Review of Ray (2004) by Shahmeer H — 24 Jul 2013

Ray Charles life, a very musical filled festival of horror and happiness, is an interesting one, and seems very honest. And that's the way this film mostly seems. It felt completely honest, probably one of the most honest films I've ever seen, ending the movie on a dark note, which usually most biographies dont do. Ray shows the high points of Ray's career, but mostly concentrates and delves deeply into it's low points, and I respect the film a lot for that. It keeps you paying attention, and although Ray Charles and his music are likeable for the most part through the film, it lets you see a very dark side of him and portrays him a lot as a douchebag. And if a film can make a blind man look like a douchebag, there's something special in it. Another factor I greatly enjoyed about Ray is that it didn't fully concentrate on Charle's disability. Yes, it showed the origin story of his blindess, but rather than being all about him being a great blind musician, it concentrates on the man himself. It didn't concentrate on the great blind man he was, but rather on the great MAN he was. The filmed portrayed him as one of the greatest musicians of all time, not because he was blind and could play well, but because in reality he was a fantastic musician, better than most at the time. The film wants you to understand even if Ray wasn't blind, his dark times would still be with him, and he wouldn't be a greater musician than he was if he could see. His blindness in a film is a small side plot addressed only a limited times in the film, and you are instead concentrated on this great man who can play amazing music. And that's why I love Ray. It's an excellent film that shows a great musician through his highs and lows, and simply that. Pushing his blindness aside, the film wanted to show you a great man who made mistakes in his life, and ones he had trouble fixing. An enthralling film, I thought Ray was a great film. And it was all the better with Jamie Foxx at the lead.

The performances in Ray are fantastic, from the minor characters to the supporting cast, to the lead role of Ray Charles, portrayed by none other than Jamie Foxx. At first I thought his performance was all right, getting a little annoyed with it, but as the film progressed I truly believed I was watching Ray Charles and the image of Jamie Foxx dissapeared. Jamie's ability to make you love and dislike a blind man is amazing, and just not the fact he was blind made Jamie a great actor, but the fact that Ray Charles character was so dark and understood the world even without seeing made his character all the more difficult to play, but Foxx pulls it off like a pro. Foxx redefines playing a role and getting into it, for during the course he kept his eyes shut tightly close, which I'm sure caused some harm to him, and showed he was actually acting blind the whole time. A pure honest performance is executed this way, and I loved almost every minute of it. The supporting cast was also great, especially by Ray's mistresses. They have the most put on their shoulders by Ray Charles, and they feel the most pain throughout. I believe all of them should've have received Oscar nominations, if not at least Regina King. Her performance as Margery was violent and excellent, and her anger clearly reflected on screen. Kerry Washington gave a good performance to as Ray Charles's wife. She brought the innocent and scared priest's daughter feel, and when she lost it, you understood she lost it. The entire cast were great in the film, and it was all neatly pulled together Jamie Foxx.

The direction is not something I was very happy about. I think it was the weakest part of the entire film, mostly in the beginning. It didn't know how to execute the film until halfway through when things finally turned solid and stayed on a straight path. Before that, everything was not as seamless as it could've been. Taylor Hackford did a good job keeping the film light when it was supposed to be light, and making it dark when it turned dark. But as Ray Charles was growing to be a famous man in America, Taylor Hackford was keeping the film messy and I couldn't have gone on had it not been for Foxx's performance and the screenplay. The screenplay was written James L. White, who I give a lot of props to for making a story about Ray Charles about Ray Charles, and not his inability to see. It's sad this is the only film he has ever written, but like Harper Lee, it's a dang good one. He kept the film on a light feel at the beginning, showing Ray's highs and his naivity. But as Ray became more famous, he also became more sinister, and I thought that was excellence on White's part.

Ray Charles also included an excellent variety of music by the man himself. This was fun, but wasn't the main attraction of the film. Jamie Foxx and the films moral message and plot are the three things that neatly keeps Ray an excellent film. Although the direction was flawed at the beginning, as well as Foxx's performance, it all became solid and more deeply intriguing toward the second act and on. In the end, Ray is an astounding film, with great performances by the cast and a beautiful and honest performance by Jamiee Foxx, and a plot to keep you fully intrigued. One of the best biopics I've seen in a bit, Ray is one no one should miss. 8/10.