Vivid Portait of Ray Charles

Rating: 8/10 (2 March 2005)

Jamie Foxx is perfect for this role. Even stronger when I viewed it as how the story is told. This films portrays a vivid image of Ray Charles as he really was. It does not pander like some biographical films to just showing his greatness.
Beyond Ray Charles real life drug addiction & his real life inspirations which are told so very well by use of childhood flash backs, the image of how he used his hearing to make up for the loss of his sight is amazing. Ray is presented as not a fragile human because of being blind, but as an inspiration. Though the real Ray Charles over-came a lot to be successful, some basic flaws are shown.
Most interesting is the business side of Ray Charles portrayed in the film. He is presented as a shrewd & tough business man who rarely shows his emotions when he makes a business decision. This is a side of Ray Charles never seen by the public until this movie. This movie is excellent viewing & if you get the DVD with 14 extra scenes that were deleted, all but one of these scenes add more to the film. I highly recommend the film in either version.