In evoking the spectacular life of the late Ray Charles Robinson, director Taylor Hackford (Officer and a Gentleman, Proof of Life) created a stage on which Jamie Foxx (Collateral) gives the performance of his life. Winning the 2005 Golden Globe for Best Actor, he is now a deserved shoe-in for this year’s Oscar. Rich in loving detail, Ray picks up Ray’s life story when the young, talented but dirt-poor pianist leaves home in search of a job. Hackford relates his back-story with hyper-filtered flashback; a mother’s tough-love, the disturbing death of his brother and a sudden blindness at age nine is all grist for the mill of a man whose life was not crippled by blindness, but heroin addiction and serial philandering.
Ray is a terrific film of strength and determination layered with opportunism and regret. Support from a standout cast is uniformly excellent, from his nurturing association with Atlantic Records to the blistering relationships between his band and singers. Hackford concentrates on Charles’ early professional life and the inferno of a surging career, prejudice and drugs to leave us with the legacy of his music. “You sing every word like you live it” says one of the adoring vocalists, though she could just as easily be talking about Foxx. It is his landmark performance that anchors the film; within minutes he has transcended the screen to embody the spirit of Ray Charles from his iconic smile to the distinctive, rolling body language. And for that alone, much less Charles’ vigorous music (Foxx lipsyncs original tracks) or evocative design that enlighten the film, Ray is a major accomplishment.
// COLIN FRASER