9 Films That Told Incredible True Stories

Walk The Line (2005)

This absorbing and compelling depiction of the life of music icon Johnny Cash is directed by James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted), from a script he co-wrote with Gill Dennis, based on both Man In Black and Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash. It covers moments from his childhood, his military service, and his eventual rise to fame in the music industry. These events play out against a backdrop of a descent into addiction, and his long-standing romance with fellow musician June Carter.

The triumph of the film lies in the extraordinary performances of the two leads. Their meticulous work here is arguably a career highlight, respectively, for Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, who weave such a beautiful tale of love and respect as to make Walk The Line a brilliantly uplifting movie. The implications of the story are difficult to shake for the viewer, too, in the knowledge that such a balanced examination of a personality could be sourced from the pen of the man himself.