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Ray
The central performance
by Jaime Foxx is what carries this somewhat 'seen it before' type of
biography but the actor does a phenomenal job.
Personally, I knew almost nothing about the life of Ray Charles Robinson, and I did leave the theatre with knowledge of his young life and how he climbed to the top. For example, I had no idea he had a younger brother that died as an infant, he became addicted to heroin and he was a bit of a player with the women.
The film itself is about 2 1/2 hours long and they certainly crammed a lot in. Like most movies of that length that have follow a slow pace, 'Ray' moves fast, spending only minutes at a time only on certain years of the musicians life.
The film was well directed and showed me a change of pace for Taylor Hackford, who I think lastly helmed 'Proof of Life'. I think he likes to explore stories about characters who are placed in situations where they are wandering in dark places and everything passes them by so quickly they miss it all. Such was the life of Ray Charles.
Back to the performance of Foxx though. If you want a convincing portrayal of the man, not just convincing, but want to feel like you are actually watching Ray Charles, then look no further. Foxx has had a small career up until recently with roles in 'Any Given Sunday', and 'Bait' but when he appeared in 'Collateral' last year, he showed the world he was one to watch. This film will shoot him into the A list of actors with no halts and I will be suprised if he doesn't take out the Best Actor Oscar at the end of the month. The film has been nominated in 6 other categories but mainly it's the portrayal by Foxx that carries it.
All the major songs of his career are covered from their conception to their performance and the way 'Hit the Road Jack' came about was under quite interesting circumstances.
See 'Ray' not only of you're a fan of the man and his music, but if you want to learn about an extraordinary life and see an actor absolutely blow you away and remind you that A list stars can bring characters to life instead of just gracing you with their presence.
Personally, I knew almost nothing about the life of Ray Charles Robinson, and I did leave the theatre with knowledge of his young life and how he climbed to the top. For example, I had no idea he had a younger brother that died as an infant, he became addicted to heroin and he was a bit of a player with the women.
The film itself is about 2 1/2 hours long and they certainly crammed a lot in. Like most movies of that length that have follow a slow pace, 'Ray' moves fast, spending only minutes at a time only on certain years of the musicians life.
The film was well directed and showed me a change of pace for Taylor Hackford, who I think lastly helmed 'Proof of Life'. I think he likes to explore stories about characters who are placed in situations where they are wandering in dark places and everything passes them by so quickly they miss it all. Such was the life of Ray Charles.
Back to the performance of Foxx though. If you want a convincing portrayal of the man, not just convincing, but want to feel like you are actually watching Ray Charles, then look no further. Foxx has had a small career up until recently with roles in 'Any Given Sunday', and 'Bait' but when he appeared in 'Collateral' last year, he showed the world he was one to watch. This film will shoot him into the A list of actors with no halts and I will be suprised if he doesn't take out the Best Actor Oscar at the end of the month. The film has been nominated in 6 other categories but mainly it's the portrayal by Foxx that carries it.
All the major songs of his career are covered from their conception to their performance and the way 'Hit the Road Jack' came about was under quite interesting circumstances.
See 'Ray' not only of you're a fan of the man and his music, but if you want to learn about an extraordinary life and see an actor absolutely blow you away and remind you that A list stars can bring characters to life instead of just gracing you with their presence.
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