June Carter Cash once described Johnny Cash’s voice as “steady as a train, sharp like a razor.” I'm not sure what she meant by those words, but perhaps she was referring to a monotone with passion. Joaquin Phoenix, who portrays Cash in Walk the Line, initially seems a poor vocal echo of the late singer, probably because we knew Johnny so well.

It's hard to accept any actor playing the legendary Man in Black. Still, Phoenix displays flashes of brilliance in a difficult role to handle. The fact that his portrayal of Cash doesn't come off convincing enough right away might be director James Mangold's fault. Mangold respected Cash’s wishes that the actor portraying him should hold a guitar correctly and be rough. Cash also insisted that the actor do all his vocals live. Cash surmised if people wanted to hear him or June or June Carter Cash they already had the albums or should buy them. Fortunately, Phoenix evolves into Cash gradually and by the end of the film wins us over with his performance.

Walk the Line, beautifully crafted from re-created performances and tours, presents an unflinching look into the life of someone we all knew -- or thought we did -- onstage and off. The cinematography is excellent as director Mangold takes us into Cash’s head, his whirlwind drug addiction, broken family life, and the two addictions that fueled him -- music and a singer named June Carter.

Reese Witherspoon delivers an animated, acid-tongued, and humorous performance as June Carter Cash. She and Phoenix have perfect chemistry. Based on Witherspoon's Oscar-worthy portrayal, it's easy to see why Cash was so enamored with Carter and would do anything to be with her.  Phoenix gives much credit to Witherspoon, even telling reporters he doesn't think the film could have been made without her. 

In flashbacks, Johnny's father (Robert Patrick), always critical and favoring older son Jack, tells him he should have been the one who died tragically, not Jack. During that growing up time as well as his tour of duty in Germany, the radio and June’s performances were his solace. Once a civilian again, Cash marries Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) despite her father's warnings against it. The union is a disaster with neither Vivian nor Johnny understanding the other.

Vivian can't fathom why Cash is consumed by music. She doesn't know why he ignores her needs as well as those of their children. She's also irate over his lack of success as a door-to-door salesman. When Cash receives a recording contract with Sun Records and is booked on a tour with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and his idol June Carter, family problems intensify. 

Tour mates introduce Cash to drugs and pills that will keep him going with added energy so he never feels tired on stage or off. As a result, Cash gets strung out on drugs. He sweats profusely, paces back and forth and is restless. Addicted and fueled with a burning desire to be with Carter, he lets his life with Vivian and the children fall apart.

When Cash makes overtures to Carter, she knows his marriage is in trouble. Although divorced, she does not want  any controversy about being the one who destroyed Cash's  family life. He may be a friend, but he's also an addict with a habit of insulting people. She's been in the business since she was four years old and longs to find something resembling a run-of-the-mill life. She lives inward, hiding her true feelings of resentment and anger onstage and in private.

When Carter's onstage act and her offstage private life seem destined to collide because of Cash, this causes her considerable discomfort. She's drawn to him and protects him but is also repulsed by his behavior. While viewers will be expecting lots of music and a biography of Cash which the movies delivers, it's also a beautiful love story about two people, who couldn’t be more different, finding one another

On a negative note, I wish the director hadn't started the film  in Folsom Prison, building up drama about one of Cash’s biggest hits, "Folsom Prison Blues" and a live album recorded there that outsold the Beatles. Instead of this song being sung, the prison program starts with another one and takes away the dramatic build up leading into the film. 

Clearly one of the year's best films, Walk the Line hits hard as a tornado full of drama, humor, music, and chaos. It's large as life -- like Johnny Cash himself. A potential Academy Award winner, it rates five stars and is worthy of  multiple viewings.

(Released by Twentieth Century Fox and rated "PG-13" for some language.)