Kind of boring

Rating: 7/10 (15 June 2005)

Although I loved the music because I am a big jazz fan, I was kinda bored with this movie, which was, to me, trying to be a documentary and at the same time an entertainment. I thought that it glossed over all the years after Ray got himself straight and focused on the "entertaining" aspects of his life: drugs, unfaithfulness, corruption due to wealth, etc.
The beginning was promising, where it focused on Ray's childhood and his strong mother. Later it became too much, maybe his life was too much but I think there was much more to his life than this movie portrayed. Maybe this "movie" should have been a book, where Ray's life could have been more fully explored. I am not sure what the filmmaker was trying to portray. A life, or just pieces of a life for entertainment's sake. But that's Hollywood, I guess. I gave this a 7 because the performances were great and the music was great but otherwise....boring.