When a director makes a film that attempts to chronicle the persona of one of the nation’s most beloved icons, he/she is either going to be loved or hated.

In the case of the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line,” it appears director James Mangold and crew will be nothing less than revered.

For a project that took eight years to come to fruition and was passed on by six major studios (including Warner Brothers, Universal and Paramount) “Walk the Line” has surprised us all. Rich with intimate details of country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter’s experiences, fused with an authentic soundtrack and crammed with nostalgic images of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, “Line” takes us back to Cash’s heyday and brings his moving existence to life.

Joaquin Phoenix, chosen personally by Cash, takes us through the trajectory of Cash’s musical career and sullied love life, and, perhaps drawing from his own experiences, conveys the trauma of the loss of Cash’s brother and his perils with drug addiction.

While Phoenix comes off as more himself than Cash, from his inherently timid demeanor and somewhat inescapable self consciousness, he can translate Cash’s youthful spirit and onstage bravado. Though Phoenix’s voice doesn’t entirely capture what Cash’s did, when Phoenix slings his guitar forward and says, “Hi, I’m Johnny Cash,” one believes him.

Cash is depicted perhaps as honestly as can be – not only are Phoenix’s and Reese Witherspoon’s vocals genuine, but Cash is exposed as very human instead of a grand country legend. We can see, from a chilling scene in Cash’s childhood to Cash’s painful relationship with his father, how Cash was brought up to believe that he was nothing. In turn, Cash found a kinship with people who were treated much the same way.

The story could not maintain its compelling effect without the romantic element of Carter, played by Witherspoon, who effectually stretches her dramatic muscles and evaporates into the role, practically becoming Carter. Although her musical performances are less frequent than Phoenix’s, she steals the proverbial and literal stage, outshining her co-star and making the romance between Cash and Carter all the more intriguing.

Mangold, Phoenix and Witherspoon seem to share the same vision of Cash that many of Cash’s fans do – as a friend to the downtrodden, a martyr for redemption and an honest voice of sorrow and pain. The movie reveals the chord Cash struck with so many people while making few excuses for Cash’s mistakes. Cash’s story unravels candidly and challenges us to form our own opinion of the singer.