The powerful biopic of the incomparable Johnny Cash, Walk the Line sheds light on the life of the famous country singer. The film depicts his early life, his rise to fame, and ultimately his fall from grace in a whirlwind of drug addiction, alcoholism and depression. Walk the Line also delivers the story of Johnny's relationship and love of wife June Carter Cash, and the turmoil that would be their life together leading up marriage. This epic memorial sports a momentous soundtrack featuring cast recordings of original songs by the legend himself, Johnny Cash.

The Film
The film enters with a fury of sound, the steady rhythm of a classic Cash beat, the pounding and chanting of Folsom Prison inmates, and the low rumble of excitement as we meet "The Man in Black" himself, portrayed by Joaquin Pheonix. The setting quickly changes, and as many biopics do it begins early, depicting the events of Cash's childhood, a childhood that was laden with tragic loss of his brother Jack to a sawmill accident at a very young age. The incident sets the dramatic tone of the relationship that Cash would have with his father, the late Ray Cash. This relationship would serve as an edgy undertone for the entire film, conveying much of the motivation for Cash's constant quest to gain his father's approval.

The film then moves along to depict Cash's years married to Vivian Cash, played by the genial grace of Ginnifer Goodwin. It then follows Johnny, rather abruptly, through his quest to make a life of being a singer as we watch him join a tour with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, but not before a powerful scene in which record producer Sam Phillips ask Cash to sing as if he had one song left to sing to tell God how he felt.

The rest, of course, is what the legend of the great Johnny Cash is made of. The film then follows Cash through his later years and his struggles with drugs and alcohol; a fact which was a great antagonist of pain and separation between Cash and his long-time friend and eventual lover June Carter, played by Reese Witherspoon. And it is only after a great fall does Johnny pick up the pieces of his life, with the help of June.

The performances in this film cannot be easily described. There may not be words that can praise them in the manner which they deserve. Joaquin Pheonix delivers an engrossing and edgy performance as the legendary Cash. He not only locks down the amazing dialect and slow, mannered tone of voice that made Johnny Cash famous, he embodies the true spirit of the man in black both in demeanor and appearance. His performance, above all was startling with the precision that he gave the character. And while Pheonix's performance was sensational and awe inspiring, the performance of Reese Witherspoon was absolutely jaw-dropping. Her sensuality and stability as the explosive but lovable June Carter. There is a specific emotion that is drawn from the audience when Witherspoon graces the screen, and that emotion is excitement. She absolutely lights up this film with her energy and purity.