A good movie that becomes great due to one Jamie Foxx

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2005)

Will this be another bog standard biopic which loses feel and resembles a melodramatic musical? Simply, the answer is no.
Taylor Hackford's 'Ray' delivers an insightful and entertaining punch much needed to the biopic genre. With Hackford's piece, it is literally the Ray Charles story as if we were watching him on screen himself. Every aspect from appearance to musical credibility is recreated and felt by Foxx who is at every minute convincing, powerful and surely at his best. We've seen flashes of his potential in 'Any Given Sunday', Michael Mann's 'Ali' and recently 'Collateral' where he holds more than his own alongside Tom Cruise. Here he does more than that, by incarnating himself as Mr Charles.
The achievement with Hackford's work is the balance. The flashbacks of his childhood neatly spliced between Ray's journey cross country, his pursuit for stardom and the tribulations that paved its way. Hackford avoids melodrama for a sleek take on Ray's personal demons and his musical inspiration (nb a beautiful scene showing how 'Hit The Road Jack' was born).
Hackford delivers the songs that made Ray Charles the musician, Gospel, Rock, Jazz R&B but includes unheard recordings and uses it as incidental music so it's always a part of the film- not just setups (as recently seen in Spacey's Bobby Darrin project- 'Beyond The Sea'). The music is indirectly laudatory but melodically sidecars the star and the story Hackford wants to tell.
In 'The Devil's Advocate', Hackford reveals his darker side and its manifestation in society, glimpses of his style are seen as Ray battle his childhood demons. A simple scene of ray packing his suitcase sends out a brief but terrifying insight, imploring us to understand the true torment this man has experienced.
The women in Ray's life had as much influence as any of the other aspects discussed. His empowering mother, his beloved wife, Della Bea (played by Kerry Washington), the fiery Raelette; Margie Hendricks (Regina King) and The 'Queen of Blues' (Aunjanue Ellis), these performances too deserve credit but it is inevitable that they will be overshadowed by Foxx's.
Simply 'Ray' is a work of art. A true homage to a towering legendary figure that required a gentle approach. Hackford has achieved this by not allowing his film to become a musical, or a melodrama littered with musical set pieces. The final package has all the ingredients, credible period settings, the segregation of the time, the characters showing their relevance and not just being there to fill the factual gaps that are sometimes understated in biopics. The beautiful bow on the package is in the casting of one Jamie Foxx. Two years ago the headlines dubbed it the 'Year of Black' as the best Actor and Actress Oscars where bagged by Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, respectively. The former being Hollywood's true heavyweight. What we have here is a new contender for the crown, and I'm sure when Denzel picked up his Oscar, Foxx was itching inside. It would be hard to conceive of the project's potency without the man of the moment, Jamie Foxx.