Jaimie Foxx Brings Ray Charles to Life!

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2005)

Every now and then, a film comes along and shows a talented actor doing an impersonation of some one famous or not, and really hits home with it. The movie Ray. starring Jamie Foxx (Collateral, Any Given Sunday) as Ray Charles Robinson, has set the bar to an unreachable height.
Ray shows the rise and near fall of the musical entertainer Ray Charles Robinson. The film depicts Ray as a musical genius who is haunted by memories from his childhood. His struggle to rise to the top and to keep from losing fame is hard on his wife played by Kerry Washington (Save the Last Dance). She has to deal with his drug addiction to heroin and his love affairs on tour. Regina King (Down to Earth) plays one of his "Raylet" background singers who he winds up having an affair with.
Academy Award® winning Director Taylor Hackford (Devil's Advocate, An Officer and a Gentleman) incorporates the sensational music of Ray Charles with the controversial issues of the era like drug abuse, civil rights, and "devil lyrics". The flashbacks to his childhood are used to get a point across like not using handicaps and showing how he became blind.
Jamie Foxx started out as a comic on the TV show "In Living Color" and has recently been appearing in serious dramatic roles. His uncanny resemblance to Ray Charles adds to the effect given off by his Oscar® worthy performance. His delivery makes this his best performance to date.
Ray is one of the best pictures of 2004 and will be talked about for years to come. Foxx's win for Best Actor was well deserved. Hopefully this is just the beginning for Foxx and Hackford.