| RAY |
 2004 - USADirector: Taylor Hackford
- Reviewed by Vickie
For anyone who’s been living in a cave and hasn’t yet heard the news: Jamie Foxx stars as Ray Charles in director Taylor Hackford’s sprawling biopic. The relationship-based film tracks Ray’s life, from his childhood through his stardom, by examining who he was as seen through the eyes of the women he loved: his mother (Sharon Warren), his wife (Kerry Washington) and his mistresses (Regina King and Aunjanue Ellis). Each woman plays a part in molding the musical legend, and each woman has her own hardships to bear as a result, as Ray battles stereotypes and racism to go from gifted novelty act to superstar. Just as ubiquitous as the on-air advertising assault has been the unrelenting Oscar buzz for Foxx. Yes, he does an excellent job and yes, he’s a talented actor, but—and this is only my opinion so feel free to disagree—I don’t think it’s that amazing that he’ll walk away with a best actor statuette come late-February. Nominated? Certainly. But what Foxx does, and what most actors playing real-life people do (especially those playing high-profile celebrities), is mimicry. Foxx nails Charles’ body language, speech patterns and physical style, but it’s essentially just producing a facsimile of another person instead of creating a character. (That said, there are the Charlize Therons and Daniel Day-Lewises of the world to prove Oscar can go home with actors playing real folks!) If anyone deserves some Oscar talk, it’s the group of women at the heart of the film. All are strong, all deliver solid performances and I could easily see any one of them landing a best supporting actress nod when the nominations are announced. (Regina King, get ready!) The film itself is rich, but a teensy bit long. At more than 2 ½ hours, it sometimes feels as though as it’s moving at a snail’s pace. Breaking up the occasionally slow proceedings are numerous spirited musical numbers (some using Charles’ original recordings, some using Foxx’s voice) that serve as reminders of exactly why this man deserves to have a movie made about his life, his career and his music. The story provides interesting insight for fans and newbies alike, and makes a point of not sugar-coating any aspect of Charles’ often turbulent life, from his philandering to his drug abuse. It’s a well-rounded (if lengthy) portrait of an artist, and fills in all the colors that made him the man he was. |
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I’m so thankful the release date for Ray has finally arrived. It
means the number of incessant and seemingly omnipresent TV commercials
for this good, but not breathtaking, film will thankfully start to
diminish in number. (Seriously, did I need to an ad for the film at
every single commercial break for every single program I watched for
the past five weeks??)
