Great Movie

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2005)

Jamie Foxx becomes Ray Charles in "Ray", the best biopic I have seen in recent years. Foxx reminds me of Ray Charles as was in his younger years. Notably, the performances in this movie were uncanny. Particularly, Aretha Warren (Mrs. Robinson) had short, but memorable moments as Ray's mother. Also worth mentioning are Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Regina King, Larenz Tate, Richard Schiff, Curtis Armstrong, and Aunjanue Ellis.
I agree with filmbuff-36 that we do not get all the details of Ray Charles' life. However, to try and squeeze all of the minute details in his life would be nothing more than a documentary of Ray Charles that you would normally watch on the History Channel. The movie is far different than any other biopic because it tells a story that slowly evolves, but hooks the audience with the exuberance of Ray's life. The movie never tries to cover-up his past mistakes. Ray had a wonderful music career and life. The last half of his years that the movie covered were cautionary tales of what not to do in a personal life (drugs, cheating, etc.). I truly felt that Jamie Foxx earned his Oscar this year and I have never been any prouder of him since his time in "In Living Color." Following up on filmbuff-36, the movie tells only what is required to capture the essence of Ray's early life. His early life was both great and not-so-great. The movie not only captures Ray's greatness, but his humanity. He is no perfect being. Ray is a legendary musician who had his demons like any other human. I will not write any further, as I will be giving away too much. For those who are not familiar with the great musician, "Ray" is a wonderful way to spend three hours familiarizing about the legend.