WALK THE LINE (2005) 20 years in the colorful life of The Man in Black

Hollywood "biopics" unreel on thin ice. The star playing the star too often merely goes for impersonation, which, good as that may be, tends to draw attention to the mechanics of the performance rather than the truth of the character. Also, true-life events depicted on the big screen, necessarily dramatized, often play like fiction even when based on fact. WALK THE LINE mostly avoids those pitfalls. Chronicling country music legend Johnny Cash's life from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his emergence as the Man in Black and marriage to June Carter, it's a big, bold, truth-ringing film that left me wanting it not to end. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, as Cash and June, respectively, are remarkable. Phoenix totally immerses himself into the big man's skin, channeling his deep baritone and such Cashisms as slinging the guitar onto his back, talking and singing out of the side of his mouth, his hunched-up style of strumming and leaning into the microphone, and his big-footed gait. More significantly, he makes us feel what we can believe Cash was feeling through all the ups and downs. Equally impressive is Witherspoon, who, like Phoenix, does her own singing (their duets are a joy). Her energetic, touching performance earned an Oscar. I enjoyed WALK THE LINE enough to watch it twice in a row. It reminded me of how much a fan of Cash I had been growing up. View this video. The song is called "Hurt," and trust me, it'll nick your soul.