Walk The Line (2005)
This absorbing and compelling depiction of the life of music icon Johnny Cash is directed by James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted), from a script he co-wrote with Gill Dennis, based on both Man In Black and Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash. It covers moments from his childhood, his military service, and his eventual rise to fame in the music industry. These events play out against a backdrop of a descent into addiction, and his long-standing romance with fellow musician June Carter.
The triumph of the film lies in the extraordinary performances of the two leads. Their meticulous work here is arguably a career highlight, respectively, for Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who weave such a beautiful tale of love and respect as to make Walk The Line a brilliantly uplifting movie. The implications of the story are difficult to shake for the viewer, too, in the knowledge that such a balanced examination of a personality could be sourced from the pen of the man himself.