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  | Ray (Widescreen Edition)
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 Superlative Performances Elevate Solid, Episodic Biopic | |
| At this point, it seems superfluous to say Jamie Foxx gives a brilliant, surprisingly nuanced performance as Ray Charles, as he not only mimics the singer's mannerisms flawlessly but also provides texture and depth to the pained man underneath. It's startling to see Foxx perform at the piano in that idiosyncratic spasmodic style that Charles had, as the actor very often becomes indistinguishable from the legend. In the private moments also depicted here, Foxx is amazingly perceptive about the troubled, hard-shelled, often nasty man Charles apparently was in real life. Hardly the image one remembers from the Pepsi commercials or his other frequent, sometimes ridiculous TV appearances...anyone remember he was in several episodes of "The Nanny"?
But the movie is not about the deconstruction of Ray Charles. In fact, director/writer Taylor Hackford and co-writer James L. White have written a literate, often powerful screenplay that makes us understand the complexity behind Charles' genius and the reasons for his inner demons. The challenge is that in order to remain true to his life story, Hackford and White have overstuffed the movie with so many milestone moments that it becomes episodic and sometimes rather wearing, especially when it comes to the film's depiction of Charles' two-decade heroin addiction. The sight of Charles shooting up and denying his addiction becomes almost a repetitive plot device, as if to provide melodramatic filler between the triumphant moments when he conquers musical frontiers that initially meet with resistance. That's not to say there aren't strong, compelling moments, as there are many. Ironically, one of the most memorable has nothing to do with Foxx but depicts a moment in Charles' hardscrabble Georgia childhood when little Ray trips over a chair and screams for his mother. Wordlessly, he picks himself up and becomes attuned to the sounds around him, picking up a cricket and realizing his mother is right in front of him. It's a transcendent moment. Hackford is not the most subtle of filmmakers (he made the over-the-top "The Devil's Advocate" among others), and unfortunately his exaggerated sense of melodrama creeps in now and then, in particular, the last section when he decides to go for a 1960's movie-style approach to drug rehabilitation and inserts a fantasy scene back to Charles' childhood that provides pat closure to his long-standing issues. It's an oddly surreal Hollywood-style scene that I feel betrays the honesty of what was presented before. But sometimes Hackford's excessiveness works in his favor, as in the supposedly improvised way that classics like "What'd I Say?" and "Hit the Road, Jack" were composed. I also think he does an effective job in making racism an inherent part of the story, not just a pointed plot device, specifically in showing how much of the manipulation Charles experienced in his career was not at the hands of white promoters. The movie also highlights Charles' decision not to play an unsegregated venue in Georgia and revisits that decision in a coda that takes place years later. Beyond Foxx, there is a gallery of superlative performances, especially by a trio of fine actresses. Kerry Washington is superb as Charles' wife Della Bea providing strength and tolerance in the face of her husband's drug addiction and constant adultery. Regina King plays backup singer Margie Hendricks, Charles' on-the-road mistress, with her requisite sass but with a penetrating desperation. Best of all is Sharon Warren, who portrays Charles' proud mother Aretha in flashbacks that make you understand where Charles got his courage and unbridled fury. Also providing excellent support are C.J. Sanders as the young Ray, who witnesses his young brother's accidental drowning and faces his impending blindness, and Clifton Powell as Charles' right-hand man Jeff Brown. The more well-known figures are played gamely though less memorably by Larenz Tate as an ambitious, very young Quincy Jones; Curtis Armstrong as an overly measured Ahmet Ertegun; and Richard Schiff as an anxious Jerry Wexler. At 153 minutes, the movie is rather long, and because of its episodic nature, stops rather abruptly in 1966 when Charles' personal and private lives seem to gain equilibrium. Regardless, the wondrous Foxx elevates this film biopic into something quite extraordinary. The two-disc DVD package has several extras worth noting. On the first disc, the chief addition is fourteen scenes deleted in the theatrical version that have been spliced into the version here and notated accordingly. Some provide interesting context to the story, though they sometimes slow the pacing, a problem coupled by the addition of dead pauses that hurt the overall quality of the viewing experience. All told, the extended version