Walk the Line

Johnny Cash is a well loved country singer best known for his performances which took place in prisons across the nation. The movie Walk the Line is based on his life story--named after one of his most well known songs by the same title. Lead character Johnny Cash had a difficult childhood. He lost his brother at a young age to a tragic accident with a table saw. After the death of his brother his relationship with his father deteriorated rapidly. While serving in the armed forces during the Second World War, Johnny found some peace in his life through playing the guitar and writing music. Not long after he returned home from the war he married his girlfriend Vivian. Shortly after their marriage, Johnny began to record his music and a local recording company in Memphis, Tennessee. After several years Johnny Cash and his first wife divorced. It was around this time fell in love with fellow singer June Carter for whom he had nursed a childhood crush on. The two had a brief relationship but June was hesitant to become further involved with him due to his ever increasing drug and alcohol addiction. The two go their separate ways during which time Johnny was arrested while trying to transport illegal drugs across the state line. After a long hard battle with drugs, Johnny Cash and June Carter reunite and she was able to support him during his recovery. It is perhaps this bad boy perception that has made Johnny Cash a major success among prisoners. From his impoverished childhood to his battle with drugs up to his recovery from these trials made prisoners who were going through the same thing able to relate to him more easily than other singers of his time. Actor Joaquin Phoenix plays a truly convincing Cash; portraying him both sober and high. He also shows that while the detoxification process is a hard one, it is worth it in the end.