RAY (***½)
Of all the musicians that I’ve come to love through the years, Ray Charles stands alone. He invented a musical genre that many young people claim they love to listen to, but know little about. With his bluesy voice and extraordinary use of screams and breaks, along with his big band sensibilities, he reshaped modern music forever by infusing secular themes into gospel melodies, played within jazz milieus. In doing so, he created soul music, which is in essence, rhythm and blues.
Not only did he remap our musical landscape, he also helped bridge a great cultural divide. In a time when the American civil rights movement exposed deep conflict between blacks and whites, Mr. Charles was the first major black superstar to show that blacks in the south loved to listen to country music (and they still do). In performing “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, he demonstrated that the two sides of this struggle had more in common than they would have cared to admit.
Any man who faced such daunting challenges head on must be a fascinating study, and that is what the movie aims to provide us. What drove this great artistic force to go break barriers all around him? What pushed him beyond his sightlessness to seek eminence? For those who know little about Mr. Charles, RAY is probably the best place to start.
The film covers around 30 years of Ray Charles’s (Jamie Foxx) life, from the time of his birth in the 1930s, to his triumph over his personal demons in the 1960s. Watching this prolific period is inspiring to say the least; to know that a blind man, discriminated against because of his skin color, and belittled due to his disability, was able to do so much at such a young age. He never used a cane or had a seeing eye-dog. His handicap seemed to be his reinforcement instead of his diminution.
We get to see the pursuit of his musical dreams, as he overcomes the doubt and scheming of fellow musicians he first meets and plays with. With him we discover the people he will hold dear for the rest of his life, none of whom are more honorable than his wife Della Bea (played by the wonderful Kerry Washington). It is with her that we relate to Mr. Charles. Her sensibility and goodness are the anchors that hold him steady in the stormy sea of events that are about to befall him on his way to renown.
Despite her nobility, there are other women who come into Mr. Charles’s life (more than the movie can account for). The first significant other is Mary Ann Fisher (Aunjanue Ellis), who is supposedly the inspiration for Mr. Charles’s famous calypso-driven melody, “Mary Ann”. The second mistress is Margie Hendricks (Regina King) a key collaborator for many of Mr. Charles’s hits, and the lead for his backup singers, the Raelettes. Each one gives him solace during tours, and at several points, both compete for his attention. Both of them are drawn to his unique artistry, and his surprising seductiveness. They share an understanding with him with regards to nature of their relationships (as do all longstanding mistresses). Ms. Hendricks even goes far to say that in essence, she is his wife away from home. When she painfully says, “You just don’t know it.” she is right.
The loves of Ray Charles’s adult life are very strong-willed and centered women (a rare blessing in today’s movies). And his attraction to such reflects the intelligence and inner strength of his mother Aretha Robinson (Sharon Warren). If the movie is to be believed, she was stunningly astute and resolute for her time. The interlaced images of Mr. Charles’s youth in which we see him being raised, before and after the onset of his blindness, show that only a mother full of resolve like Aretha could have passed that same steadfastness to her son.
The movie does not totally butter up to its subject. It reveals Mr. Charles a man prone to weakness as any other. Aside from the many women he got involved with (and the many children he fathered out of wedlock), it shows his matter-of-factness with regards to his industry. It shows him at several times valuing monetary worth over loyalty. After he is offered a huge deal by then ABC Paramount to leave Atlantic Records, he accepts (hardly reluctantly) their offer, regardless of the freedom Atlantic has given him through the years. Talented newcomers that offer more value to his enterprise supplant several longtime members of his band. It makes us consider if Mr. Charles’s persona is slightly manufactured. He isn’t just an adored artist; he’s a shrewd businessman too.
The movie also isn’t afraid to deal with his darker side, as well as the repercussions of his actions (and inaction). It shows a childhood trauma, which may answer for his descent into heroin addiction, as well as his relentless drive to prove himself. It is a heartbreaking yet understandable moment that defines his inner strength as well as that of his mother’s. And it provides a memorable personal resolution for Mr. Charles near the end of the film.
The three leading ladies in RAY are magnificent. Regina King, Kerry Washington, and Aretha Warren provide moments of romantic attraction, painful heartbreak, and powerful dignity. What a pity it is that they could not have been all nominated. Curtis Armstrong and Richard Schiff have welcome roles as Mr. Charles’s producers. In so many films, characters such as theirs have been portrayed as opportunistic leeches sucking the productivity out of the artists they support. But here they are thoughtful and adventuresome, willing to take risks on Mr. Charles’s groundbreaking creativity, while caring for his health as well. I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Armstrong’s character, Ahmet Ertegun, asks Mr. Charles to stop taking heroin, “as a friend.”
Nothing you’ve seen him do will prepare you for Jamie Foxx’s feat. He has impersonated Mr. Charles before, but this is not an imitation, it is an embodiment. As one who has seen Mr. Charles numerous times, I can say that Mr. Foxx captures all of his mannerisms without being mannered. Long into the film’s first few minutes, I hardly noticed Mr. Foxx’s presence at all. His performance is that good, and I have yet to see a male acting achievement more impressive this past year.
I have to say that when Mr. Charles passed away last June, I was deeply affected. No other musician poured his entirety into his songs with such devotion as he did. When I learned of RAY, my heart leapt in anticipation. I wish the movie had noted the intangible contributions he made to music and to society. If it had done so, it would have been one of the great movie biographies. But the movie does paint a loving portrait of this beloved man. The love in his art is as distinguishable as his voice. For those who do not know brother Ray too well, it is my fervent hope that you will delight in his songs, and discover what beautiful music he brought all of us.
Note: A wonderful retrospective of Ray Charles’s life and music can be found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1947628
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at February 15, 2005 12:50 PM