Walk the Line is a story about the early life of one of the most important, and popular singers of all time. One of only three men inducted into both the Rock and Country halls of fame, Johnny had hits with Ring of Fire, Folsom Prison Blues, and the title song, I Walk the Line. But life, as with most entertainers, wasn't all sunshine and roses.
On a run down Arkansas farm in the 1940s, we meet young John R. Cash, a farm boy and an aspiring singer. He wants to be a singer, but his father, a drunk, makes it clear that singing is a waste of time. Johnny's favourite singer is June Carter, a four-year-old, from the famous Carter family.
Fast-forward several years, and now a grown John R. Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) has entered the air force. Still trying to become a singer, in his off hours he sits, strummin' his newly purchased guitar, laying out his own homemade tunes.
Fast-forward another several years and Johnny is back in the USA, living in Nashville with his wife and daughter. Johnny makes a living selling products door to door, but he couldn't sell the Devil a glass of ice water.
Johnny still would love to become a great singer, so he gets himself an audition with Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts) of Sun Records. Phillips already has Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, but he listens to Cash anyway. At first he doesn't want Cash's Gospel sound, but likes his rock sound.
Cash is signed to a contract and starts touring with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. He soon meets June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), his favourite singer. For a while they get along great. But Johnny reveals his true intentions. He loves her.
But as Johnny becomes more and more famous, and his songs climb the charts, his life goes from bad to worse. Johnny starts taking pills and drinking pretty good. His home life starts to suffer as well. His wife knows he's in love with June Carter, and after a huge fight, she walks out, taking the kids with her. And June won't sit there and baby-sit Johnny every time he overdoses. either.
Johnny's career is foldin' faster than a bad deck of cards and sure as it's hot in hell he won't get better unless he first decides to help himself get better.
Walk the Line is the typical Hollywood biopic. It has its good spots, and it has its bad spots, to be sure. The film plays fast and loose with the facts, as most biopics have to, I guess. This is a pure Hollywood biopic, but it would have been nice to see some more attention to detail, to see the film more factual with the facts. For one thing, Johnny had another brother who is still alive (as of 2005) that we never see. things like that.
I'm not saying that tweaking the facts is a bad thing... far from it. This makes for good dramatic effect. As long as the truth isn't horribly smeared, we can live with it. We like seeing Johnny propose to June on stage even if it isn't true; like I said, it makes for good dramatic effect.
Walk the Line does an admirable job of telling the late, great Johnny Cash's story. Joaquin and Reese are terrific together, and bring much warmth and energy to picture. Both Joaquin and Reese's performances are dead-on perfect. Reese adds a lot of energy to the picture when it really needs it, and Joaquin belts out the tunes as if it really was Johnny singing.
Both deserve Oscar nominations for their work. Although Joaquin wasn't nearly as good as Jamie Foxx was in Ray, no nomination at all would be a big time snub.
The film itself, Walk the Line, didn't have the same feel to it that made Ray so good, but it was still a well-made biopic by all means. Walk the Line is a must see for any Johnny Cash fan.
Plot: 
Walk the Line jumps around at the beginning. The early story goes quickly, and you have to pay attention to everything to understand what's going on. But the rest of the story is presented in clear manner with the dramatic effects placed at just the right times.
Visual Effects:
although there weren't that many visual effects, the cinematography was one of the film's highlights.
Sound:
All of the songs used in the film, made famous by Johnny Cash or by June Carter were performed by the respective actors portraying them. It must have been hard to nail the voice, but they did a magnificent job of it. Joaquin truly does sound "steady like a train, sharp like a razor."
Character Development:
It would have been nice to see what happened to Johnny and June after their engagement, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Atmosphere: 
Realism:
Although most of the story is true to Johnny's life, there are a few more truths stretched in this film than in most biopics.
Warren’s Rating:
8.29/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
21-11-05
Age at win: 29
Nominated for: Best Actress in a Leading Role, June Carter,
Nomination: 1/1 (acting), 1/1 (total); Win: Only
After Walk the Line premiered, Reese was approached by several record companies about a record deal. That must say something about her performance and in fact it does.
Together with her co-star, Joapuin Phoenix (who was robbed of the Oscar himself), they create June and Johnny so well that you would never know that it really isn't them if you'd never seen them before.
Reese looks like June, acts like June and even sings like June (Which must have been incredibly hard to achieve). Reese Witherspoon is transformed into June Carter like no one else could have been; Reese brings the part of June Carter to life in a way no one else could and, in fact, can you now see anyone else in the role?
06-03-05
Reese Witherspoon
DOB: March 22, 1976
Walk the LineReese Witherspoon's performance
