I’d heard for months the buzz & praise that Jamie
Foxx was collecting for his portrayal in “Ray”, the biographical drama about the late, great entertainer Ray Charles so I went into seeing this movie with high expectations. What I got exceeded those expectations in ways that have left me reflecting, redefining and a want to reinvent myself!Ray Charles was one of those entertainers that all of us have heard of and/or when we picture him we think of him with that bright, wide smile across a sunglass-cloaked face. His struggles & successes in life are sure to inspire. Jamie Foxx didn’t “imitate” Ray Charles….in this move he BECAME Ray Charles. This movie was excellent in the way it portrayed Ray Charles as a REAL person: his highs (musical success & love) and lows (drug addiction & womanizing) and didn’t sugarcoat anything to make him seem “saintly”. This element makes this movie more endearing and an amazing film. Not only did this movie entertain me, it also educated.
In various interviews I’ve seen before I saw the movie, Jamie Foxx explained how he wore a prosthetic piece on his eyes that helped him be a blind man. This man did his homework & came prepared for this role. Foxx, already an accomplished pianist added his first hand experience of tickling the ivory keys to the authenticity of this portrayal.
The supporting cast of “Ray” was equally talented. Kerry Washington (“Save The Last Dance”, 2001) did a wonderful job as Della Bea, the understanding & loving wife of Ray and mother of his children. Kerry’s portrayal was heart-felt & truly shows the spirit of “stand by your man”.
Regina King, surprised me by being “the other woman”. Ms. King has forever always played the “good” female character but in “Ray” she portrayed Margie Hendricks, one of the Raylettes and the voice that belts out the powerful, pleading verses in Ray’s song “Nightime Is the Right Time” (think back to the COSBY SHOW episode where little Rudy Huxtable lipsyncs “Baby! Baby! You know I love you…..”. Aunjanue Ellis (“Undercover Brother”) portrayed another female singer that Ray hired and romanced, Mary Ann Fisher.
Some other notable performances came from Clifton Powell, as Ray’s right-hand man (Jeff Brown), Lorenz Tate (a young Quincy Jones), Bokeem Woodbine (Ray’s bandmate Fathead Newman) and Terrence Dashon Howard (Gossie McKee). Newcomer Sharon Warren played Ray’s young, struggling single mother Aretha Robinson in various flashback/back story scenes that were excellently translated on film. Rounding out the exceptional cast was C.J Sanders who played a young Ray Charles. The scenes with Sharon & C.J brought tears to my eyes EVERY time I saw them.
Jamie Foxx gave us a taste of his dramatic acting abilities in “Ali”. It is not an easy thing for a comedic actor to be able to pull off a dramatic role but Jamie Foxx can say he can. This story hopefully can show that ALL of us have the ability to do what we want, if we want it bad enough and nothing, not even being blind & poor, should limit what you want in life. I enjoyed the nostalgia of this movie: the vintage clothing & styles, the music and the way true talent shined like the sun.
This was the first movie I had been to in a long time in which the audience erupted in thunderous applause at the closing end credits. This opening weekend crowd loved this movie. It took me until the complete end of the film (even past the closing credits when the theater crew came through to clean up the spilled popcorn & discarded pop cups) that I was able to leave my seat. I was that moved, to the point of steady-flowing tears, by this movie as a whole.
This film is rated PG-13 / 2 hrs. 33 min
All Photos © Copyright Universal Pictures
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