian, to thanksgiving with his dad and tractor incident. i was left after each scene saying wow what a performance out loud. i thought it was very well tied together not losing the audience with a good mixture of the script intertwined with the music performances. which by the way as i said earlier not having ever heard a johnny cash song i even find myself stomping my feet to the music which is saying something. i really cant even describe how good of a job phoenix and Witherspoon do in singing the songs. a truly inspirational story. roger ebert summed this movie up perfectly by saying "the performances are great, the drama is great, the writing is great, the music is great, i loved it"... and i agree 1000%