♥♥Gone to pastures new. Thanks to all of you. You are a lovely crowd, but time does not ...
♥♥Gone to pastures new. Thanks to all of you. You are a lovely crowd, but time does not permit me to do the site justice any more♥♥
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I have mixed feelings about this film, because although I have known and loved the music of Ray Charles for most of my life, I was unsure as to how he could accurately be portrayed by an actor. This film is about the story of a man who has left a mark in the music industry that is hard to follow, with his wonderfully original voice and style, though until watching the movie, I had no idea about the sadness that haunted Ray for most of his life.
It is strange how childhood events can shape a human being's future, and the events that shaped the life of Ray Charles are sad ones, though from the film, it seemed that many were exaggerated by the mis-use of drugs. This strange character made his way into a feirce career competing against sighted people, whilst having become blind in his youth. In an effort to make her son independent and able to cope with the world, his mother comes over as hard, although her work paid off, and Ray found his way into the musical circus, giving legendary renditions of his songs at the height of his career, enhanced by his heroin habit.
There are moments during the film that you sympathise
with the character of Ray Charles, and others where you question what fame actually made him into although no one can deny the man had a certain charisma in his musical style which took him from being a small time musician to one who was known throughout the world.
Jamie Foxx plays the part of Ray Charles, and one of the aspects of the film which I found questionable was the way in which the character stumbles through life, whilst blind people are usually much more aware of their surroundings. Hailed as accurate by critics, I found the characterisation clumsy in parts, and was a little put off by the portrayal, rather than being enriched by the knowledge of a man for whom I have great respect.
Directed by Taylor Hackford, I really believe that the subject matter could have been dealt with in a more sympathetic manner without detracting from the life story, and in some parts of the film found the story to be badly presented and even murky, although I also feel enriched with information about the real Ray Charles that I was otherwise unaware of.
One of the greatest moments for me in this movie was when Ray Charles refused to play to a segregated audience in Georgia as he believed this to be morally wrong. The man is portrayed as having morals, although the way in which he let those morals fade into the background under the influence of drugs and the absence of the strong person in his life, i.e. his wife, was disappointing.
I thought that the film was enlightening, though as I say was not altogether sure of the accuracy of the portrait of a man and his music as it could have been. The long battle with heroin and ghosts from the past was eventually overcome, although the way in which the story is told makes the viewer believe that after the drugs, there was little left of any substance in this man's music.
The music throughout the movie is Ray Charles, and it was interesting to watch him make his way to that comfortable choice is singing what is his style, rather than using hackneyed styles that existed when his career began. The music is memorable, and it is almost as if the drug habit enhanced it to such an extent that his fame was the pay off for years of abuse.
His wife, portrayed by Kerry Washington, came over as strong in her own way, although it is hard to imagine the strength of character needed to deal with the personal problems that Ray had. There was no doubt that he loved his family, although his behaviour towards women was questionable.
The soundtrack left thoughts of Ray Charles as a singer in my mind, the real Ray Charles and the man I have respect for, although I was disappointed by the direction, and empathised with the way in which Ray Charles was so abused by those purporting to help his career in the early days.
It's a film that is worthy of a viewing, and one that will make the viewer think, though this is not the best portrayal that I have ever seen of a musician's life.
Value for money ? Perhaps, though I would advise people to try a second hand copy before parting with hard cash. With a list price of Fifteen Pounds, this is indeed available on the second hand market at both Ebay and Amazon for as little as Five Pounds, and at that price is very good value.
After-taste.
It left me wanting to read about Ray Charle's life. It left me with question marks about who the man was and why he acted in the way he did, and hungry for knowledge about an artist that I have listened to for most of my life. I would have preferred perhaps a more documentary type film about the man, rather than a stumbling portrayal that left me disappointed.
The review is for film only, and yes at Five or Six Pounds will give you an insight into this man's life, although I have now invested in a book on the life of Ray Charles which I think, combined with live performances on DVD gives me a better idea of who this man is.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Not one I have seen, not really my type of music so I guess it will pass me by.
jankperegrine 31.10.2005 07:19
Do you know that Ray Charles was consulted on the movie and he approved it? I liked it better than you, but the book you got will be fascinating. jan
teacherofhooch 11.10.2005 10:49
My daughter and i arrived at the cinema too late for this film so we never did get to watch it! A must see for me although I have heard others say it was not as good as thought it would be. Sounds as if as you say it will lead on to reading about his life. Linda
Advantages: Wonderful performances, great soundtrack, great insight into Ray's life Disadvantages: Some unanswered questions (probably deliberate though)
CaptainDisaster 31.05.2005 (31.05.2005)
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Review of Ray DVD
Advantages: Wonderful performances, great soundtrack, great insight into Ray's life Disadvantages: Some unanswered questions (probably deliberate though)
CaptainDisaster 31.05.2005 (31.05.2005)
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Review of Ray DVD
Advantages: Stays close to reality, Jamie Foxx's amazing performance, music is brilliant, overall great Disadvantages: You might want to take a break in the middle to prevent numb-bum syndrome.
Ottavia 18.08.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ray (DVD)
Sep 30th, 2005
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