Ray (2004)

• Year: 2004
• Released: 29 Oct 2004
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Won 2 Oscars. 53 wins & 54 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350258/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Ray
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ray
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
• Runtime: 152 min
• Writer: Taylor Hackford, James L. White
• Director: Taylor Hackford
• Cast: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington
• Keywords: biography, loss of loved one, jazz, childhood trauma, black people,

	7.7/10
	73/100
	79% – Critics
	87% – Audience

Ray Storyline

Without a doubt, the story of the legendary rhythm-and-blues musician, Ray Charles, is truly unique. Born in an impecunious family, Ray Charles was confronted with the tragic event of his brother’s death by drowning: a terrible shock that irreparably affected his eyesight, leaving him blind by the age of seven. But, music and sounds were always Ray Charles’ refuge, and when he lost his mother at the age of fifteen, he decided to fight for his dream, and he succeeded. Ray’s tremendous talent combined with his dynamic personality was an explosive combination, taking 1940s and 1950s America by surprise. As a true pioneer, Ray Charles started a musical revolution with the way he interpreted his songs, his characteristic suit and black glasses, and the big smile on his face.

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Ray Movie Reviews

Sometimes less is more…

… and the crafters of this film got that. Ray Charles was a flawed human being. Actually the words “flawed” and “human” are redundant, so don’t think I’m judging him. But his life was very complex. He had a drug problem. He had twelve children by ten women over a period of 35 years. He had repressed guilt over the accidental death of his baby brother. And he was one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century. He started out crafting and performing great tunes in the early 50s before rock and roll arrived and managed to be relevant into the 1970s. When the likes of Bloodrock and DOA edged him out of the pop charts. No, seriously. But history has proven that his music has lasting appeal.

So this film stars Jamie Fox in the title role and manages to blend all aspects of the artist’s life into a cohesive whole – his impoverished childhood, his life as a musician and artist, his private life at home, and his private life on the road. And Ray’s delusional belief that he can keep all these different parts of his life from having a head on collision. It runs back and forth between all of these phases of Ray Charles’ life and kept me very engaged. And the music will give you a soul attack.

Jamie Foxx disappears into the role of Charles and reflects the complexity of the man while still leaving him enough of an enigma to keep you intrigued. Kerry Washington plays Bea, the long suffering wife of Charles. When it comes to Charles’ life on the road she doesn’t know and she doesn’t want to know. And yet she knows. Margie and Mary Ann are the two women who represent all of the other women in Charles’ life. If you had the actual number of women involved with Charles in this bio pic, the traffic direction would become so complex that you wouldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Special kudos to Curtis Armstrong as Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic record producer and friend of Ray. If not for this film I would only remember him from the 80s TV show Moonlighting where he was the (at least initially) unwilling object of oddball Agnes Depesto’s affection.

This film has great acting, obviously a great soundtrack, is a shining example of expert editing, and has a screenplay that I just don’t get bored of even though the story of Ray is pretty well known. Great for repeat viewing. Highly recommended.

Mostly accurate and brutal–but also a bit of a white-wash

“Ray” is an excellent movie. Jamie Foxx did a great job in the film and earned the Oscar for Best Actor–and he was excellent in the title role. The film also showed many of the warts in Ray Charles’ life–such as affairs and drug abuse. However, as a history teacher, I should also point out that the film ignores just how dark and nasty a person Ray Charles was. In the film you hear about one failed marriage and one illegitimate child, but the truth was much darker–with 12 children by 9 different mothers and an additional marriage. I really think talking about this would have improved the film–showing the extreme contrast between a man who could sing songs that delight millions and yet, personally, he was a mess. It also would have been more truthful–a serious problem with most bio-pics. But I should at least admire that the film is not a total white-wash but addresses some of his dark past. Plus, the production values were great and the film was never dull. Excellent and well worth seeing.

By the way, you’ll probably notice that my review is pretty short considering how big a hit the film was and what an epic film it was. Well, there are already TONS of reviews for the movie and so I chose just to focus on the historical aspects of the film.

Jamie Foxx’s performance is outstanding….

Ray is a little overlong, with one or two scenes that feel on the dull side. However there is much to like, such as the strong support cast, the nuanced direction, a sharp script and powerful themes displayed just as powerfully and as movingly.

Three things however are outstanding. One is the look of the film. Not once is it overly-glossy or made for TV, the detail is beautifully evoked and the cinematography is appropriately skillful. Then there is the music, which is both catchy and enough to make a strong emotional impact. But the main pro is the performance of Jamie Foxx, who becomes Ray Charles and the whole performance is superb.

All in all, a very good film elevated by an even better performance. 8/10 Bethany Cox