Ray: Review

Ray Charles was a genius, and it's a relief that Taylor Hackford's biopic doesn't waste any time trying to explain why he was one. Because that'd be as foolish as trying to explain why water is wet. Instead, it shows as faithfully as possible, warts and all, the road this genius' career took, and how he fared. As a Hollywood biopic -- the tendency of which is to make everything fit as smoothly as liquid in a container -- it misses its mark, slightly; but I hope that was intentional, because, as an honest portrait of the real man, it's a lot more accurate (and interesting) than most of the "reasonable hand-drawn facsimile" biopics we're usually offered. The film doesn't come right out and say so, but many viewers will be faced with the realization that Ray Charles as a man wasn't a very nice guy. He's never a downright bastard, but, like most musical geniuses (and most people, for that matter), we get the impression that he cared very little, at least in his early career as an artist and husband, about anyone but himself. In fact, the only reason we give a damn about him is because he was an amazing musician; and because his blindness made him an underdog, and we always root for the underdog. The film's honesty is refreshing, even if it leaves us a bit cold by its conclusion.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's a better film than, for example, The Aviator, a biopic that takes a ton of liberties and glosses over some of the more reproachful aspects of its subject, but is ultimately a more enjoyable picture...though it's unfair to compare Hackford to Scorsese, which is tantamount to comparing apples to pterodactyl testicles (you thought I was gonna write oranges, didn't you?). It does make it a more candid picture, however.

Certainly, Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles is the number two reason (number one being Charles's remarkable life) the film is so engaging. If Foxx's impersonation were to come off as too blatant, too much of a caricature, the entire film would have suffered. Thankfully, Foxx pulls it off terrifically. He's in A-plus form here, subtle when others would choose to be overt, and it's easy to see why he won the Best Actor Oscar for this role. The rest of the cast is wonderful, too. Watching the film, I was both pleased and saddened by this, because it's so rare that such an ensemble of fine black actors is together in a great film like this, which is too bad. The fetching Kerry Washington is particularly impressive as Charles's first wife, Della Bea Robinson. Other notable performances are from Terrence Dashon Howard (who apparently is the nicest guy in real life, but looks like a dangerous, malicious bastard in every role I've seen him in), Larenz Tate (the black Ralph Macchio), Bokeem Woodbine, Regina King, Sharon Warren (whom I swear used to be on the Cosby Show during its final years, although the Internet Movie Database lists this film and another -- Glory Road, set to be released in 2006 -- as her only credits), Curtis Armstrong (Booger from Revenge of the Nerds!), and literally dozens more. I was a little disappointed that one of the Atlantic studio engineers was not in fact Judd Nelson, however. That guy looks exactly like JL! Check out the movie and tell me I'm wrong.

Hackford's direction is above-average, though by no means the most notable thing about the picture. His use of what is obviously stock footage to show city scenes is pretty annoying, and there are two borderline cringe-worthy scenes that should have been cut out of the film or at least better realized. The first is a scene in a diner where Ray, courting Della Bea, points out to her that he can hear the sound a hummingbird is making just outside of an open window. It's corny, and it doesn't help that the hummingbird is a very poor CGI. The second comes near the end of the film, while Ray is in rehab and experiencing heroin withdrawl. There's an awful series of nightmarish flashback shots that look as though they were teleported into the film from a teen slasher flick. Also, the film bafflingly claims that Ray Charles's biggest achievement was getting Georgia to lift its lifetime ban on him performing there, and having the state adopt 'Georgia On My Mind' as its state song. I think Charles's musical legacy is a far greater accomplishment than being exonerated for challenging Georgia's racist Jim Crow laws, although it must have been pretty cool to have one of your songs become a state's anthem -- though, if I had my druthers, the song would be REM's 'Orange Crush'.

Another minor gripe is that the film wraps up far too abruptly. The DVD comes with an extended version, which is probably closer to Hackford's vision, and which hopefully doesn't rush towards its conclusion so quickly. I'm not kidding when I say I wouldn't have minded if the film, already 2 1/2 hours long, were an hour or so longer, if only so that we could see Jamie Foxx singing 'You Got The Right Thing Baby' in a Pepsi commercial (I am kidding on that one). I'll try to write a mini-review of the extended version if I ever get around to watching it.

I suspect that, just like Ray Charles, this film will be remembered most for its music, which remains with the viewer long after the film is over. For a biopic of such a gifted musician, that's probably how it should be.

Note: most of this review was written before I read about Richard Pryor passing. I hope that, when the inevitable Pryor biopic is made, it is as great and as honest a depiction as Ray is. It at least has to be better than Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling.