The Unseen Movie Review

Ray

The legendary blind soul singer Ray Charles died last June at the age of 74, having done as much to shape the music of the late twentieth century as pretty much anyone, as well as act as an inspiration to countless thousands for his perseverance in overcoming his disability. His success despite his twin disadvantages of growing up both handicapped and black at a time when America was tolerant of neither of these things would have been enough of itself to warrant a biopic, but add in his dabblings with hard drugs, involvement with the civil rights movement, two marriages and twelve children, there’s room for something genuinely interesting.

During his career, Charles shifted from crooning ballads to gospel, blues to Rock’n’Roll, Soul to Country, blending them all and distilling them into a uniquely original take on the soundtrack of the American century. The filmmakers have made the sensible choice of focussing on the brilliance of the music as much as on the overcoming of adversity which plays such a prominent part in pretty much every biopic ever made.

What most people going to see a film about an artist are most interested in is, after all, the art. While revelations about their personal life may be interesting, and these are also included here, what is truly fascinating here is the creativity which allowed a blind orphan to rise from his deprived and tragic roots to the very pinnacle of his profession.

Of course, the fact that this film is coming out just five months after its subject died will lead to all sorts of fears that it is little more than a rushed hack job, and won’t do justice to a man who, despite his flaws, was a true great. Thankfully these fears are utterly unfounded – not only was the film in production well before Charles’ demise, but it is a remarkable piece of work, and not just for featuring so many of the near-legend’s near-legendary tunes.

Any biopic relies almost entirely on the performance of its lead – no amount of fancy filmmaking techniques and quality supporting cast can possibly cover for an unbelievable central actor, especially when playing such a well-known and well-loved figure as Ray Charles. So when rumours of impending Oscar nominations begin to circulate about the lead in a movie of this type, you know something special is on the cards.

Comedian Jamie Foxx – last seen as the taxi driver in the Tom Cruise hitman flick Collateral – looks to have secured himself a position among the very top Hollywood talent with this amazingly assured and versatile showing. Whether he will be named Best Actor in March – which would make him only the third African American actor to achieve the accolade in the Oscars’ history – remains to be seen, but he most certainly deserves to be nominated.

This is one of those rare performances which promises to mark the emergence of a major new talent. Foxx has been knocking around on the sidelines for years, never managing to break permanently out of his television work, but with Ray he shows an uncanny ability to both imitate and innovate at the same time – much like the man he is playing. For both the music and for Jamie Foxx, as much as for the memory of its subject, Ray is certainly worth checking out.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM