Movie #74 -- Ray

Title: Ray

Director: Taylor Hackford

Release Year: 2004

Plot Summary: A somewhat dark biopic of legendary musician Ray Charles.

Thoughts: Jamie Foxx (yes, that Jamie Foxx) gives one of the truly great screen performances of all time portraying legendary musician Ray Charles. Never for a moment do you doubt Foxx's commitment to the role and you whole-heartedly believe that Foxx is Charles. Flat out.

That being said, the story itself is rather uneven and ends extremely abruptly: how director Taylor Hackford spent two plus hours telling a story and then ends up telling us absolutely nothing is beyond me. To say that Hackford's directing is scattershot and below average is no stretch of the truth at all.

Take away Foxx's performance and you're left with a mediocre film. How it ever got nominated for Best Picture (the likes of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', 'The Incredibles', and 'Hotel Rwanda' got overlooked for this?!) and Best Director is completely beyond me.

Rating (0-10): Foxx's performance: 10. Rest of the movie: 5.0. Overall: 6.25. One performance does not a great film make.

Recomendations: Worth seeing for Foxx's performance. It's not really a film that bears repeat viewings. I wouldn't/won't buy it.