Review of:Ray (2004)
Director:Taylor Hackford
Rating:PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.
Starring:Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Richard Schiff, Aunjanue Ellis
If there ever were a man who was defined by his music, it would have to be Ray Charles. Born in Georgia during the time when racism was rampant‚ and it was okay to put Black Americans in the back of the bus‚ Ray was a man who it seemed destiny would lay on the wayside. Add to this the fact that Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven‚ and it would seem incredulous that he would become the force that he did in music‚ and a symbol of what a Black man could dream to become.
This biographical movie chronicles Ray’s life from those early days in Georgia to his success on a whole spectrum of music. From Country to Pop‚ Ray Charles marked himself as a man who was a musical genius. The actor Jamie Foxx plays the lead role of Ray‚ and does an over the top job of convincing the audience of his portrayal.
I went in with high hopes of liking this film‚ and I was somewhat happy with the outcome. The movie is filled with many of Ray Charles’s hits‚ and Director Taylor Hackford lets the music play. Although the two and a half hours is a little long to sit through‚ the movie does have its high points. I’ve never followed the work of Ray Charles very closely‚ and I must admit that until this film I didn’t have a very high appreciation of what he had to go through just to make it in his preferred field. This film has changed all of that for me‚ and I am sure it will do the same for the millions of people who go to view it. Suffice it to say that Jamie Foxx does an excellent job in his portrayal‚ and the talk of his chances for an Oscar are not far off.
The story of Ray is extraordinary. The many different things that he had to overcome to be successful in a time of prejudice makes it almost unbelievable in itself‚ and the fact that he was blind and attained this would seem to be beyond a fully functional man. But this is where Ray Charles Robinson (his full name) differed from the rest. From those early days in Georgia‚ we are shown where Ray might have gotten his tenacity‚ when his mother does not let him take on the role of a cripple. She empowers him to improve upon his position in life‚ and face the challenges of the world.
Her most powerful words to him are to not let anyone make him into a cripple. They were words he lived by‚ but during the film we see a side of Ray Charles that only a movie can bring out. We see his womanizing ways full blown‚ and his addiction to drugs. We see the effects this has upon his wife‚ and his friends‚ but there are no holds barred. If you wanted to see, a soft‚ sensitive Ray its in there‚ but we also learn about the cold-heartedness that Ray sometimes displayed with his woman or his business.
This is a good film‚ but a little shy of the Academy for best picture.
