Fake portrait of a real man.

Rating: 5/10 (19 March 2008)

This movie is a serious disappointment. Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles's raw talent just deserved better. This is really one of the finest performances I have ever seen, and I think in years to come it'll be remembered. On top of this, the music, that's this backbone of all of our musical history's- whether we're 50 or 15- is at the top of its class. People debate the character of Ray Charles all the time. He did some screwed up things, screwed a lot of people over, had a colourful history of transgressions - but his music is flawless. It's the definition of accessible, fun, real music. i have never heard anyone claim that Ray Charles is overrated, because it almost seems obscene.
Which is I think why this movie fell down. It had a legacy to uphold. And then piled on top of that, it had a piece of acting that blows your mind. The music of Ray Charles is so real, yet this movie was constantly so fake. Every single one of the flashback scenes to Ray as a boy was laced with laboured, preachy crap. Every single argument he had with his wife was semi-reconciled by him mentioning how much it sucks to be blind. Above all else there were so many alienating historical inaccuracies that were totally arbitrary. I wasn't a Ray Charles biographer, but I knew he had another wife before his wife in the film. I also knew the history of his cancelled concert in Georgia, and that he was never banned from the state, yet for the sake of a heartfelt final scene he was in the film.
It just took the definition of genuine music and turned it into a contrived film.