Forget “North Country.”

“Walk the Line,” directed by James Mangold and written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is the better 2005 Oscar contender.

This romantic tragedy, which is based on Johnny Cash’s autobiographies “The Man in Black” and “Cash: The Autobiography,” was written alongside the famous duo, Cash and June Carter Cash, before their deaths in 2003.

The movie begins with a young, music-obsessed J.R. Cash, growing up in a poor cotton-farming family in Arkansas. Shortly afterward, a family tragedy changes his life forever.

Cash, played by Joaquin Phoenix, leaves for the air force, where he is stationed in Germany, buys an old guitar and proceeds to write one of the most recorded songs in history, “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Upon returning from Germany, Cash’s obsession leads him to a recording studio and into the spotlight with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and the comical Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne.)

The next emotional hour and 45 minutes is filled with great music, drug dependency, infidelity and, most of all, love.

Phoenix and Witherspoon, who sang every song themselves, shine in this movie. There are no better actors who could have filled the shoes of the Carter-Cash duo. Phoenix and Witherspoon have such great chemistry that by the end of the movie, you actually think they might really be in love.

However, if you tend to get restless in longer movies, the running time of 136 minutes can start to seem a little long towards the end.

Overall, “Walk the Line” receives 31??2 out of four stars. The movie did an excellent job portraying the life of the “Man in Black,” his soulmate and their rocky path on the way to love. If Phoenix and Witherspoon are not nominated for their amazing voices and chilling performances, it will be a great disappointment.

?” Liz Gransee