Ray

I didn't have a lot of baggage (knowledge of Ray Charles' personal life) when I saw this film, so for me, what unfolded before my eyes was an engaging look at the early decades of Ray Charles. The film did its best to balance out his musical talent, his business acument, and his battle with a heroin addiction upon reflection of his life and times.

I enjoyed how the inspiration of many of Ray's hits was depicted in a string of vignettes, though if life were only that simple: have a life crisis, and get a hit single from the experience, then more people would have hits on a continuous basis.

Jamie Foxx WAS Ray Charles, he simply melted into the person that was Ray, and his performance went beyond impersonation, but rather went deeper into channeling Ray's spirit in this cinematic effort put his life's story on film.

I knew I was getting invested in the film when I started to sit up in my seat, as Ray's career takes off, the darker side of his heroin addiction threatened to take it all away. There is no way a 150 minute film can cover the entire life of Ray Charles, but the glimpse into Ray's formative is enough for an entertaining and somber look into what personal demons drove this talented blind musician to conquer many musical genres, fusing different genres and creating new ones, and brought together people of all races with the power of his songs, even if it meant taking a stand in Georgia in the 1960s.

I am happy to say my audience applauded when the end credits started rolling.

I give this film 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+. Jamie Foxx gets an A for his performance.