Ray

Ray - ***1/2

From Taylor Hackford (Proof of Life, The Devils Advocate), Ray is the biopic of legendary vocalist Ray Charles, a man whose influence on the music industry can still be seen today. Jamie Foxx leads the cast as the singer himself, and does a powerful job of bringing this character to the screen. Kerry Washington plays his wife Bea, while Regina King plays Margie Hendricks, backup singer and mistress to Charles. It's this combination of an incredibly powerful cast and perfectly presented music sequences that make this work. I also enjoy the fact that it made no effort to fit in nicely with typical biopics of its day. There was no beatification here; Ray Charles was no angel and Hackford made no attempt to present him as one. The line "nobody's going to feel sorry for you because you're blind" is a perfect representation of the movie's theme. I think the movie may have ran on a bit, I felt as if it was going in circles for about 10 minutes or so in the middle, but all in all this is a very good movie. Thumbs up.