While Joaquin Phoenix understandably gets the most attention as Johnny Cash, Reece Witherspoon truly shines in her portrayal of June Carter. She embodies the spirit of a woman who’s both spirited and resolute, navigating a male-dominated industry and forging her own path. Her natural charm and musical ability allow her to share the spotlight with performers like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, and Carl Perkins without hesitation. The movie opens at Folsom Prison before shifting back in time to explore Cash's early life—marked by tragedy from an early age—his difficult relationship with his father (Robert Patrick), his time in the Air Force, and then his rising career and developing romance with Carter. He’s already married to Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin) and has children, but this doesn’t stop his attraction to Carter, and their connection grows alongside his struggles with alcohol. Given how much of Cash's life has been publicly revealed, director James Mangold had limited freedom to alter the established facts. Instead, he presents a believable interpretation of how this couple managed to stay together. I felt Phoenix occasionally leaned too heavily into imitation, but there’s undeniable chemistry between him and Witherspoon throughout, and his downward spiral into substance abuse is genuinely heartbreaking. The film benefits from an excellent soundtrack, and both actors perform the songs well—"Jackson," in particular, is quite catchy. It's a respectable biographical account of a complex man who was ultimately good-hearted, and it’s worth seeing.

Source on TMDB