Jamie Foxx great

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2015)

It's 1948. Ray Charles Robinson (Jamie Foxx) leaves his home in northern Florida to go to Seattle. He meets Quincy Jones (Larenz Tate) playing the trumpet on the street. He's taken advantage of by Marlene Andres and Gossie McKee (Terrence Howard). There are flashbacks of Ray Charles as a boy who went blind at the age of seven and witnessing his younger brother George drown. His willful mother insisted that he be independent. He would rise in fame and success but is always haunted by the water and his guilt.
This is fairly standard biopic fare. Ray Charles is a great subject and this is a well made movie. Jamie Foxx does a great job but one gets the sense that the movie pulls its punch a little. It's also a bit simplistic by laying so much with the death of George. However the mother character is terrific. Sometimes simplicity is a good thing. When you add the great music, this is a good music biopic.