Inspirational

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2007)

Watched this on DVD last year. What an inspirational film. Ray Charles overcame the obstacles of being poor, black and blind. In addition he saw his younger brother die from drowning in front of him (he wasn't born blind, he became blind at the age of about eight). *
This movie doesn't gloss over the less savoury aspects of Ray's life - he was a womaniser and a heroin addict for a long time. However he was also the first black musician to refuse to play to segregated audiences during the 1960s when the struggle for equality between the races in America was at its height.
Due to his refusal to play to segregated audiences, he was banned from the state of Georgia for life. This ban was finally lifted in 1985 when he was given the freedom of the city and the state of Georgia adopted 'Georgia' by Ray Charles as its state anthem. (I have since heard that this untrue and he wasn't banned from the state).
It was relatively common during this period for musicians (particularly jazz artists) to be involved in using narcotics, especially heroin. (Not much change there really). Ray Charles successfully detoxed from heroin and lived for another 40 years without using it again.
This is an honest, sometimes brutal portrayal of a tortured man finding his salvation in music. You don't have to be a Ray Charles fan to appreciate this movie.
*There are some parallels here between Ray Charles and Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash also watched his brother die when he was about 8 or 9, from a horrible farming accident. Both men were outstanding musicians, both men were unfaithful when on the road and both had heavy drug habits. Ray Charles heroin and Johnny Cash Benzedrine and other 'uppers'. In another twist Joaquin Phoenix watched his younger brother River die in front of him from an overdose of heroin and cocaine (a snowball).