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Walk the Line

Walk the Line

Drama · Music · Romance · 2005

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Movie details

Walk the Line

“Love is a burning thing.”

2005 Drama · Music · Romance 2h 16m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Walk the Line?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

James Mangold

Written by

James Mangold · Gill Dennis

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix

John R. Cash

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon

June Carter

Ginnifer Goodwin

Ginnifer Goodwin

Vivian Cash

Robert Patrick

Robert Patrick

Ray Cash

Dallas Roberts

Dallas Roberts

Sam Phillips

Dan John Miller

Dan John Miller

Luther Perkins

Larry Bagby

Larry Bagby

Marshall Grant

Court is in session

Put Walk the Line on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.