Ray **** (2004, Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington) – Classic Movie Review 713

Jamie Foxx’s dazzling turn as blind music legend Ray Charles is a definite Oscar winner and won him the Best Actor Academy Award, as well as a Golden Globe and Bafta award. His seamless portrayal is so convincing that you forget you’re watching an actor at all. And Foxx played the piano in all his scenes himself. He wore eye prosthetics that made him blind for up to 14 hours a day during shooting.

How did a blind black guy make it to the top in the racist America of the Fifties? Born poor, losing a brother to drowning, on heroin at 20, Ray learned piano at blind school and, through a mixture of talent, grit, guts and self-belief, triumphed over so many setbacks.

Paying full tribute both to the vintage music and to the man (who died in 2004), director Taylor Hackford’s entertaining and informative 2004 movie digs deep, uncovers the truth and avoids all the Hollywood biopic’s usual clichés and pitfalls. With Foxx’s crafty playing, it’s a hit.

Ray Charles was able to see the first edit of the film before he died of liver failure on 10 June 2004. The screenplay was translated into Braille for him to read.

The full movie is 178 minutes (the Extended Cut) and the cut version runs 152 minutes.

There was also a second Oscar for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing. Four other nominations, included Best Film and Best Director.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 713 derekwinnert.com