clocks in at a staggering 178 minutes. Taylor Hackford's commentary on the alternate audio track is informative but on the perfunctory side (I only wish Foxx could have added his perspective and can only dream what Charles could have contributed had he lived long enough to "see" the film's release.) On the second disc, those fourteen deleted scenes show up individually, and there are also three featurettes. The first is the obligatory making-of short, "A Look Inside Ray", which includes comments by the filmmakers and actors on making the film. The next short, "Walking in His Shoes", is about the meeting between Foxx and Charles before his death and discusses how Foxx got under the skin of the character. The last, "Ray Remembered", is a quick tribute to the spirit of Charles by those who loved and admired him. | |
 The Road Leads Back To You | |
| Most of us under sixty think of Ray Charles as a perpetually smiling, swaying, grayed old man wearing sunglasses, glued to the piano bench who mumbles out "Georgia." What most do not realize is that Ray Charles had been performing since the 1940's until his death in 2004. This film shows Ray as a vibrant young man and opens our eyes to a whole new world that many have never known, a world that includes segregation and the civil rights movement. The movie spans from Ray's childhood up until around 1963. Considering that Ray's career went on for forty years AFTER that is astounding.
Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1930. Growing up in poverty in Florida during the Great Depression, he lost his little brother in a tragic accident that would haunt him the rest of his life. Around age seven, he went blind from glaucoma. Ray honed his knack for music at the state school for the blind and deaf. Although a true genius and pioneer of jazz, R&B, and even country western, Ray (Jamie Foxx) was not a perfect human being by any means. Ray had learned to be fiercely independent from his fiery and dedicated mother Aretha (Sharon Warren), who died when he was fifteen. Yet he was dependent on a couple of demons - women and heroin. These addictions had tragic consequences. The fact that Bea, his long-suffering wife (Regina King), stood by him all those years is an example of the kind of chemistry and love this man inspired. The movie reminds me so much of The Temptations (1998) as far as how the plot unfolds, that I would have given "Ray" four stars if it were not for Foxx's and Warren's performances. Foxx won Best Male Leading Actor for his sublime performance of a legend and an icon. Sharon Warren was so intense as Ray's mother. With her visible biceps on a fragile frame, she embodied the plight of all African Americans during Jim Crow. I want to see Warren again in a film. She is absolutely amazing. The movie has sexuality and drug use, but nothing too graphic. There is no bad language. All of the songs in the film are Ray's original recordings, lip-synched very well by Foxx and the backup girls. When I heard that the songs would be lip-synched, I did not think I would enjoy it, but it works very well and was very entertaining. The DVD has commentary by the director, and short readable bios of just about all the main and supporting actors in the film. It is a little annoying to have to read the white font and keep scrolling endlessly through each bio. | |
| RAY | |
| At Twenty, I look back at my life and I see my life in pictures and more pictures. Ray Charles in contrast sees/saw only that part of his life where he could dream of something real and worth holding onto in pictures.Sadly, it takes him back to the deepest wound he ever suffered.The fact that the story and screenplay on this film made me feel Jamie Foxx is the real Ray Charles is alone for me to rank it high.
Ray Charles was a man of gritty belief in himself but somehow or somewhere he would run back into those days where he could see as a child.The haunt and absolute feeling of worthlessness he felt never really escaped him. What I gained from this film is that childhood memories last a lifetime but it's only the superhuman who get over those.Pardon my lack of faith in humanity. There were two scenes that made me cry and not surprisingly both were from his sorrowful past.What was however quite amazing about Ray Charles was the lack of any self pity in him. It were the words of his mother that kept him going. Please note, this film is not for short attention span dilletes. It's not for those seeking Spidermans preventing trains from colliding and neither for those who wish to have a good time. It's one I'd recommend mostly to those who wish to look into another person's life. Jamie Foxx has gained a mountain load of appreciation for this role and deservedly so. I think I'm gonna go watch more movies based on people's lives.I wouldn't consider buying Ray simply because it's not something I'd like to watch again. Cheers & a Ray Charle smile.. | |
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