Ray

So much has been said about Jamie Foxx's transformation in this film that to repeat it here seems almost moot. But just in case you haven't heard it already, Foxx puts in a career-defining turn channeling Ray Charles in this biopic of his life, warts and all. Although it might sound trite to say this, Foxx did his homework. His Ray is how Ray looked and sounded in real life -- high-pitched voice, slightly mumbly, but with clipped words, and of course the trademark smile and self-hug. It's not trite, because it matters. After 5 minutes, I forgot completely I was watching anyone other than Charles. There are few biopics for which you can make that claim (including Nixon and Malcolm X). The film is long, but in the long run too short. It focuses on the beginning and middle of his career (arguably his best music years), but flashes back to the tragedies of his boyhood, astoundingly assisted by Sharon Warren who plays his mother. This is the actress' first film role, and she is one to keep an eye on, no doubt. In truth, all the female roles -- his mother, his wife, his mistresses -- are richly played, more so than I expected in a film about the life of a man. Charles' unique, catchy, constantly fresh music is treated as the thread that binds the film together, as background and as distinct scenes, and here again I have to point out my awe at Foxx's work. He went to college on a classical pianist scholarship and armed with that training, learned every one of the over 100 piano cues so that he could play them himself in the film (although they are dubbed over with Charles' own playing). We should all be on tenterhooks waiting to see what this comedian, indisputably turned dramatic actor, will do next.

year: 2004
length: 152 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350258/combined