Review of Rai (1995) by Greg L — 19 Jul 2009

An ambitious biopic that tries to cram a bit too much of Charles' life story in, and is too long and overstuffed in spots as a result - it wouldn't have suffered if the psychedelic flashback and drug delirium sequences, for example, had been left on the cutting room floor.

There are still lots of reasons to like it, however. It celebrates Charles' musical genius and explores his personal life with insight and empathy, without glossing over his considerable flaws as a human being, the acting is superb, particularly Jamie Foxx's career-making performance in the lead, and the music is - well, it's Ray Charles' music, which means it's great.