Movie Reviews

There are a lot of really good biopics out there (Martin Scorsese's The Aviator being a recent example), but I don't think I've ever been really captivated or blown away by one. I think they tend to be limited by design: biopics often try to cover a very large time span, with lots of characters and lots of events that make it difficult to really connect with the subject.

But still, interesting people can make for interesting movies, and Ray Charles was definitely an interesting person. The film doesn't pull any punches when it comes to occasionally showing the dark side of Charles's life (drugs and the mistreatment of some of his women), alongside the lighter and more triumphant aspects. There is definitely no doubt, either, that Charles's life was largely triumphant considering how badly stacked the odds were against him. Not only did he overcome his blindness and prove to be a great musician, he also changed the face of popular music by adopting gospel and transforming it into the 1950's equivalent of modern rock (a very controversial move back then), and he became the first musician ever to hold the legal rights and ownership of all recordings made while working with his record label.

So it's an interesting life for sure, but how is it portrayed on film? Pretty good, I'd say. Jamie Foxx is Ray Charles, and there's no doubt about that. Some people have facetiously claimed that he's merely doing a feature-length impression of Charles, but I say, isn't that exactly what's called for here, especially when it's such a brilliant and spot-on impression?

For Jamie Foxx's performance, for Ray Charles's music, and for Ray Charles's triumphant life in general, I'll give this film a solid recommendation.