Fantastic Biopic

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2006)

The story of country legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) is told through his ongoing romance with fellow singer June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) and how they get through tough times, from Cash's pill popping addiction to Carter's own marital troubles until finally agreeing to marry Cash.
Walk the Line is an excellent look into Johnny Cash's life. It didn't shy away from telling the truth and most of the film was accurate. Before seeing Walk the Line, I didn't really like Johnny Cash's music. By the end of the movie though, I couldn't get enough of it. I still think Johnny Cash was an unlikable person but his music was fantastic. Even if you don't care for his music, the film is still worth checking out. James Mangold did a pretty good job behind the camera but it wasn't Oscar worthy. He moved the movie at a decent pace and it was hardly ever boring.
The screenplay was good but it wasn't completely realistic. For example, they portrayed Vivian Cash in such a negative and selfish way. In the film, she didn't really seem to care about Johnny and his music. She also didn't really help him during his drug problem but that was completely untrue. The writing followed a pretty basic biopic formula and it wasn't hard to figure out where things were going. Also, the majority of the movie was depressing yet I still enjoyed the film. At least the ending was a happy one.
The acting was fantastic with a couple of Oscar worthy performances. Reese Witherspoon was excellent as June Carter Cash. In some of her previous films, she was clearly just looking for a paycheck and she just phoned in her performance. In Walk the Line though, her singing was strong and her emotions never felt forced. While I think Felicity Huffman did a better job, I don't mind her winning the Oscar. Joaquin Phoenix was just as good as Reese. His singing was good and he had an engaging chemistry with Reese. Unlike Jamie Foxx's performance, they didn't imitate their characters, they became John and June Carter Cash. Ginnifer Goodwin was okay, a bit weak during the emotional scenes. Robert Patrick gave a decent performance, nothing special. In the end, this wonderful film is worth checking out. Rating 9/10