Foxx perfectly captures Ray Charles in body and spirit

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2004)

At a young age Ray Charles was told by his mother not to allow others to pity him and to make something of himself and as this film shows he offered no apologies for anything he did. Story shows how young Ray was raised by his mother Aretha (Sharon Warren) in Florida and how they got through not only his ultimate blindness but the unfortunate accident that took the life of his brother George. As a young man Ray Charles Robinson (Jamie Foxx) travels to Seattle to try and land a job in the club circuit with his piano skills and as he steps off the bus he meets a teenage Quincy Jones (Larenz Tate) who shows him where to find his first job.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
From the small club circuit and touring for small gigs Ray slowly starts to get the attention of a small label named Atlantic who sign him to a record deal. Ray starts to gain some fame with his records and he meets young and pretty Della Bea (Kerry Washington) whom he marries and has a family with. What Della doesn't know is that Ray is a heroin user and has no plans to quit but she decides to try and put up with it and stay married. All throughout his rising career Ray has numerous affairs with back-up singers and fathers other children but through all of this he still has nightmares about the death of his brother and remembering some of the words that his mother spoke to him Ray decides to kick his drug addiction.
This film is directed by Taylor Hackford who has built a solid resume on mainly action/drama affairs but in 1987 he made the documentary "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" and his obvious love for this type of music is probably what drew him to this project. This film really doesn't come off as more than a capable retelling of Ray's life but it does the correct thing in not shying away from his glaring flaws as a person. Ray was an incredible talent and a very unique man but he was also selfish in his self gratification with women and drugs. None of this is exactly groundbreaking with news but it all comes to life with a dead on performance by Foxx who not only gives the ticks and mannerisms of Ray but captures his outgoing glow of spirit. Ray had a unique way of expressing himself and Foxx uses this to embody all of his characteristics that actually made me start forgetting that an actor was portraying him. While the script doesn't allow the film to achieve anything more than being faithful it is a showcase for the emerging Foxx who is slowly becoming one of the best actors working today.