Poster © 20th Century Fox. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreBiography, Drama & Music
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 16 mins
ReleasedNovember 18, 2005
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJames Mangold
StarringJoaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
|
Walk the Line (2005)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Walk the Line's Details | |
| Genre | Biography, Drama & Music |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 09/04/2005 (Telluride); 11/18/2005 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 16 mins |
| Budget | $28M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words and Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Walk the Line's Interests | |
| General | Sun Records, tour buses, black suits, the Grand Ole Opry, prison concerts, cotton fields. |
| Music | T Bone Burnett, and Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own singing. |
| Movies | Ray (2004). One year earlier, another music legend on the big screen. |
| Television | The Johnny Cash Show. The real man in black, hosting his own TV hour. |
| Heroes | June Carter. Funny, tough and the best performer on the bill. |
| Walk the Line's Crew | |
| Director | James Mangold |
| Writers | Gill Dennis, James Mangold |
| Producers | James Keach, Cathy Konrad |
| Cinematography | Phedon Papamichael |
| Music | T Bone Burnett |
| Edited By | Michael McCusker |
| Production | Fox 2000 Pictures |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Fox |
Walk the Line follows the music biopic checklist so closely you could tick the boxes on a napkin: hard childhood, big break, bad habits, rock bottom, saved by love. The only reason it works is the two people in the middle. Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t do an impression of Johnny Cash so much as a slouch, a glare and a voice like a gravel driveway, and he’s magnetic even when Johnny is a total mess. Reese Witherspoon is even better as June Carter, quick, funny and the only person in any room who can tell him no. Their duets on stage crackle like a live wire. The middle hour is a long slide, the downward spiral plays on repeat, and Ginnifer Goodwin’s Vivian is stuck as the wife whose only job is being upset. It made $186.8 million worldwide on a reported $28M. A 7.8 because the formula is stale and the two leads set it on fire anyway. $33.53 says you try Johnny’s lowest note in the shower and only the pipes answer.
What works: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have electric chemistry, and the stage performances crackle with real energy.
What doesn’t: It follows the music biopic formula beat for beat, and Vivian is written as little more than an obstacle.
Who it’s for: Country and rockabilly fans, and anyone who loves a love story where the duets do the talking.
Spoilers
After hitting bottom, Johnny gets his life together with June’s help and plays a triumphant show at Folsom Prison. On a later tour, he stops their duet of Jackson cold and won’t keep singing until she agrees to marry him, and she says yes.
Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) grows up on a cotton farm in Arkansas, under a hard father, Ray (Robert Patrick), and a childhood loss he never shakes. He buys a guitar while stationed with the Air Force in Germany, comes home, marries Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), and flops as a door-to-door salesman in Memphis. Then he lands an audition with Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts) of Sun Records, and suddenly he is on tour with Elvis. On the road he meets June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), who keeps turning him down. James Mangold directs. One hundred thirty-six minutes, all in black.
Anyone who can sing harmony on a long tour. Dress code is black.
| Joaquin Phoenix | Johnny Cash |
| Reese Witherspoon | June Carter |
| Ginnifer Goodwin | Vivian Cash |
| Robert Patrick | Ray Cash |
| McGhee Monteith | Reba Cash |
| Dallas Roberts | Sam Phillips |
| Dan John Miller | Luther Perkins |
| Larry Bagby | Marshall Grant |
| Shelby Lynne | Carrie Cash |
| Tyler Hilton | Elvis Presley |
| Waylon Payne | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Shooter Jennings | Waylon Jennings |
| Sandra Ellis Lafferty | Maybelle Carter |
| Dan Beene | Ezra Carter |
| Clay Steakley | W.S. "Fluke" Holland |
| Johnathan Rice | Roy Orbison |
| Johnny Holiday | Carl Perkins |
| Ridge Canipe | young J.R |
| Lucas Till | young Jack Cash |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (283,086 votes) → 7.8 / 10 (283,090 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $186.8M; Domestic box office $119.5M; Opening weekend $22.3M; Profit / loss (est.) +$51.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 83%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 83% (208 reviews); Metacritic 72 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (283,086 votes); movie.guru score 8.3.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.