Great biopic on a music legend

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2016)

The story of Ray Charles, music legend. Told in his adult live with flashbacks to his youth we see his humble origins in Florida, his turbulent childhood which included losing his brother and then his sight, his rise as pianist in a touring band, his writing his own songs and running his own band and then stardom. We also see his addiction to drugs and its affect on his working life and family life.
Great biopic. Tells the Ray Charles story well and demonstrates his influence on musical history. Also shows his demons and how he overcame them.
Quite emotional too: we see how, once he had lost his sight, his mother forced him to be self-reliant and how this paid off for him in later life.
Superb performance by Jamie Foxx in the lead role. The movie could easily have been a standard blow-by-blow account of the Ray Charles story but Foxx inhabits his character and captures his mannerisms and personality very well. Even more impressive in that he is a sighted man, playing a blind man. Foxx deserved his Best Actor Oscar.