This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 11:45 am and is filed under Academy Awards - best picture winners and nominees, Drama, Musicals, R, True Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry J. Lennix, Bokeem Woodbine, Sharon Warren, C.J. Sanders, Curtis Armstrong, Richard Schiff.
The musical bio-pic is a popular Hollywood staple and this one further immortalizes the great Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx is stunning in the Oscar winning title role of this Taylor Hackford (who also did a fine job directing) and James White, screenplay. The character of Ray Charles is refreshing open, with some nasty character flaws, that are often left out of works like this. The film offers a wide emotional range, that goes from lonely and sad to frustrating, to energetic, but never boring. The theatrical version is long enough at two and half hours, and the extended version is choppy and distracting, so I recommend sticking with the original.
This story spans several decades, as it tells Ray’s story from the time he was a healthy, young boy losing his younger brother, through the experience of losing his eyesight, and trying to find his place in the music world and follows him through his life as a major star, dealing with a disability and other treacherous character issues.
This is a strong film that holds up well to repeated viewings, particularly if the viewer is a fan of Charles’ music. It was robbed of Best Picture at the 2005 Oscars, by Million Dollar Baby, but, it is the better film. If, however, bio pics are not the kind of film that usually enjoy, or you don’t like Ray Charles’ jazzy rock sound, then this may not be the one for you.
