Informative biopic that entertains and inspires

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2005)

Most of us know that Ray Charles is something of a music legend. What this film does is show us the extent and range of his remarkable talent, the trials, tribulations and strength of character that got him there, and perhaps even shed some light on that most elusive of characteristics - the creative process itself.
Born in poverty and going blind at an early age, Ray Charles honed his musical talents and sense of hearing partly from being shut out of the visual world and its many distractions, partly because music excited him so much, and partly, also I expect, because he was plain bored.
His life story however is far from boring. He was what we would call a 'self-made man' and at a time when black people in America were the subject of much racial discrimination. His personal charisma and business sense were remarkable, as was his single-mindedness. Jamie Foxx delivers a career-high performance in an unshakably powerful lead role and the script sparkles with quips belying the ambiguous character of the star. For instance, we know that Ray Charles was to combine gospel music with something more up-tempo and cause an outcry. So it was quite in keeping with his character when he submits to his weakness for pretty women by telling his manager, "Find me a church-trained woman without the church-trained attitude!"
But the factor that got me hooked was watching how he made that x-factor leap from highly proficient singer-pianist to creative genius that is the stuff from which legends are born. Time and time again he would dumbfound critics by making unimagined musical leaps, directions, or combinations - and seemingly was always proved right. This is not the story of someone with a charmed life, but rather a biopic of the inner and outer life of a man who transformed music and himself in the process. He uses the good and the bad that life had to offer - and much of the bad, such as a period of drug addiction, was of his own making - and he used it to inform his music and push himself further and further to find expressions in music that hadn't been previously covered. In the process, we witness a gamut of human emotion, raw love, hate, jealousy, anger, betrayal, daring, all poured into his songs and performances and enriching them - and his audiences. The cooperation of Ray Charles himself in the making of the film before he dies, rather than glossing over any of his bad habits, seems to have authenticated the man and his all too human character and weaknesses.
Ray is a long and unsycophantic movie that will nevertheless keep you glued to the edge of your seat for a full two and a half hours - after which, if you're anything like me, you'll want to go out and buy the soundtrack before you get home. In many ways, Ray is the all-round best film of the year, although parents might feel the drug references make it unsuitable for younger viewers.