I’ll just say this right off the bat…Walk the Line is probably my favorite biopic of all time. I was obsessed with this movie when it first came out, and I think that’s pretty impressive when you consider I was only 13 at the time, and never really cared about Johnny Cash before seeing the movie. This clearly had a profound impact if it was able to have that effect on me, and it’s a movie I’ve cherished and held in high esteem ever since.

As you’ve probably already put together, Walk the Line is about the story of the life of country singer Johnny Cash. The movie covers his childhood briefly in the beginning, his rise to fame, his infidelity, and places a huge emphasis on his drug addiction and relationship with June Carter. While Johnny Cash’s life story is interesting enough on its own, it really is the way that Walk the Line handles its material that makes it so engaging to watch. The movie smartly avoids the problem some biopics run into where they try to sugar coat things to paint their subject in a more positive light. Walk the Line instead gives you the raw truth about the things that Johnny Cash dealt with, and it makes for a much more interesting story.

To be honest, though, while I’m sure I must have clicked with the story on some level when I was 13, I don’t think it was the main thing that had me hooked. I think what really had me into it were the performances. Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny Cash, and Reese Witherspoon (who won an Oscar for her performance here) plays June Carter, and both of these actors are just absolute fire in their roles. Joaquin Phoenix nails a dark and brooding persona, making it so that you can’t help but think the guy is so cool despite all of his problems. Reese Witherspoon nails the charm and charisma of June Carter, making it so that you can’t help but fall in love with her. The two together also just have some of the most amazing chemistry I’ve ever seen on screen. While the story is extremely impressive, I think it was ultimately the performances that made me fall in love with this movie.

But of course, I also have to mention the musical performances. This is where the movie surprised me the most, because country has always been one of my least favorite genres. So, I never really bothered listening to much Johnny Cash before this movie. However, I loved the music so much in this movie that I’ve been a Johnny Cash fan ever since. The movie has a pretty large selection of his music, and picks some of his best to highlight. Also, Phoenix and Witherspoon both lend their own voices to performing the songs, and they are so amazing at it.

I’ve loved Walk the Line for 15 years now, but the reason I’m writing a review now is because I just recently rewatched it and wanted to shine some light on it. All these years later, Walk the Line is still just as amazing as it was when it came out. The movie still had a really interesting story, I fell in love with the performances all over again, and the music is still just as good as it was then. Even remembering exactly where the movie goes, I still cried at the ending, because it’s just that powerful of a movie. Like I said at the beginning of the review, Walk the Line is my favorite biopic ever, and at this point it’s going to be a hard one to beat.

5/5