The movie follows Ray throughout the course of his life, and even though the man has many faults, you find yourself having sympathy for him. Early on in his career, he experiments with drugs, and becomes addicted. Even though he uses them to escape the painful memories of his past and the hardships he endures, the drugs sometimes force him to remember his past, and end up putting him through agony again. But he cannot give them up. The conflict that rages within himself is carried through the whole movie, and also shapes other conflicts in his life, like his rocky relationships with women. Even though he is a smart and savvy businessman, and works hard to hold his own in the world, he becomes side tracked and almost loses what he loves most—his music. The plot is one that we are beginning to hear too often, about how a person who has everything almost loses it through drugs, yet the plot still manages to remain interesting because of the flashbacks to Ray’s life when he was young.
The character of Ray (Jamie Foxx) is played brilliantly. If you don’t come from a generation that grew up with Ray Charles, you still get the feeling that Jamie Foxx does an impeccable job of playing his character and makes it believable that he is Ray Charles, and not the actor playing him. All actors play their characters exceptionally, and transport you back to another, earlier era in America. This exceptional acting is what makes the movie brilliant. Taylor Hackford’s ability to create complex, beautiful scenes also makes the movie a pleasure to watch. Every movie has a “magic moment”, where the film comes to life, and the scene has certain elements of beauty, and is magnificently directed. In this film, the “magic moment” is the first scene. It is important to the rest of movie because during this scene, Aretha Robinson (Ray’s mother- Sharon Warren), states the promise that she made Ray make to her, to the audience. The scene is shot in slow motion, until she talks, then it seems the short moment of calmness and beauty, with her humming along, and hanging up sheets, is lost forever, and we are immediately thrown into the chaos of the movie. In that scene, everything is bathed in white light. This is the only time in the movie where things are so bright.
The “magic moment” is just one of the thoughtful and inspiring scenes that occur through the movie. Taylor Hackford’s (“An Officer and a Gentleman”, “When we were Kings”) genius is displayed in this movie in each scene. The movie is beautiful, moving, and meaningful. Ambient sound is cleverly used to paint a picture of the sounds and life in the poor areas of Georgia during Ray’s flashbacks. When it’s not used, Ray Charles’ original songs on the soundtrack provide an upbeat atmosphere to the movie and give you a taste of his music. Filter effects are also used on the camera, to show the audience Ray’s perspective on life as he descends into blindness as a young boy.
The film had many messages, but I think the most powerful one was to be strong, be smart, and to not give up on your dreams. However, Ray was sometimes ruthless, making bad decisions, that were in favour of his career, but not in favour of his life. There is a certain point in the movie where you start to question Ray’s morals, what it takes to succeed, and if fame and success is really worth the cost.
The excessive drug use and vivid flashbacks make this film good, because they are disturbing, yet jam-packed with emotion under the surface. Roger Ebert (Ebert and Roeper at the Movies) and Michael Wilmington (The Chicago Tribune) both had exceptional reviews for the movie, and called it a work of genius. I enjoyed it as well, but personally thought that the film was a little disappointing because of its inconsistencies in concrete facts and knowledge. Some of the events in the film did not actually take place in Ray Charles’ life, such as when he was banned from the state of Georgia, for refusing to play before a segregated audience. The state of Georgia did not in fact, issue a public apology to him, and it did not name its state song as “Georgia on my Mind”. Also, Ray Charles had more wives and love interests than Della Bea, and was long divorced when the fictional apology from the state of Georgia was issued, at the end of the movie. However, the concept and the message of the film stays intact—that Ray Charles was an incredible man, with an incredible handicap and past, incredible talent, and a incredible life. He let nothing deter him from his goal, especially not his handicap. I was impressed with the film and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family. It can be dark, depressing, the topics that the film deals with can be heavy at times, and make your skin crawl, but the music and the beautifully choreographed scenes made the film a pleasure to watch for me. Some of the content was sickening, but nevertheless, you are left in awe of the strength of the man, the actor, and the director, as the film comes to a fulfilling ending. Ray never touches drugs again.
Work Cited
1. Ebert, Roger. “rogerebert.com: movie reviews.” 9 Dec., 2006
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com
2. Swingmusic.net. “Legends of American Music History.” 8 Dec., 2006
http://www.swingmusic.net/Ray_Charles_Biography.html
3. Wikipedia. “Ray Charles.” 9 Dec., 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles
4. Wilmington, Michael. “metromix.com.” 9 Dec., 2006
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies
