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Ray Charles Robinson is probably one of the most
well-know musicians of our time. His hits such as What I'd Say, Hit the
Road Jack, and You Don't Know Me are probably equally
recognizable. The story of his rise to fame, his addiction to heroin, and
his personal life may not be as widely known, until now.
Jamie Foxx plays the blind,
genius musician in Taylor Hackford's Ray. As with most bio pics, you
can expect a fairly typical story: Ray is a talented musician who fights
through adversity to become successful, yet cannot escape the powerful draw
of women and drugs, but in the end he regains control of his life...and
lives happily ever after. That is pretty much what you get.
However, Ray is one of
the best dramatic biography films out there. The story is told with grace
and elegance, similar to how the man lived life. The film only catches a
glimpse of the man, long before he did the famous Diet Coke commercials, and
leaves you wanting more. The story arc is simple, and centers around Ray
Charles' making peace with his past.
Unfortunately, the film take
so much time running from the past that only seconds of time remain to make
peace with it before the credits role. It sure would be nice to see the
other side of the him, the man he became after the business struggles, the
affairs, and the drug addiction. But perhaps it is better to remember him
smiling wide with a seemingly endless joy for life.
Where the film truly shines
is in the performance of Jamie Foxx. He looks like Ray, talks like Ray,
walks like Ray...he is Ray Charles. Period. Hands down...he will win the
Oscar for Best Actor this year.
Ray is a great film.
It's a joy to watch, and even at two and a half hours, the credits role too
early. I say that for two reasons. Firstly...I didn't want to stop watching
the film. Secondly, the ending is terrible. I know it ends in the middle of
his life, but the story has no real ending, it just stops. This is probably
a result of having to squeeze some sort of narrative out of this guy's life,
but given how great the rest of the film was, I know this could have been
better.
Ray Charles never lived to
see the completion of this film, but it did have his seal of approval...and
so did Foxx. |
