Perhaps the one who "Walked The Line" the best in this film was Joaquin Phoenix. His tremendous portrayal as the Man in Black will definitely nominate him for an Academy Award. Phoenix not only sang all of the songs himself without lip synching and dubbing like Ray's Jamie Foxx did, but Joaquin taught himself how to play the guitar from scratch just for this role. There have been comparisons of Johnny Cash's height with Joaquin's but really, what does this have to do with the acting? Absolutely nothing since Johnny Cash himself hand picked and approved Joaquin Phoenix to play him for this movie shortly before he passed away.

It was truly a heartfelt beginning to the film where a young Johnny, played by Ridge Canipe, dealt with the tragic death of his brother Jack, played by Lucas Till. This gave way to the tense and often faulty relationship between Johnny and his father Ray. Joaquin's acting was very powerful, especially considering these events actually took place once. The pills that Cash kept consuming eventually ate away at him destroying his career for a time and finally the effects throughout the years claimed his life. Phoenix as Cash displayed how he struggled to come to terms with himself while taking the drugs and dealing with his personal life as well as affection for June Carter who evidently was the one and only person who saved him.

The most exciting part of the film was the singing performances done by both Phoenix and Witherspoon. Joaquin remarkably belts out some of Cash's famous tunes such as Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, It Ain't Me Babe, Jackson, Cry Cry Cry, Home of the Blues, Cocaine Blues, and my personal favorite, Folsom Prison Blues. Adding to the musical mix, Tyler Hilton as Elvis Presley and Waylon Payne as Jerry "The Killer" Lee Lewis were a delightful touch and reminiscent to Cash's early days with Sun Records. Although Payne and Hilton belted out some good tunes, they did not have the look of who they were portraying, but in that sense, it did not matter because they were not the focus of the film, but merely sub -characters meant to deliver the utmost realism of Johnny Cash's life.

Speaking of which, it is obvious that Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of June Carter is a given Academy Award winning performance. Reese was simply amazing as June and she even sang the songs made famous by June Carter too. I appreciated the love affair that seemed to jump ahead and then jump back pulling the audience apart with the dramatic entwined problems between Johnny and Vivian while Johnny's attraction to June grew stronger. This gave the film an sense of truth and realism because it reflected what really happened between the two singers. Reese brought a high degree of personality and spunk to the table as she repeatedly declined Johnny's marriage proposals. She as June Carter performed very strongly and displayed the qualities of defiance towards Cash's advances. Most importantly, Witherspoon stole the spotlight away from the other relatives being portrayed because this film was really a love story between Johnny and June, not just a biopic of Johnny Cash's rise to fame. Not only did he sing well, but he brought the essence of Johnny Cash's spirit throughout the film which gave the film a strong powerful sense to it. I was filled with laughter, smiles and even sadness at points from Phoenix's astounding acting performance. There were scenes between Joaquin and Reece that totally blew me away.

Director James Mangold, not recognized for repeating the same style of directing each time he takes on a film really delivers a remarkable and unique film in Walk The Line. Mangold with previous films such as "Identity", "Girl Interrupted", the romantic comedy "Kate and Leopold", is quickly making a name for himself among the Hollywood scene by displaying an array of genres while showing off his narrative and visual skill with musical interaction with this true biopic. Mangold helps personify all of the real life characters to a T while sticking to the true details and history of the Man in Black.

Although Mangold stays true to the majority of the real life characters, the portrayals of Vivian Cash (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Ray Cash (Robert Patrick) were supposedly berated by Roseanne Cash. Apparently Gill Dennis and James Mangold wrote it in the script that Vivian would be more sassy than in real life and Ray's portrayal as Johnny's father would be more strict. These portrayals were a mere filler for subplots for the true story and gave the impression that the people they represented seemed to be the antagonists when they were actually victims of bad circumstances.

Vivian's marriage failed because her dreams were not fulfilled by her husband Johnny, since all she wanted was to live happily ever after and raise a normal family. She simply could not take the stress and pressure due to Johnny Cash being on the road and his fame that came with ogling fan girls. I felt the portrayals or at least the written in characters were detrimental towards the real life people that Johnny Cash was involved with before his affair with June Carter. For this reason above all, even though I am a Cash fan, I am giving Vivian the benefit of the doubt because Johnny Cash was a real ass back in his day.

Perhaps considered the movie of the year, the performances of Phoenix and Witherspoon as Johnny Cash and June Carter, mixed with the distinct directing of James Mangold, "Walk The Line" goes to show that love is truly a burning thing.