Very well made drama and another deserved Oscar contender

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2005)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
A drama exploring the life and times of legendary blues singer Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx.)Born into a poor single-parent family in Central Florida at the start of the 1930s,the film begins by charting the beginning of his tumultuous life going blind at age 7,through to overcoming Jim Crow racism to become a respected black performer and entertainer in America,as well as depicting his seedier side with his womanizing ways and over-coming a nasty heroin addiction.
It says a lot about me that I had absolutely no idea who Ray Charles was until I heard he'd died last year.But then,he was well before my time.And,as usual,it seems that we only just find out how much of a legend someone is when they have died,and thus abiding by the old aidage of 'ya-don't-know-what-you've-got-'till-it's-gone.'But judging by this fantastic biopic,it certainly seems the man lived quite an extraordinary life,and,in turn,his life story makes for extraordinary viewing.
I'd be happy if Foxx did win the Best Actor Oscar tonight,because he certainly delivers a great lead performance as Charles.He spent a lot of time with the great man before he died,and it's payed off,much more successfully,it has to be said,than Will Smith's collaborations with Muhammad Ali with his performance as the said boxing man.He's amerced himself in the role,capturing Charles's every mannerism and,to be honest,moreorless becoming him!It's an effective piece of method acting,indeed.Robert De Niro would be proud.He's complimented well by a superb supporting cast as well,especially the one who played his mother.
You can't help but notice,from the off-set,the films TV movie kind of feel.It moves along in a jovial kind of way too,and some may argue this detracts from the serious feel the movie should have been aiming for,but,if anything,it succeeds in not alienating it's audience so much and making the experience a more merry and,in turn,enjoyable one.
Some might argue that,despite the film's considerable length (152 mins!) it only centres on the early parts of Charles's life and just sort of brushes over the last parts in little segments,but then you have to think that around this time he got older and therefore became part of an older generation and perhaps wasn't in the public conscious quite so much.And it does include the most important bits of this.
All-in-all,this can only be described as quite a well made and very engaging biopic of a man who lead a very interesting life and will be remembered by those who can remember him most probably for the rest of their lives.It hits all the right notes,if you'll forgive the pun.I wish it all the best tonight.****