Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon give memorable performances in this story of Johnny Cash and his long-time love, June Carter. Johnny grew up poor on a cotton farm, listening to June Carter and her family sing on the radio. He married a girl from home and started singing, but his wife was jealous of Johnny's career and his time away from home. He met June and was smitten, but they were both married; they continued to tour together for years, through June's second marriage and Johnny's terrible drug abuse. June helped him kick his habit and later, Johnny proposed to her onstage.
I really enjoyed the songs in the movie a lot; I was especially impressed that Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own singing and playing and made it look so easy. Phoenix's Johnny is a tortured and self-destructive soul, and Witherspoon's June is spunky and smart. They have great romantic chemistry on-screen and their close-ups are intense! The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, especially Robert Patrick as Johnny's mean and unrepentant father. "Walk the Line" is an entertaining bio pic with infectious music and two very likeable stars.