The Dean of Cinema

Written by Dean Zarbaugh II

The extraordinary life story of Ray Charles. Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.

Ray is director Taylor Hackford’s raw, unflinching look at the life of one of greatest musicians to grace the stage: Mr. Ray Charles. The film explores thirty years in his career, and all the drama that went into making some of best music ever recorded. He started out on a sharecropping plantation, and at age 7, lost his little brother to tragedy, and then lost his vision. His mom instills him with a drive to not be treated different from anyone else. He had to battle with shady managers and promoters who saw him as an easy target, but Charles always stood his ground. After a chance encounter and deal from a record company, his career skyrockets to heights once deemed impossible to reach. Oftentimes when making a Hollywood biopic, the filmmakers tend to leave out the less glamorous parts of the musician’s life, but the script from James L. White and Hackford is honest about its protagonist and his struggles with fidelity and drugs. He had multiple affairs outside his marriage and regularly shot up with heroin. It’s intense, exciting, and thrilling, and doesn’t hold back from multiple missteps throughout his life. Ray is one of the best looking films of the last thirty years. It looks as pressed and clean as Ray when he would go on stage. Every subsequent biopic has almost copied the cinematography of Ray. The camera gets up close and personal with the actors, allowing you to see every ounce of emotion in their performances.

The cast is one of the greatest ever assembled on camera. Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Bokeem Woodbine, Sharon Warren, Terrence Howard, Wendell Pierce, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Curtis Armstrong, and Richard Schiff. Even Warwick Davis pops up for a while, giving a wonderful performance as Oberon, one of Ray’s early cohorts who recognizes Ray’s talent and helps him get out of the bad contract he was given. For someone known for doing sci-fi, fantasy and horror, it’s great to see him play a normal role. He’s a gifted actor and needs to be in more movies and tv shows. He’s fun to watch on screen. Everyone brings their A-game. It’s clear that the story was important to everyone involved and that they wanted to do the real people justice with their portrayals.

Jamie Foxx sets the bar sky high as he delivers a knockout performance as Ray Charles, blurring the lines between himself and the legendary musician. It’s as if whenever Hackford called “action,” Jamie Foxx would disappear, and he would transform into Ray Charles. He anchors the film, providing the benchmark for performances in the film. When good actors work with talent like Foxx, it forces them to up their game in order to match the tone he sets. He studied the man for a long time in order to get his mannerisms and nuances just right. He’s deftly able to go from sweet and innocent, to angry and bitter at the flip of a switch. Most of the time, Ray is a charming, suave, talented man, but he was also dealing with a lot of trauma and demons in his life, and Foxx nails every single one of these emotions with absolute ease. He had a pretty damn good career prior to Ray, but this was what shot him into super stardom.

Kerry Washington is sensational as Della Bea, a musician in her own right, and Ray’s wife and mother to his first child. She has always been a talented performer in films and television, but her performance in Ray is on another level. Holding your own in scenes with Jamie Foxx while he’s channeling a pitch perfect Ray Charles is no easy feat. She brings a natural poise to the role of Della Bea, who stayed loyal to Ray, even when he didn’t stay loyal to her. She’s a fantastic actor, and Ray lets her shine. Her chemistry with Foxx is off the charts, but that’s no big surprise as both of them see like extremely charming people.

Regina King gives one of the most raw, emotional, and powerful performances as Margie Hendricks, a singer in the group The Cookies who becomes the Raelettes when they join up with Ray on the road. Margie and Ray quickly begin an affair after meeting. This not only angers Della, but Ray’s first mistress Mary Anne Fisher. Hendricks, absolutely taken by Charles and his suave nature pushes the boundaries of their relationship by following him while he’s with his family. Unable to process Ray dismissing her, she begins a downward spiral that affects everything in her life. While Ray never shot up with her, he introduced her to heroin, which she becomes addicted to, while also drinking heavily even during recording sessions. King gives an honest portrayal of a person struggling with addiction and unrequited love. As with everyone else in the cast, she has incredible chemistry with Foxx.

Sharon Warren marvels as Aretha Robinson, mother to Ray. Aretha is someone who was dealt a shit hand in life, and made sure her boys would have more opportunity than her. The scene where she discovers her youngest son George’s lifeless body floating in the washtub is devastating to watch. Warren’s guttural screams for her son pierces your soul. No parent should have to go through a tragedy like that. Warren commands every scene she’s in. A one of a kind performance, and one that should have been more recognized during awards season. That could be said about most of the cast, too.

I remember seeing Ray in theaters with my dad, who was a massive Ray Charles fan. He was impressed by Jamie Foxx’s performance as Ray Charles, and loved hearing the music that he grew up listening to on the radio. It was through my dad that I was introduced to musicians like Ray Charles, plus the legends that came out of Motown. When my compatriots were listening to era appropriate music for our age, I was listening to Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, The Temptations and more. It was a great theater experience, and one I remember fondly when I think about my dad, especially because we rarely agreed on movies.

Hackford and company laid the blueprint for all future biopics with Ray. It tells it like it was, and doesn’t coverup the blemishes on his record. It doesn’t try to glamorize every part of his, because not every part of his life was always glamorous. He’s a human being who made mistakes and in the end dealt with his demons once and for all. The life of Ray Charles was incredible journey, and Ray takes you behind the scenes of his rise from the Chitlin’ Circuit to the superstar he is remembered for today.

GRADE: A